Books & Ephemera
The forthcoming book sale on Thursday 30 September comprises over 400 lots of predominantly books, but also ephemera, maps, manuscript material and other collectable works on paper.
A wide range of genres are well represented, including over 100 lots of collectable fiction, modern first editions, and children’s and illustrated books. Many greats of literature feature, including a copy of Ernest Hemingway’s, ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’, (lot 4016), a stark and brutal commentary on the nature of war, sacrifice and death, inspired by his time as a war correspondent during the Spanish Civil War. Considered by many as his finest work, this copy is signed by the enigmatic Hemingway himself, making it a particularly choice item for a serious collector. A signed copy of Winston Churchill’s great work ‘My Life A Roving Commission’ (lot 4028), will also be going under the hammer, along with many first edition Ian Fleming James Bond novels, and other works by John le Carre, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, George Orwell and many others.
In the ephemera section, a fascinating book of manuscript medical and cookery recipes stretching from the late 17th to the mid 19th Century is expected to attract lots of interest, as unique items of ephemera and social history interest such as this have become more and more sought after in recent years. The earliest entries for medical remedies and healing waters include some weird and wonderful concoctions, such as “An approved water to heal ye lungs”, containing, amongst other things, the shoulder of a lamb, two black rabbits, the lungs of a fox and two sheep hearts! Another highlight of this section of the sale is an archive of items relating to Charles Dickens, foremost novelist of the 19th Century, and his extensive circle of friends and associates, comprising many eminent Victorian writers, artists and illustrators. The lot consists of mainly autographs, autograph letters signed, and photographs, and includes a clipped signature of Charles Dickens himself, as well as other items relating to the novelists Wilkie Collins and W.M. Thackeray, illustrators George Cruikshank and John Leech, artist Sir Edwin Landseer, and many other eminent contemporaries of Dickens.
The sale includes an extensive and good quality section of antiquarian and other works relating to East Anglia and the Norfolk Broads. Highlights include early 18th Century works with etchings by Henry Davy and John Sell Cotman, vellum bound manor court rolls, and a good quantity of topography and history books on Southwold, Dunwich, Halesworth & Environs. There are also a good amount of lots covering Natural History and other UK and overseas history and topography, as well as maps and prints.
The next sale is scheduled for early in 2022, and you can find out about consigning by contacting me directly.
Robert Henshilwood
Book Specialist
