Apr 11, 2025 10:00 EST
Rare Books, Autographs & Maps
69
A rare 17th-century silver pocket sundial by Pierre Sevin
[INSTRUMENTS - POCKET SUNDIAL]
SEVIN, PIERRE. A silver "Butterfield dial" type sundial, in its original fitted case. Paris: Pierre Sevin, circa 1680. The oval dial is in silver, finely engraved, with black enameling, the dial marked "pour 49 degrez" (49° being Paris), with three concentric hour scales, a folding triangular gnomon adjustable to latitudes 40° to 60,° with a finely engraved bird and foliate designs, and with a rosette design at center, the reverse of the dial with a list of cities, their latitudes, and the maker's signature, the dial set on two silver feet; with a four-direction recessed compass, the steel needle mounted on a pivot, the compass face covered with flat glass, the reverse in silver with an engraved rosette design; housed in the original oval fishskin case, lined in fitted red velvet, with metal clasp and hinge. The case measures 2 1/2 x 1 7/8 inches (6 x 4.5 cm). The silver is quite tarnished, and would benefit from polishing; the case is sound, with minor wear to the exterior, and the velvet-lined interior rubbed and worn by the sundial in the expected places.
Pierre Sevin manufactured scientific instruments of the highest quality in Paris from 1662 to 1685, earning himself the title Ingenieur du Roi. His clients included the Academie des Sciences, the Paris Observatoire, and the astronomer Jean Richer, who used Sevin's instruments during his 1671 voyage to Cayenne in French Guyana. This is a rare, silver, "Butterfield" style pocket sundial, finely engraved and enameled in black. This type of dial began to appear around 1677, first manufactured by the Paris-based clock and instrument maker, Michael Butterfield. "Butterfield dials" are defined as being portable horizontal sundials, with an elongated hexagonally shaped hour scale, and a folding adjustable gnomon decorated with a bird. They were an immensely popular style of timepiece, copied from the late 17th century onwards. Sundials by Pierre Sevin are held in various important institutional collections, such as The Louvre Museum and The Royal Museums, Greenwich.
Sold for $2,176
Estimated at $1,500 - $2,500
Includes Buyer's Premium
[INSTRUMENTS - POCKET SUNDIAL]
SEVIN, PIERRE. A silver "Butterfield dial" type sundial, in its original fitted case. Paris: Pierre Sevin, circa 1680. The oval dial is in silver, finely engraved, with black enameling, the dial marked "pour 49 degrez" (49° being Paris), with three concentric hour scales, a folding triangular gnomon adjustable to latitudes 40° to 60,° with a finely engraved bird and foliate designs, and with a rosette design at center, the reverse of the dial with a list of cities, their latitudes, and the maker's signature, the dial set on two silver feet; with a four-direction recessed compass, the steel needle mounted on a pivot, the compass face covered with flat glass, the reverse in silver with an engraved rosette design; housed in the original oval fishskin case, lined in fitted red velvet, with metal clasp and hinge. The case measures 2 1/2 x 1 7/8 inches (6 x 4.5 cm). The silver is quite tarnished, and would benefit from polishing; the case is sound, with minor wear to the exterior, and the velvet-lined interior rubbed and worn by the sundial in the expected places.
Pierre Sevin manufactured scientific instruments of the highest quality in Paris from 1662 to 1685, earning himself the title Ingenieur du Roi. His clients included the Academie des Sciences, the Paris Observatoire, and the astronomer Jean Richer, who used Sevin's instruments during his 1671 voyage to Cayenne in French Guyana. This is a rare, silver, "Butterfield" style pocket sundial, finely engraved and enameled in black. This type of dial began to appear around 1677, first manufactured by the Paris-based clock and instrument maker, Michael Butterfield. "Butterfield dials" are defined as being portable horizontal sundials, with an elongated hexagonally shaped hour scale, and a folding adjustable gnomon decorated with a bird. They were an immensely popular style of timepiece, copied from the late 17th century onwards. Sundials by Pierre Sevin are held in various important institutional collections, such as The Louvre Museum and The Royal Museums, Greenwich.
