• Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [RUTH, George Herman “Babe” (1895-1948)]. Signed photograph. Circa 1930s. 191 x 248 mm. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HARRISON, Benjamin. Document signed (“Benj Harrison”) as governor of Virginia, certifying the service of Daniel Cumbo, a Black Revolutionary soldier. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: ONE OF THE FIRST PRINTED ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: FIRST PRINTING OF LINCOLN’S IMMORTAL GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HIGHLY IMPORTANT MORMON ARCHIVE. ALLEY, George. Archive of 23 Autograph Letters Signed by Mormon Convert George Alley to His Brother Joseph Alley. $10,000 to $20,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [AVIATION]. [ARMSTRONG, Neil A.] Aviation Hall of Fame Gold Medal MS64 NGC, Awarded to Neil Armstrong in 1979. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: NEWLY DISCOVERED FIRST PRINTING OF "WITH MALICE TOWARDS NONE... " FROM THE ONLY NEWSPAPER ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN LINCOLN’S SECOND INAUGURAL PROCESSION. $4,000 to $8,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: THE MOST IMPORTANT GEORGE WASHINGTON DOCUMENT IN PRIVATE HANDS; GEORGE WASHINGTON’S COMMISSION AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF, 1775, ONE OF ONLY TWO ORIGINALS. $150,000 to $250,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: A VERY RARE ACCOUNT OF BLACKBEARD’S DEATH AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIRATE ITEMS EXTANT. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: EDISON, Thomas. Patent for Edison’s Improvements on the Electric-Light, No. 219,628. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. Patent Office], 16 September 1879. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [VIETNAM WAR]. The original pen used by Secretary of State William P. Rogers to sign the Vietnam Peace Agreement, Paris, 27 January 1973. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: SONS OF LIBERTY FOUNDER COLONEL BARRÉ ANNOTATED TITLE-PAGE, “WHICH OUGHT TO ROUSE UP BRITISH ATTENTION”. $4,000 to $6,000.
  • Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: [Langland (William)]. The vision of Pierce Plowman, nowe the seconde time imprinted..., Roberte Crowley, 1550. £8,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: [Shakespeare (William)]. [Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies], second folio edition, [by Tho.Cotes, for Robert Allot], [1632]. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Bible, Czech Biblia Bohemica, first complete Bible printed in the Czech vernacular, Prague, August 1488. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Shabthai Tzvi.- Collection of four printed and illustrated broadsides detailing the appearance, rise and fall of the false messiah, Shabthai Tzvi, Augsburg, 1666-67. £40,000 to £60,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Leaf from the Beauvais Missal, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment, [Northern France (perhaps Beauvais or Amiens)], [fourteenth century (c.1310)]. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Aubrey (John). [Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme], manuscript in English, Latin and Greek, [c. 1693]. £30,000 to £50,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Byron (George Gordon Noel, Lord). Poems on Various Occasions, first edition, Harriet Maltby's copy, Newark, Printed by S. & J. Ridge, 1807. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, first edition, second impression with dust-jacket, 1937 [but 1938]. £7,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Blake (William).- Thornton (Robert John). The Pastorals of Virgil, 2 vol., engraved plates by William Blake, 1821. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: America.- Mount (William J.) & Thomas Page. The English Pilot…, [bound with] The Fourth Book, describing The West Indies Navigation from Hudson's-Bay to the River Amazones, 1721. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Oldfield (Henry Ambrose), Rajman Singh Chitrakar & others. An album of 160 photographs and 13 original artworks, (1833-1919), [c. 1850s-1880s]. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Audubon (John James) [and William MacGillivray]. Ornithological Biography…, 5 vol., first edition, presentation copy inscribed by Audubon, Edinburgh, 1831-49 [i.e. 1831-39]. £10,000 to £15,000.
  • Forum Auctions
    Colour Plate Books from the Library of Norman Bobins
    Part 2
    27th March 2024
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Alken (Henry). Sporting Notions, first edition, T.McLean, 1832-33. £800 to £1,200.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Bardi (Lorenzo). Nuova Raccolta delle piu interessanti Vedute della Citta di Firenze…, Florence, Lorenzo Bardi, [c.1840]. £1,500 to £2,000.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Crawfurd (John). Journal of an Embassy from the Governor-General of India to the Court of Ava..., first edition, 1829. £1,000 to £1,500.
    Forum Auctions
    Colour Plate Books from the Library of Norman Bobins
    Part 2
    27th March 2024
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Dawe (George, engraver). The Life of a Nobleman, first edition, Geo. Henderson, [c.1825]. £1,000 to £1,500.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: [Doyle (John)], "H.B.". Political Sketches &c., 10 vol. including The Descriptive Key to H.B., Thomas McLean, [1829-51]. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Eben (Adolphus Christian Frederick, Baron von) and Nicolaus Heideloff. Modèles de l'Uniforme Militaire Adopté dans l'Armée Royale de Suède, Rudolph Ackerman, 1808. £1,500 to £2,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Colour Plate Books from the Library of Norman Bobins
    Part 2
    27th March 2024
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Geissler (J.G.G.) and Friedrich Hempel. Mahlerische Darstellungen der Sitten, Gebrauche und Lustbarkeiten bey den Russischen, Tartarischen…, 4 parts in 1, Leipzig and Paris, [1804]. £1,000 to £1,500.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Hunt (Charles). Portraits of Winning Horses...of the Derby, Oaks, & St. Leger, from the Year 1842 to 1849…, Rock Brothers & Payne, 1849. £1,500 to £2,000.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Kunike (Adolf Friedrich). Zwey hundert und sechzig Donau-Ansichten nach dem Laufe des Donaustromes…, Vienna, Leopold Grund, 1826. £3,000 to £5,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Colour Plate Books from the Library of Norman Bobins
    Part 2
    27th March 2024
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Lasinio (Carlo). [Matrimony], Florence, 1790. £1,500 to £2,000.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Reinhardt (Joseph). A Collection of Swiss Costumes, in Miniature, second English edition, James Goodwin, [1828]. £800 to £1,200.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Wengen (Gottfried Durst von). Die Öffentliche Maskerade Bamberg am Fastnachts-Montage 1833…, Bamberg, [1833]. £2,000 to £3,000.
  • Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Winston Churchill. The Second World War. Set of First-Edition Volumes. 6,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard. A Collection of The Pooh Books. Set of First-Editions. 18,600 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Salvador Dalí, Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Finely Bound and Signed Limited Edition. 15,000 USD
    Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die. First Edition. 9,500 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Series. Finely Bound First Printing Set of Complete Series. 5,650 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms. First Edition, First Printing. 4,200 USD

