2023 In Review: Books and Manuscripts

Books and Manuscripts Highlights 2023

• 

  Codex Sassoon

  Lot sold: $38,126,000
  
  “ Codex Sassoon , the earliest most complete Hebrew Bible, brought out unprecedented crowds in London, Dallas, L.A., Tel Aviv and New York; it can be credited with bringing more people to Sotheby’s than any other single lot of the year. The most important piece of Judaica ever to come to auction, Codex Sassoon set a new world record for the most expensive book ever sold.” —Sharon Mintz

  View Auction
• 

  Leonardo da Vinci, Trattato della pittura, manuscript on paper, [Rome, ca. 1638–1641], a very fine pre-publication manuscript

  Lot Sold: $635,000
  
  “Trattato della pittura was compiled and edited from Leonardo’s papers by Francesco Melzi, a pupil and close companion of the master. The text circulated in manuscript for nearly a century before it was printed, in both Italian and French editions, in 1651. The Brooker manuscript was notable for having all of the illustrations that appear in Melzi’s original compilation (now in the Vatican Library) and for originating in the atelier Cassiano dal Pozzo, whose copies formed the basis for the printed editions. Though in several regards not representative of Bibliotheca Brookeriana – being neither a printed book nor in a fine binding – Trattato della pittura achieved the highest price of the first two sales of the Brooker collection.” —Selby Kiffer

  View Lot View Auction
• 

  [Antoine Soulard] | One of the most significant maps in American history, and an essential source for Lewis & Clark

  Lot Sold: $1,744,000
  
  “The Lewis and Clark expedition opened up the North American continent for westward expansion, but without a copy of Antoine Soulard’s remarkable map of the upper Great Plains, Ydea Topografica de los altos del Missisipi y del Missouri, the expedition might never have completed its transcontinental journey.” —Selby Kiffer

  View Lot View Auction
• 

  Eddie Van Halen “Hot for Teacher” Guitar

  Lot Sold: $3,932,000
  
  “The enduring appeal of one of the instrument’s most innovative players and designers, Eddie Van Halen, provided a great opportunity for fans and resulted in a price that made this iconic guitar one of the most expensive ever sold at auction.” —Richard Austin

  View Lot View Auction
• 

  Franklin Expedition: Richard Beard Studio’s set of 14 daguerreotypes of the officers of the Franklin Expedition (1845)

  Lot Sold: £444,500
  
  “Beard’s rare daguerreotypes of the officers of the Franklin Expedition are a haunting evocation of a bygone age of exploration. The expedition to traverse previously unnavigated sections of the Northwest Passage was to end in disaster, with the loss of all hands. The portraits, on glass, have a ghostly quality which presages the fate of the subjects. The images remain as the only photographic record of the expedition.” —David Goldthorpe

  View Lot View Auction
• 

  F. Schubert. Autograph manuscript of the songs “Tischlerlied,” D.274, and “Totenkranz für ein Kind,” D.275 (1815)

  Lot Sold: £95,250
  
  “Franz Schubert was one of the world’s greatest songwriters. The two songs contained on this single leaf, Tischlerlied (‘Carpenter’s Song’) and Totenkranz für ein Kind (‘Wreath for a Dead Child’), were products of his annus mirabilis, 1815, during the course of which the eighteen-year-old composer wrote around one hundred and forty-five songs. And astonishingly, on the day which saw the composition of the two songs, 25 August 1815, Schubert also penned another seven songs of various kinds. The impressive hammer price achieved for this lot, £75,000, reflects not only the increasing rarity of Schubert songs at auction, but also the desirability of Schubert’s autograph manuscripts in the estimation of collectors.” —John Arthur

  View Lot View Auction
• 

  Crinito. Libri de poetis Latinis, Florence, Giunta, 1505, Cupid’s Bow Binder for Grolier, Paris d’Illins-Wodhull copy

  Lot Sold: $533,400
  
  “This beautiful book, printed in Florence in 1505, contains brief biographical histories of Latin authors. The gilt goatskin binding, however, is exquisite: it was commissioned in Paris by the finest book collector of his day, Jean Grolier, and is one of a number of bindings made for him by the workshop now called the Cupid’s Bow Binder. After Grolier’s death, the book passed through some of the most significant private book collections in history, including Michael Wodhull (1740-1816), who helpfully inscribed his books with the details of his purchase, enabling us to build up a much fuller picture of the history of each of his books.” —Charlotte Miller

  View Lot View Auction
• 

  Jack Kerouac: Typescript scroll of The Dharma Bums. Typed by Kerouac in Orlando, Florida, 1957, published by Viking in 1958

  Lot sold: $698,500
  
  “Sotheby’s closed out the year with an exceptional selection of 19th and 20th century literature. The undisputed highlight from the modern canon was the typescript scroll for Jack Kerouac’s The Dharma Bums, which set a record for a post-war literary manuscript or typescript – bested only by its predecessor, On the Road.” —Ella Hall

  View Lot View Auction