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Maine Antique Digest, May 2015 33-A
- AUCTION -
A phone bidder
paid $25,000 (est.
$25 , 000 / 30 , 000 )
for Karl Bodmer’s
h a n d - c o l o r e d
aquatint of
Pehris-
ka-Ruhpa…, in the
Costume of the Dog
Danse
, 21" x 15".
“Abig price, but go
find another one,”
said Williamson.
“A striking visual.”
Five volumes of 1845
Narrative of the United States Explor-
ing Expedition
by Charles Wilkes sold for $13,750 (est.
$5000/8000).
William Ide (1796-1852)
and his editor and pub-
lisher and brother Simeon
Ide (1794-1889)wanted to
“set the record straight,”
as noted in the catalog,
about William’s role in
the Bear Flag revolt.
The result was
Scraps
of California History
“Re-written” by One of
its Early Pioneers
(1885),
which sold for $27,500
(est. $2000/3000). This
copy has its rare origi-
nal wrappers, which note
that it was “prepared for
free distribution.”
An “extremely rare first edition, first
issue” (1847)
Journal of Travels over
the Rocky Mountains to the Mouth of
the Columbia River…
by Joel Palmer
(1810-1881) sold for $15,000 (est.
$15,000/25,000). “This would appeal
to collectors of both narratives and
emigrant guides.”
A letter from Johann Augustus Sutter
(1803-1880) to John Fremont written
pre-Gold Rush in 1847 is, as the cata-
log said, an “account to Fremont for
the use of Sutter’s Fort.” The letter
sold for $15,000 (est. $15,000/25,000).
“A great association piece,” said
Williamson.
One of only six copies of
Across the Plains in ’49
by Emanuel Goughnour
(1831-1927), and the only
copy in private hands,
sold for $13,750 (est.
$8000/12,000). “A great
rarity,” said Williamson,
“privately printed just for
his family. If you wanted
this book, this was your
chance.”
The Dreadful Sufferings and Thrilling Adventures of an
Overland Party of Emigrants to California with Terri-
ble Conflicts with Savage Tribes of Indians and Mexican
Bands of Robbers
by William Beschke, published in 1850,
which the catalog describes as “early Far West fiction,”
sold for $15,000 (est. $15,000/25,000).
A Journal of the Overland
Route to California! and the
Gold Mines
(1851) by Lorenzo
Aldrich, “one of the rarest
and most original of overland
journals,” sold for $81,250 (est.
$25,000/35,000). “He is a good
writer,” said Williamson.
The
already
very successful
floor bidder paid
$125,000
(est.
$40,000/60,000)
for Zenas Leon-
ard’s 1839
Nar-
rative of the
Adventures
of
Zenas Leonard...
Written by Him-
self
, which Wil-
liamson called
“a famous book,
incredibly rare,
in great con-
dition.” Zenas
Leonard (1809-
1857) spent five
years
explor-
ing and trading
with Native Americans in the Rocky Moun-
tains and was one of the first white men to
see Yosemite.
The Leonard narra-
tive is bound in orig-
inal embossed rose
cloth over boards.
This is the 1855 first edition in
English of
The Manifesto…
by Jose
Figueroa (1792-1835) and presents
justifications for colonizing Alta Cal-
ifornia. It had been published first
in Spanish in 1835 and attracted
many new settlers to the region. This
English version was sold for $40,000,
far above the $2000/3000 estimate.
Williamson said, “It has a Zamo-
rano number, rare because it is still
in wrappers—incredibly strong price
but a great copy.”
Tagebuch einer Reise vom Mississippi…
(1858)
by Heinrich Möllhausen, a German artist who
made lithographs of proposed railroad routes for
the American government, sold for $20,000 (est.
$12,000/18,000). “This copy has been owned by a
lot of famous collectors,” said Williamson, “includ-
ing Frank Streeter. A catalog of the 2007 Christie’s
auction of Streeter’s library serves as a bibliogra-
phy for collectors today.” Prior to Frank Streeter,
the book was owned by Jay Snider and by Thomas
Streeter, Frank’s father. All these collections’ cata-
logs are good references.
Reports of Land Cases
Determined in the
United States District
Court for the North-
ern District of Cal-
ifornia, June Term
1853 to June Term
1858 Inclusive
(first
edition, 1862), which
includes the decisions
on 110 cases dealing
with Spanish and
Mexican land grants,
sold for a surprising
(to some) $62,500 (est.
$2500/3500).
Why?
“A Zamorano title,
owned by Streeter,
hard to find,” said
Williamson.
A
Biographical
Sketch…
about
Bear Flag-related
personal history,
printed in a small
edition in 1880 by
editor and pub-
lisher Simeon Ide
at age 86, sold
for $27,500 (est.
$2000/3000).