Rare Book Monthly

Articles - November - 2014 Issue

Books In The News: It Was the Erebus, and More...

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The Erebus and Terror.

It's the Erebus! The recently discovered ship that disappeared in Canadian Arctic waters over a century and a half ago is the Erebus, not its sister ship the Terror. As a pair, there are few ships as legendary as the Erebus and the Terror. Under the command of Sir John Franklin, they set out in 1845 to find the long sought Northwest Passage. Instead, they disappeared. Disappeared until one of the ships was finally discovered on the ocean floor in September. Canadian searchers knew it was one of the two, but at first were unsure as to which. Then, last month, they were able to answer that question.

 

The Erebus and Terror set off with 129 officers and crew, with orders to traverse the Northwest Passage and return via the Pacific. Those were ambitious instructions as, despite centuries of searching, no one had ever located a northwest passage. The ships were heavily reenforced with iron plating to withstand the ice and fitted with auxiliary steam engines for propulsion. Each had been on Arctic or Antarctic cruises before.

 

It is unlikely that any voyage ever generated a search like this one. From 1848, when the absence of word from Franklin first raised concerns, until 1859, at least 32 missions were sent to find Franklin. These were mostly search and rescue, though by the end of the period, hope had become slim. While neither the ships nor most of the men were ever found, enough evidence was located to understand their fate. A few bodies, a note, and accounts from a few native Inuit indicated the ships remained trapped in ice for a year and half. Franklin and many others died before the ships were crushed and sank, and the survivors set off on foot, to die of hunger, disease and exposure.

 

For those who collect travels, no voyage ever generated a collection of literature like this one. Most of the search missions yielded their own accounts. Even after the primary period of the hunt, people conducted searches for Franklin, right up to the Canadian mission this year that finally found one of the ships. Though most did not find out much about Franklin, the wealth of information they brought back about the Arctic comprises much of what we know today about this far northern land. A final chapter to Franklin's story is now close to being written.

 

 

 

A sad but instructive case of violated trust was tried in a Maryland court recently. Julia Jordan runs a bookselling business from her home in Bethesda. She had moved back to this, her childhood home, to help her parents. She soon befriended her neighbor, Christina Wimmel. They talked regularly, walked dogs together, and Ms. Wimmel often visited the Jordan home. Ms. Jordan completely trusted her neighbor, allowing her around the house without keeping a close eye. Most of us probably do this too, but with valuables, including expensive books, you just can't be careless. Sometimes, we don't know our “friends” as well as we think.

 

For a period of almost a year, Ms. Wimmel was pilfering books from Julia Jordan's home. The latter was unaware. She did not realize anything was amiss until receiving a call from a Pennsylvania bookseller. He had just bought a couple of books on eBay and noticed they were identical to books Ms. Jordan owned. A quick search revealed those books were missing from the Jordan house.

 

Ms. Jordan obtained the seller's eBay name from the other bookseller and went to the police. They tracked down the dealer's identity and found it to be that of Ms. Jordan's next-door neighbor. Ebay's transaction history showed that she had sold many books belonging to Ms. Jordan. Subpoena in hand, the police searched the Wimmel house. They quickly found more incriminating evidence. They discovered a book belonging to Ms. Jordan in a bedroom closet. They also found postal receipts showing where some of the books were shipped. It did not take long for Christina Wimmel to admit to what she had done.

 

An appraiser was brought in to value the stolen books. The value given was $33,750. Four books were returned, including one valued at $8,000, but still missing were volumes estimated to be worth $22,310. It was not made clear exactly where those still missing are now located.

 

Ms. Wimmel apologized for her actions in court and said all the right things about repaying the debt. Her lawyer, who would have been intently defending her integrity had she pleaded not guilty, instead reeled off a litany of psychological issues from which Ms. Wimmel suffers as something of a defense. Among those he claimed were alcoholism, social anxiety, depression, and some illness he described as a “toned-down” form of bipolar disorder. He said she had suffered physical and mental abuse from her mother and an ex-boyfriend and had a long history of stealing from people with whom she had disagreements as a means of getting back. Where would we be without lawyers to defend our honor? It does not appear the judge was terribly moved. He did defer jail time, but on the condition she use it to make restitution - $300 a month with a lump sum of the remainder due October 1, 2016. Otherwise, she could spend six months in jail. Her lawyer said the expectations might not be realistic considering she makes only $17,000 per year, but the judge responded that she could work evenings or weekend to make up the difference.

 

 

 

Scholium Group recently released its financial results for the six-month period ending September 30, 2014. Scholium Group is the publicly traded London company whose primary asset is the bookseller Shapero Rare Books. For Shapero, they reported that sales of material from their own stock was up from the same period a year ago, while gross profit margins also increased. This was attributed to their placing more emphasis on higher quality books. Scholium said that their focus is now on sales during the busy selling season to come and as a result, they have been significantly increasing stock. They valued that inventory at £6.2 million (about $10 million), adding they had made “a number of noteworthy acquisitions.”

