Book Auction News - a chance to catch up on the news around the book auctions.

30.07.19. A lost portrait of one of England's most influential poets fetched more than £50,000 when it was sold in Wotton-under-Edge. The portrait was by an obscure artist called William Shuter who has little track record at auction but whose paintings usually sell for low to mid hundreds. However, research showed that an engraving of Coleridge, in the National Portrait Gallery seemed to be based on the painting ... more  Add a comment

2.07.19. A first edition of the debut Harry Potter book bought for just £1 and described as the "holy grail" of JK Rowling novels could fetch £30,000 at a Derbyshire auction house Hansons on July 31 ... more  Add a comment

24.06.19. A signed first edition of a book telling the story of the first ascent of Mount Everest in 1953 is to go up for auction. The Ascent of Everest is signed by Sir Edmund Hilary, Tenzing Norgay, Charles Wylie and Wilfrid Noyce from the historic expedition party. Auctioneer Philip Serrell said he did not know the book's origins, but Mr Norgay's signature was more unusual. He said judging by the social media response he thought there would be a lot of "international interest" in the book. ... more  Add a comment

20.06.19. A landscape sketch by Constable has sold for £87,500, ten times more than its pre-auction estimate ... more  Add a comment

9.06.19. In the forthcoming Rare Books, Literature and Manuscripts Sale by Fonsie Mealy at the Talbot Hotel in Stillorgan on June 18th, the highlight of the auction of over 600 lots, is a first edition, number 30 of the first hundred copies ever printed of Ulysses. What makes this particular copy special, besides being from the earliest print run, is that it is signed by James Joyce (70,000 - 90,000 euro). ... more  Add a comment

29.05.19. Sotheby's sale of Manuscripts, Continental Books and Music on June 11 contains a calligraphic autograph letter by Mao Zedong written towards the end of the Chinese Civil War, addressed to the journalist Yang Yi (Lot 31). Among the Continental manuscripts (Lots 13-35) are ten very rare letters from 1742-1743 by Carlo Goldoni, by Freud and Einstein, and three autograph poems by Nikolaus Lenau ... more  Add a comment

19.05.19. Eleven volumes of the Francis Blomefield's life work that offer a fascinating glimpse into Norfolk's past have exceeded the estimate after being sold at auction in Diss. The rare calf-bound volumes, dating from 1805 to 1810, complete with their engraved illustrations and folding maps, being sold by Diss local historian Dennis Cross, sold for £750, more than the £400-£600 estimate, at TW Gaze sale rooms ... more  Add a comment

2.05.19. Egypt's Couture Ministry has contacted Christie's auction house in London to stop the display and sale of a Quranic manuscript dating back to the Mamluk era in Egypt, Minister of Culture Enas Abdel Dayem said ... more  Add a comment

12.04.19. The world's oldest golf scorecard - marked in Scotland 199 years ago - is expected to fetch up to £3500 at auction in Edinburgh next month. The rare memorabilia, once owned by the great golfer Sir Henry Cotton, will be sold at Bonhams' Sporting Sale on May 1 ... more  Add a comment

2.04.19. Famous photographs of the Cottingley Fairies, considered one of the greatest hoaxes of the 20th century, are expected to fetch nearly £70,000 at auction. Vintage images of the hoax are rare and 14 lots of period photographs and a camera - including some owned by the daughter of Frances - are going on sale at Dominic Winter Auctioneers on April 11 ... more  Add a comment

28.03.19. One of Sir Paul McCartney's school books has sold at auction for £46,800 after a bidding war by two fans. Sir Paul, 76, used it for his English Literature lessons at Liverpool Institute High School for Boys. It contained 22 pages of essays by the Beatle when he was a teenager including pieces about Thomas Hardy's novel The Return of the Native and John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost. ... more  Add a comment

9.03.19. A highlight of Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper sale on March 28 is lot 125. Chess.- Greco (Gioachino) Primo modo del gioco de Partito che giocandosi spesso occorrono li veri giochi & anco questi giochi de Partito sono tratti necessarij, perche al fin del giocho spesso occorrono essendo in essi molti tratti bellissimi & occulti, manuscript, France, [?Paris], 1624 or 1625. Estimate: £20,000 - £30,000 ... more  Add a comment

27.02.19. Lawrences Auction of Books, Maps, Manuscripts & Photography March 5th. Lot 43 [Broadside] The Beginning, Progress and End of Man, the printed sheet with five sets of cut flaps, each with woodcut images, the flaps opening to reveal a second series of five images beneath, third edition, hand-coloured, possibly later ... more  Add a comment

7.02.19. A copy of Mein Kampf signed by Adolf Hitler is expected to sell for up to £30,000 at auction at Mullocks Auctioneers on February 23. The book features vellum bindings and gold lettering, and was given by Hitler to fellow Nazi, Hermann Esser, on Christmas Eve in 1925. A dedication inside reads: "Hermann Esser the good old comrade on the occasion of Christmas 1925." ... more  Add a comment

22.01.19. Lot 81 in the Dominic Winter sale on January 30 is Pomologia Britannica; or, Figures and Descriptions of the Most Important Varieties of Fruit Cultivated in Great Britain. 3 volumes, 1st edition, Henry G. Bohn, 1841, 152 hand-coloured engraved plates heightened in gum arabic, a clean and handsome copy. Estimate: £2,000 - £3,000 ... more  Add a comment

10.01.19. Auctioneers TW Gaze have appointed a book expert which will help see the return of specialist book sales to Diss. Robert Henshilwood, who is known as a trusted and successful book specialist far beyond East Anglia, has joined as book specialist at Diss Auction Rooms. TW Gaze director Elizabeth Talbot said: "Robert’s arrival will enable us to reintroduce dedicated book auctions as required plus bespoke sections in other specialist sales" ... more  Add a comment