Ending Mar 7, 2024 11:07 EST

Maps, Travel & Sporting Books Including The Esmond Bradley Martin Collection

 
  Lot 68
 

68

J. B. Holmes property map of the Upper East Side, from 76th to 89th Streets

Estate / Collection: Collection of a New York Surveyor

[MAP - UPPER EAST SIDE]

HOLMES, JOHN BUTE. Map of Property in Harlem showing the farm lines, old road, lanes, &c. as they existed over 100 years ago on the... New York: J. B. Holmes, 1885. Hand-colored lithograph map printed by Meyer Merkel and Ottman, laid down on linen with pink cloth border, rolled on a wooden dowel. 34 x 39 1/2 inches (88 x 100 cm). Toning near dowel along left edge, creasing and splits from being tightly rolled, hole in linen along lower edge with some small chips but the paper at this point is mostly extant.

A rare separately published map of the Upper East Side, showing the area from 76th to 89th Streets, from Central Park to the East River. The mapmaker, J. B. Holmes, a man of dubious character, was employed as a civil engineer and surveyor under the corrupt Tweed regime. He produced a number of these property maps to help the city claim eminent domain over historic Manhattan Estates. He was especially successful at doing this in midtown and uptown where the land was, at the time, far less developed.

Sold for $1,792
Estimated at $300 - $500

Includes Buyer's Premium


 

Estate / Collection: Collection of a New York Surveyor

[MAP - UPPER EAST SIDE]

HOLMES, JOHN BUTE. Map of Property in Harlem showing the farm lines, old road, lanes, &c. as they existed over 100 years ago on the... New York: J. B. Holmes, 1885. Hand-colored lithograph map printed by Meyer Merkel and Ottman, laid down on linen with pink cloth border, rolled on a wooden dowel. 34 x 39 1/2 inches (88 x 100 cm). Toning near dowel along left edge, creasing and splits from being tightly rolled, hole in linen along lower edge with some small chips but the paper at this point is mostly extant.

A rare separately published map of the Upper East Side, showing the area from 76th to 89th Streets, from Central Park to the East River. The mapmaker, J. B. Holmes, a man of dubious character, was employed as a civil engineer and surveyor under the corrupt Tweed regime. He produced a number of these property maps to help the city claim eminent domain over historic Manhattan Estates. He was especially successful at doing this in midtown and uptown where the land was, at the time, far less developed.

Auction: Maps, Travel & Sporting Books Including The Esmond Bradley Martin Collection, ending Mar 7, 2024

  • Timed Auction of Maps, Travel & Sporting Books Including the Esmond Bradley Martin Collection
  • Bidding Will Open on February 22 and Close on Thursday, March 7, 2024 beginning at 10am
  • Consignments Are Currently Being Accepted for Future Auctions


NEW YORK, NY -- Doyle will hold a timed online auction of Maps, Travel & Sporting Books closing on Thursday, March 7, 2024 beginning at 10am. Explore the world through a fascinating range of offerings featuring maps, Americana, travel, sporting books, literary sets and the Esmond Bradley Martin Collection of Africana.

Esmond Bradley Martin

Esmond Bradley Martin (1941-2018) was educated as a geographer and philosopher. He and his wife Chryssee had an enduring fascination with Africa, and settled in Nairobi, Kenya, in the mid-1970s. He wrote extensively, oftentimes in conjunction with his wife, publishing works including Zanzibar. Tradition and Revolution, Hamish Hamilton, 1978; Cargoes of the east. The ports, trade, and culture of the Arabian Seas and western Indian Ocean, Elm Tree Press, 1978; and many other works on African history and conservation. In the late 1970s, he began extensive research into the illegal trade in elephant ivory and rhino horn, which included substantial stints incognito posing as a buyer of illicit wildlife products. For a while, he served as special envoy for rhino conservation for the United Nations.

For about thirty years, beginning in the mid-1960s, Esmond Bradley Martin assiduously collected books and manuscripts on Africa and its history, acquiring a phenomenal collection of letters by many of the major English explorers of the nineteenth century, as well as numerous rarities from earlier centuries. He was buying at a time when troves of such material surfaced frequently at English auctions. Doyle was privileged to offer the first selection from his collection in the November 7, 2023 auction. We are pleased to present this second offering of property from The Esmond Bradley Martin Collection.

VIEWINGS BY APPOINTMENT
Please email Books@Doyle.com

TIMED ONLINE AUCTION
Bidding in the timed online auction will open on Thursday, February 22 and close on Thursday, March 7 beginning at 10am. Lots will close sequentially, one lot per minute, with a soft close. Should any bids be placed in the final minute, bidding will remain open on that lot for three (3) additional minutes.

PAYMENT
Please note that all purchases are subject to a Buyer's Premium
Payment can be made in the following ways:
· By credit card (an additional 3.5% fee will be charged)
· By wire transfer. For instructions, please email client.accounts@Doyle.com

PICKUPS & SHIPPING
For information, please contact client.accounts@doyle.com


We Invite You to Auction!

Consignments are currently being accepted for future auctions. We invite you to contact us for a complimentary auction evaluation. Our Specialists are always available to discuss the sale of a single item or an entire collection.

For information, please contact Peter Costanzo at 212-427-4141, ext 248, or Edward Ripley-Duggan at ext. 234, or email Books@Doyle.com

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