 

They also described the first half of the year as “productive” for Scholium Trading. It turned its first profit. This division works with other dealers to help finance purchases.

 

Scholium concluded their report with the following outlook: “We look forward to the busy selling season in the second half of the year with optimism, strong levels of quality stock and a firm pipeline of selling opportunities.”

Rare Book Monthly

  • <b>Swann Auction Galleries:</b> Jean de Mandeville, <i>Reysen und Wanderschafften durch das Gelobte Land,</i> Strassburg, 1488. Sold for $106,250.
    <b>Swann Auction Galleries:</b> José González Cabrera Bueno, <i>Navegación Especulativa, y Práctica,</i> Manila, 1734. Sold for $55,000.
    <b>Swann Auction Galleries:</b> Francis W. Winton, manuscript on pow-wows with indigenous Canadians, 1881. Sold for $65,000.
    <b>Swann Auction Galleries:</b> Louise Bourgeois, <i>He Disappeared Into Complete Silence,</i> portfolio with complete text & 9 engravings, 1947. Sold for $413,000.
    <b>Swann Auction Galleries:</b> Erich Maria Remarque, <i>All Quiet on the Western Front,</i> first American edition, Boston, 1929. Sold for $9,375.
    <b>Swann Auction Galleries:</b> Sir William Russell Flint, gouache & watercolor illustration for Homer's <i>Odyssey,</i> 1924. Sold for $22,500.
    <b>Swann Auction Galleries:</b> Kurt Vonnegut, archive of 12 letters, signed to his family, 6 illustrated, 1930s-40s. Sold for $12,500.
    <b>Swann Auction Galleries:</b> Oscar Wilde, <i>Lady Windermere's Fan,</i> first edition, presentation copy, signed & inscribed, London, 1893. Sold for $27,500.
    <b>Swann Auction Galleries:</b> Emil Cardinaux, <i>St. Moritz,</i> 1918. Sold for $17,500.
    <b>Swann Auction Galleries:</b> R.J. Waters, 3 panoramas of the San Francisco earthquake & fire, 1906. Sold for $21,250.
    <b>Swann Auction Galleries:</b> Album with 200 cartes-de-visite, including images by Felice Beato, John Thompson & F.W. Sutton, Japan & China, 1863-69. Sold for $35,000.
    <b>Swann Auction Galleries:</b> Thomas Paine, <i>The American Crisis,</i> Fishkill, NY, December 1776. Sold for $40,000.
  • <center><b>Sotheby’s New York<br>Fine Books & Manuscripts Online<br>Ending December 17</b>
    <b>Sotheby’s Online, Now - Dec 17:</b> SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM. <i>Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies…</i> The Second Impression. 1632. $100,000 to $150,000
    <b>Sotheby’s Online, Now - Dec 17:</b> GEORGE CURZON, 1ST MARQUESS CURZON OF KEDLESTON. “Curzon Tiger Hunt.” [India: circa 1901]. 120 albumen photographs. $3,000 to $5,000
    <b>Sotheby’s Online, Now - Dec 17:</b> (CASSADY, NEAL). Kerouac, Jack. <i>On the Road.</i> New York: Viking Press, 1957. Inscribed. $10,000 to $15,000
    <b>Sotheby’s Online, Now - Dec 17:</b> VEGA, JOSEPH PENSO DE LA. <i>Confusion de Confusiones. Dialogos curiosos entre un Philosopho agudo, un Mercader discrete...</i> Amsterdam, 1688. $200,000 to $300,000
    <b>Sotheby’s Online, Now - Dec 17:</b> RACKHAM, ARTHUR — [WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE]. "The Moon Like to a Silver Bow New-Bent in Heaven," original illustration for <i>A Midsummer Night's Dream.</i> $12,000 to $18,000
  • <b>Bonhams New York: Fine Books and Manuscripts Including the World of Hilary Knight. December 5, 2018</b>
    <b>Bonhams, Dec 5:</b> KNIGHT, HILARY. The Original Portrait of Eloise that Hung at the Plaza Hotel. $100,000 to 150,000
    <b>Bonhams, Dec 5:</b> WARHOL, ANDY. "Iced Lemon Delight," an Original Watercolor Presented to Hilary Knight's cat, Phoebe $8,000 to 12,000
    <b>Bonhams, Dec 5:</b> SENDAK, MAURICE. <i>Where the Wild Things Are.</i> PRESENTATION COPY, INSCRIBED with drawing to Hilary Knight in the month following publication. $10,000 to 15,000
    <b>Bonhams New York: Fine Books and Manuscripts Including the World of Hilary Knight. December 5, 2018</b>
    <b>Bonhams, Dec 5:</b> NOLAND, KENNETH. Original circle painting, untitled, acrylic and ink on cloth, for cover of monograph $8,000 to 12,000
