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Freeman’s | Hindman, June 25: [Keats, John] Spenser, Edmund: The Works of that Famous English Poet, Mr. Edmond Spenser. $50,000 - $80,000.Freeman’s | Hindman, June 25: (Walton, Izaak): The Compleat Angler or the Contemplative man's Recreation. Being a Discourse of Fish and Fishing. $30,000 - $50,000.Freeman’s | Hindman, June 25: Thomas, Gabriel: An Historical and Geographical Account of the Province and Country of Pensilvania; and of West-New-Jersey in America. $25,000 - $35,000.Freeman’s | Hindman, June 25: [Carroll, Lewis]: The Game of Alice in Wonderland. $2,000 - $3,000.Freeman’s | Hindman, June 25: Athias, Joseph, et al.: Biblia Hebraica. $7,000 - $10,000.Freeman’s | Hindman, June 25: [Warhol, Andy, and Jens Quistgaard] Dansk Designs Salesman's Presentation Catalogue. $2,500 - $3,500.
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Sotheby’s, June 26: Poe, Edgar Allan. Tamerlane — the most poignant rarity in American literature. 400,000 - 600,000 USDSotheby’s, June 26: The Declaration of Independence. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..." 2,500,000 - 5,000,000 USDSotheby’s, June 26: William Blake. “Poems with very wild and interesting pictures” 1,200,000 - 1,800,000 USDSotheby’s, June 26: Thomas Taylor [artist]. The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. 400,000 - 600,000 USD
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Old World Auctions (Jun 5-19):
Lot 4. Blaeu's Magnificent Carte-a-Figures World Map in Full Contemporary Color (1642) Est. $12,000 - $15,000Old World Auctions (Jun 5-19):
Lot 125. 1775 Edition of the Landmark Fry-Jefferson Map of Virginia and Maryland (1775) Est. $15,000 - $18,000Old World Auctions (Jun 5-19):
Lot 673. Rare Frontispiece in Full Contemporary Color with Gilt Highlights (1662) Est. $4,000 - $4,750Old World Auctions (Jun 5-19):
Lot 717. Complete Tanner Atlas with Important Maps of Texas & Iowa (1845) Est. $4,000 - $4,750Old World Auctions (Jun 5-19):
Lot 3. Henricus Hondius' Baroque-Style World Map (1641) Est. $9,500 - $11,000Old World Auctions (Jun 5-19):
Lot 258. Complete Set of De Bry's Native Virginians & Picts from Part I of Grands Voyages (1608) Est. $2,750 - $3,500Old World Auctions (Jun 5-19):
Lot 608. Superb Work on 18th Century Russia with over 100 Maps and Plates (1788) Est. $3,500 - $4,250Old World Auctions (Jun 5-19):
Lot 49. One of the Most Important 16th Century Maps of the New World (1556) Est. $5,000 - $6,000Old World Auctions (Jun 5-19):
Lot 706. Superb Image of the Annunciation in Contemporary Hand Color (1518) Est. $900 - $1,100Old World Auctions (Jun 5-19):
Lot 123. One of the Earliest Maps to Show Philadelphia (1695) Est. $4,000 - $4,750Old World Auctions (Jun 5-19):
Lot 631. One of the Earliest Printed Maps of Afghanistan & Pakistan (1482) Est. $1,900 - $2,200Old World Auctions (Jun 5-19):
Lot 689. Proof Copy Engraving of the Senate Floor During the Compromise of 1850 (1855) Est. $1,500 - $1,800 -
Bonhams, June 15-25: 18th Century American Sea Captain's Journals of Voyages to Hawaii, China, and South America. $35,000 - $45,000Bonhams, June 15-25: Admiral Richard E. Byrd's Autograph Diary from Bolling Advance Base, Winter 1934. $40,000 - $60,000Bonhams, June 15-25: Thoreau, Henry David. Walden; Or, Life in the Woods. Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1854. $4,000 - $6,000Bonhams, June 15-25: Cellarius, Andreas. Harmonia macrocosmica seu atlas universalis et novus, totius universi creati cosmographiam generalem, et novam exhibens. $20,000 - $30,000Bonhams, June 15-25: Nobelist George Stigler's Copy of Ricardo's Classic on the Science of Economics. $20,000 - $30,000Bonhams, June 15-25: Histoire charmante de l'adolescente sucre d'amour. Paris: F. L. Schmied, 1927. $15,000 - $20,000Bonhams, June 15-25: Fine Copy of Walras's Classic on the Theory of Marginal Utility. $12,000 - $18,000Bonhams, June 15-25: Arion Press Moby Dick. Melville, Herman. $8,000 - $12,000Bonhams, June 15-25: Venegas, Miguel. Noticia de la California, y desu conquista temporal, y espiritual hasta el tiempo presente. $7,000 - $9,000Bonhams, June 15-25: Carelton Watkins, Yosemite and the West. Portfolio of 21 imperial albumen prints. $6,000 - $9,000Bonhams, June 15-25: An Unpublished Archive of Thornton Wilder Correspondence to F.J. O'Neil. $6,000 - $9,000Bonhams, June 15-25: Vesalius, Andreas. 1514-1564. Suorum de humani corporis fabrica librorum epitome. $100,000 - $150,000
Rare Book Monthly
Articles - October - 2006 Issue
A Great Literary Hoax from England!
This proved to be a great hoax. In fact, it was so good no one even noticed. Either Betjeman's followers are not very questioning, or perhaps there just aren't that many people reading his biographies. Betjeman is not exactly a household name, at least not in the former colonies. The hoaxter, of course Hillier, was forced to send a letter to the London Sunday Times, again supposedly from "de Harben," explaining that the first letter was a hoax. This follow-up claimed that de Harben created the hoax to get back at Wilson for uncomplimentary comments he made about another critic, Humphrey Carpenter. However, Carpenter's widow said she had never heard of de Harben. The whole ruse was about to collapse.
It turns out, the letter contained clues that it was a hoax all along. The name "Eve de Harben" is an anagram for "Ever been had?" Better yet, the first letter of each sentence in the letter, starting with the second, spells out, "A.N. Wilson is a sh*t." Hillier at first denied any involvement in the ruse, though he was the obvious suspect. Whoever wrote it must have been an expert about the personal life of Betjeman and someone who hated Wilson. That universe probably contains about one person. Among the unintended clues was the fact that the original letter from "France" was postmarked London. Markings on the envelope indicated it had been purchased in Hillier's hometown. It didn't take long before Hillier was forced to come clean and admit he was the perpetrator.
As for Wilson, he admitted he should have investigated a bit more. He said he was surprised that when he responded to de Harben's letter, it came back "addressee unknown." Between that and the London postmark, you might think he would have investigated more deeply, but sometimes it's hard not to believe what you want to believe. Wilson had a scoop over his rival, and he wanted to believe it so much that he allowed Hillier to make a fool of him. Not that Hillier comes out of this looking like the great scholar, but he does come out as one very clever prankster.
But, how would poor Betjeman feel about all of this? For obvious reasons, we will never know. However, it has been reported that in the final year of his life, Betjeman was quoted as saying his biggest regret was that he did not engage in more sex. If this is true, then perhaps he would be upset not that false claims about him were made, but that those claims were, sadly, false.