Rare Book Monthly

Articles - February - 2021 Issue

Thomas “T.” Craig Scoop McKinney 1941-2021: Book Scout

L to R: T. Craig, Linda M. myself and Thomas C., 1964

T. Craig McKinney, had a life-long love affair with old books and the sundry paraphernalia around them.   He found them in attics, basements, garage sales, at country auctions and antique shops.  It was his avocation.  He was a newspaperman first and foremost but found time on weekends to look for gems to sell to area dealers.  He loved the chase and it was inevitable his shelves would be packed with interesting things when he recently slipped away.

 

“T.” was my brother and many were the finds we located together in the 1960’s and 1970’s when only one of us was old enough to have a driver’s license.  He was the older brother.  At the Gates of Heaven these days no doubt, he’s bending God’s ear about when “he stumbled on the Nepahwin estate” in Newburgh in Orange County and God would be taking a deep breath saying “Jesus.”  Their private library was to be sold in 1967+/-.  It was advertised in the Newburgh Evening News.  On the morning of the sale the auctioneer, who like most other local auctioneers did not favor books, setting rules for inspection before the sale:  “you get 5 minutes inside to decide how much to bid and, if successful, 3 days to get them out.  Get the damn stuff out of here soon.”  The library ran from the front to back of the house so we also looked through the windows on both sides to decide what to bid.  Craig and I could come up with $300 and figured we’d win.  Lo and behold the bidding starts and the paddles went up to $700.  My God, that was crazy.  After which, we walked over to the winning bidder to congratulate him and he quickly admitted he was financially stretched and offered to sell us anything we wanted for fifty cents a book.  Our interest was local history and bought about 130 county and local histories for $65. For us that was a wonderful day.  That was all we really wanted.  Old books was a fun pursuit.

