Past Auction

Rare Books, Autographs & Maps

Tue, Nov 12, 2019 at 10am EST |

New York

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Auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps on November 12, 2019
A Signed Photograph of Albert Einstein in Berlin Dated 1927 Achieved $20,000
Consignments Are Currently Being Accepted for Future Auctions

NEW YORK, NY -- Doyle’s Rare Books, Autographs and Maps auction of November 12, 2019 offered a broad selection of material, from incunabula to modern first editions, colorplate books and livres d'artistes, illustration art and autographs, in addition to property from the Estate of Sylvia Miles; the Estate of Florence and Judge David Edelstein; and The Marian Sulzberger Heiskell and Andrew Heiskell Collection.

Highlighting the sale was a photograph of Albert Einstein signed by him in Berlin, September 1927, that achieved $20,000, many times its estimate of $4,000-6,000. In 1927, Einstein was at the height of his powers. He had been elected a corresponding member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences in February, and the month after he signed this image he would attend the fifth Solvay International Conference on Electrons and Photons in Brussels in October, where he would famously debate with Niels Bohr against the latter's formulation (created with Heisenberg and Pauli) of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics.

Property of a New York Lady featured a copy of the 1969 deluxe edition of Lewis Carroll’s Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with illustrations by Salvador Dali that fetched $18,750, surpassing its estimate of $8,000-12,000. This deluxe edition of 100 copies, distinguished from the more commonly found edition of 2,500 copies by the suite and numbering of the etching, is quite scarce.

The Estate of Florence and Judge David Edelstein featured a copy of the 1747 edition of Robert and Andrew Foulis translation of Homer’s Iliad that realized $11,250, more the doubling its $3,000-5,000 estimate. The Foulis brothers are renowned for the great accuracy of their editions and for the beauty of their typography; they had a particular excellence in Greek. The two volumes bore the supralibros of prominent 18th century book collector, Michael Wodhull, poet and translator from Greek, whose translation of all the known works of Euripides was published in 1782.

Engineer-in-chief of Central Park Egbert Viele’s The Topography and Hydrology of New York is the most recognizable of all 19th century maps of Manhattan. Issued in 1865 at a time of great concern over sanitation in the city, the map was referenced during the construction of the Empire State Building and United Nations Plaza. Competitive bidding drove the map far over its estimate of $2,500-3,500 to achieve $11,250.

Also attracting attention was a group of four story boards by Chuck Jones from the 1966 animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ beloved tale, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The four panels come from the sequence in which the Grinch steals the star from the Christmas tree (lettered "And you drive a crooked hoss, Mr. Grinch") then forces the tree itself up the chimney ("'And now!' grinned the Grinch 'I will stuff up the tree'"), follows the tree and presents ("Then he went up the chimney, himself, the old liar") and finally grabs the Yule log ("The last thing he took was the log for their fire!"). They exceeded their estimate of $3,000-5,000, selling for $8,750.

All prices include the Buyer's Premium.

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For information, please contact Peter Costanzo at 212-427-4141, ext 248, or Edward Ripley-Duggan at ext. 234, or email [email protected]