    <b>Bonhams, Dec 5:</b> TOULOUSE-LAUTREC. <i>Histoires Naturelles,</i> 1899. With 22 original lithographs. $10,000 to 15,000
    <b>Bonhams, Dec 5:</b> SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM. <i>A Collection of Poems,</i> [1711]. The first authoritative and complete collected Sonnets.$15,000 to 20,000
    <b>Bonhams New York: Fine Books and Manuscripts Including the World of Hilary Knight. December 5, 2018</b>
    <b>Bonhams, Dec 5:</b> LONDON, JACK. <i>The Call of the Wild.</i> 1903. First edition, first state jacket. $2,000 to 3,000
    <b>Bonhams, Dec 5:</b> FROST, ROBERT. Autograph Manuscript of "Build Soil," 12 pp, 1932-1936. $15,000 to 20,000
    <b>Bonhams, Dec 5:</b> GOULD, GLENN. Glenn Gould's extensively annotated copy of Bach's Goldberg Variations $100,000 to 150,000
    <b>Bonhams New York: Fine Books and Manuscripts Including the World of Hilary Knight. December 5, 2018</b>
    <b>Bonhams, Dec 5:</b> PLATH, SYLVIA. EARLY Autograph Letter Signed, about her beginnings as a writer, Northampton, MA, 1951. $7,000 to 10,000
    <b>Bonhams, Dec 5:</b> HOUDINI, HARRY. A collection of 11 cast iron shackle and lock items from Houdini's personal collection. $20,000 to 30,000
    <b>Bonhams, Dec 5:</b> M4 ENGIMA MACHINE, with very rare RARE HYDRA KEY ENVELOPE. $400,000 to 600,000
  • <center><b>Doyle: Angling Books from the Collection of Arnold "Jake” Johnson<br>Online Only Auction ending Dec. 18</b>
    <b>Doyle, Arnold “Jake” Johnson Online-Only Auction, ending Dec 18:</b> WETZEL, CHARLES M. American Fishing Books. $400 to $600
    <b>Doyle, Arnold “Jake” Johnson Online-Only Auction, ending Dec 18:</b> BISSELL, ALFRED E., <i>In Pursuit of Salar.</i> $400 to $600
    <b>Doyle, Arnold “Jake” Johnson Online-Only Auction, ending Dec 18:</b> <i>The Settler and Sportsman in Anticosti.</i> $400 to $600
    <center><b>Doyle: Angling Books from the Collection of Arnold "Jake” Johnson<br>Online Only Auction ending Dec. 18</b>
    <b>Doyle, Arnold “Jake” Johnson Online-Only Auction, ending Dec 18:</b> CARLETON, HENRY GUY, <i>Advice to Young Anglers.</i> $300 to $500
    <b>Doyle, Arnold “Jake” Johnson Online-Only Auction, ending Dec 18:</b> ROBINSON, ROLAND EVANS, <i>Forest and Stream Fables. By Awahsoose the Bear.</i> $300 to $500
    <b>Doyle, Arnold “Jake” Johnson Online-Only Auction, ending Dec 18:</b> SAWADA, KEN, <i>The Art of the Classic Salmon Fly.</i> $300 to $500
    <center><b>Doyle: Angling Books from the Collection of Arnold "Jake” Johnson<br>Online Only Auction ending Dec. 18</b>
    <b>Doyle, Arnold “Jake” Johnson Online-Only Auction, ending Dec 18:</b> SOUTHARD, CHARLES ZIBEON, <i>The Evolution of Trout and Trout Fishing in America.</i> $400 to $600
    <b>Doyle, Arnold “Jake” Johnson Online-Only Auction, ending Dec 18:</b> SOUTHARD, CHARLES ZIBEON, <i>Trout Fly-Fishing in America.</i> $400 to $600
  • <b>19th Century Shop:</b> Charles Darwin on sexuality and the transmission of hereditary characteristics: Autograph Letter Signed to Lawson Tait. Down, 17 January [1877].
    <b>19th Century Shop:</b> MILTON, JOHN. <i>Paradise Lost. A Poem written in ten books.</i> London: 1667. A very rare example with the contemporary binding untouched and with a 1667 title page.
    <b>19th Century Shop:</b> Hamilton secures the ratification of the Constitution: <i>The Debates and Proceedings of the Convention of the State of New-York, assembled at Poughkeespsie, on the 17th June, 1788.</i>
    <b>19th Century Shop:</b> The social contract “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains”: ROUSSEAU, JEAN-JACQUES. <i>Principes du Droit Politique [Du Contract Social]</i>. Amsterdam: Michel Rey, 1762
    <b>19th Century Shop:</b> “The first English textbook on geometrical land-measurement and surveying”: BENESE, RICHARD. <i>This Boke Sheweth the Maner of Measurynge All Maner of Lande…</i>

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