Auction: Rare Books, Autographs & Maps, Apr 11, 2025
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Auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps on April 11, 2025
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The Latin Grammar of Toulouse-Lautrec, Illustrated with Hundreds of Small Drawings Tops $70k
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We Invite You to Contact Us for a Complimentary Auction Evaluation of Your Collection
NEW YORK, NY -- Doyle presented an auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps on Friday, April 11, 2025 at 10am. The sale included an extensive collection of illustrated books and fine bindings, many from a private collection purchased at auction in the 1970s and off the market until the present time. Here are copies of the first edition of Nerciat’s erotic classic Le Diable au Corps, and an early and curiously illustrated edition of the exceedingly naughty Academie des Dames. From the same collection comes a splendid Levitzky binding with batik endpapers on a work illustrated by Georges Barbier, with an original watercolor by the master. Many finely bound sets are featured in the sale, most notably an exceptionally luxurious set of Charles Dickens, one of 15 copies bound in sixty volumes, in superb red levant morocco with onlays.
As usual, the sale included a selection of interesting maps and atlases, such as a copy of Turgot’s 1734 bird’s eye plan of Paris, and a finely colored celestial map by Andreas Cellarius. Additionally, there is a sizable group of globes and instruments in the auction, including a pair of 15-inch library globes and a 20-inch celestial globe by Cary, as well as three English pocket globes, a “dissected” paper globe, and a collection of rare pocket-sized navigational instruments and sundials, notably an exquisite 17th century silver “Butterfield” type sundial by the Parisian instrument maker Pierre Sevin.
One lot that bears special note is the Latin grammar owned by the young Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, used by him while studying for his baccalaureate examination. In this, the artist has penned hundreds of tiny ink sketches, ranging from studies of horses to caricatured faces. Toulouse-Lautrec was 16 to 17 years old at the time, and his genius was just starting to declare itself, evident in the precocious studies of horses in this work, which make the annotations far more compelling than mere juvenalia. (Read More)
Americana is highlighted by a career-spanning archive of letters of Major General Israel Bush Richardson (1815-1862), from his West Point days until his death at Antietam. (Read More). The range of early printing features a complete copy of Graevius’s great 1722 work on Venice, the Splendor Magnificentissimae Urbis Venetiarum Clarissimus with the two large folding plates of the city and all the double-page views of piazzas and palazzos.
The Collection of President Gerald R. Ford and First Lady Betty Ford
Property from the Collection of President Gerald R. Ford and First Lady Betty Ford offered approximately 75 lots of signed books and memorabilia relating to the political career of President Ford and watches, jewelry, and decorative items owned by and gifted to the Fords. Of note is Gerald Ford’s copy of the Official Report of the Warren Commission, of which he was a member, inscribed to him with appreciation from President Lyndon Johnson and each member of the commission. It was John “Jack” Ford who brought George Harrison to the White House, the first of the Beatles to visit, and offered in the sale are two inscribed books on Eastern thought. Of the jewelry, President Ford’s Omega and Piaget watches are offered, as is a sapphire ring that belonged to First Betty Ford. Among the gifts presented to the Fords on their world travels are jewelry items and keepsakes from Jordan and Oman, several in high karat gold. View Lots
Order of Sale
Lots 1–8 Sports and mountaineering
Lots 9–45 Americana
Lots 46–57 Travel
Lots 58–73 Maps and atlases, globes and instruments
Lots 74–114 Antiquarian books and manuscripts
Lots 115–120 Economics and the World Wars
Lots 121–163 Literature (including literary autographs)
Lots 164–178 Color plate books
Lots 179–189 Library sets
Lots 190–215 Fine bookbindings: English, French and Russian
Lots 216–220 Fore-edge paintings
Lots 221–233 Curiosa
Lots 234–249 Limited Editions Club
Lots 250–261 Private press and fine printing
Lots 262–276 Illustration and children's books
Lots 277–280 Applied Art
Lots 281–306 Books on Fine Art and Livres d'artistes
Lots 307–318 American autographs
Lots 319–340 American Presidential documents and signatures
Lots 340–End Property from the Collection of President Gerald R. Ford and First Lady Betty Ford
PAYMENT
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