 

Over the years since, we would ritually retell that story and every year the library got bigger and the books got better.  The excitement lingers.

 

Another wonderful opportunity in those days we had were Cal Smith’s auctions in Pleasant Valley.  Cal must have once been an elementary school teacher because he always called his crowds “boys and girls” and that was how he’d open his book sales early to get the bulk lots disposed quickly.  The best part of those sales were the fellas you met who would smile and cajole while trying to pick your pocket if you bought a bargain and would accept a quick double.  I didn’t sell though except to Rad Curdy, who never offered money, only trades and I still have things on my walls I swapped with him fifty years ago.  Rad Curdy was a collector-historian, an absolute maven, who encouraged fellow-sufferers of old book mania.

 

As well there was a truly once-in-a-lifetime rare book opportunity when the Saint Andrews Monastery just north of Poughkeepsie was being closed and liquidated.  Rad told me about it and I went to see the church father who was managing the disposal of old furniture, bric a brac  and it turned out, their gymnasium-sized library, stuffed, cheek by jowl, with ancient texts and manuscripts.  Power was in short supply but when I went to see the library the church father let me in one late afternoon as the sun was shining across the library from its high windows.  The material was astounding, the volumes and manuscripts deep in dust, and I knew it would be sacrilege to buy any of the religious texts and both Craig and I decided not to be involved with them.  Luckily, there was a separate section, two shelves of local history and later bought them.  I routinely asked for a signed receipt, and the State Police later found a copy at the Monastery and called several months later to learn about the books I bought.  To them I explained we knew the religious texts should not be touched and later bought only the local history.  This satisfied them.  That transaction was for a dollar a piece as I recall.

 

I believe later remnants of that institutional collection was offered at Freeman’s in Philadelphia as part of the dispersal of some of the St. Andrews material given to St. Aloysius nearby and I bid on a few items for old time’s sake.  That sale is in Rare Book Hub’s Transactions+.  

 

I was involved in old books before my brother, and in time became a collector and later the founder of The Americana Exchange and Rare Book Hub, but it was Craig who would go on to be a life-long book scout and many were the times years later we’d out exaggerate each other over dinner about the bountiful treasures we found when young for pennies that would some day pay for substantial things.  For him, the real treasure though he found in old books weren’t the gems he could hold, read and describe, rather it was things he could do for others with money he earned when he let them go.

 

While he was a newspaper writer his real interest was in being an advocate for disadvantaged youth.  He never made any real money.  That made the books he found his “helpful money” and were usually sold too soon and too cheap because he often wanted to help someone.

 

Ultimately, he become the inadvertent owner of almost hundred years of bound editions of the weekly newspapers in southern Ulster our parents bought in 1951.  The oldest paper dated from 1885 and the others were started in 1890, 1922, and 1924 and 1935.  He took over the Hudson Valley Newspapers from our Mother in 1980 and in the 1990’s sold their bound volumes to the New York State Library, using the proceeds to pay tuition for a family he was assisting. Those volumes can be found online today and the children he helped are living better lives because he invested in their educations.

 

All those many books and newspapers he touched over his years seem to have a left a lasting glow about his life.


Posted On: 2021-02-02 01:15
User Name: SASB

What a kind and moving remembrance.

Stan Shelley
Shelley and Son Books


Posted On: 2021-02-11 03:37
User Name: mairin

A truly moving account of a beloved brother & quite a special person -- a generous person. An inspiring tribute, Bruce. Be assured, brother Craig is smiling!
(And enjoyed the photo.) My condolences to the McKinneys, a sad loss.

- Maureen E. Mulvihill
10 February 2021.


Posted On: 2021-02-23 01:43
User Name: bukowski

Why would it be a “sacrilege” to buy religious books? Why were the police involved? Your writing is unclear. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoy this site and thank you for your interesting articles.


Rare Book Monthly

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    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: ONLY KNOWN COPY OF THE ONLY BOOK BY THE REMARKABLE EVE ADAMS. $8,000 - $12,000
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    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A KATHY GROVE PORTRAIT OF CYNDI LAUPER FOR THE FEBRUARY 1989 DETAILS COVER. $800 - $1,200
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    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG JEWELRY BOX. $600 - $900
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