Printed & Manuscript Americana: At Auction September 24, 2020
Previewing Through September 23 By Appointment Only
Covering a period of about five centuries and two continents, our auctions of Printed & Manuscript Americana are exceptionally varied in content and subjects covered, from colonialism and the Westward expansion of the United States, to Presidential material and first-hand accounts by ordinary persons of important historical moments. In this sale, we are fond of an archive of photographs from the set of the first film shot in Alaska, and the 1839–52 guest register for the legendary Catskill Mountain House hotel in upstate New York (pictured above). An early tourist destination in its own right, the register is signed by Hudson River School artists, as well as authors and political leaders who came to take in the view.
Native Peoples
A strong selection of material relating to Native peoples starts the sale off, with scarce books in French, rarely seen photographs, including an archive on a Civil War–era performing troupe, and an early engraving of the Mohawk chief Sa Ga Yean Qua Rash Tow (Peter Brant).
American Revolution
Civil War–Era
The highlight of the Civil War section is a wonderful sketchbook by the soldier-artist John Richard, containing 55 drawings done in the closing months of the war.
Judaica
American Judaica includes Mordecai Noah’s Discourse on the Restoration of the Jews and Isaac Leeser’s important 1845 Philadelphia translation of the Pentateuch into English.
Manuscript Diaries
Further Reading: The Value of Old Diaries
Latin Americana & The Caribbean
A standout item among Latin Americana is the 1611 first edition of Vocabulario manual de las lenguas castellana, y mexicana by Pedro de Arenas, an important Spanish-Nahuatl dictionary.
What You Need to Know for Auction Day
This auction will be held live and conducted remotely by Swann auctioneers taking bids from multiple platforms. While there will not be bidding in the room, we will be accepting order bids, and interested buyers will be able to participate live online via the Swann Galleries App. The app is available in the App Store and on Google Play, and it can also be accessed on a desktop at live.swanngalleries.com.
Please note: limited phone bidding will be available for this auction. Phone bidding registrations will close the day before the sale at 4pm.
At this time, our exhibition and auction location at 104 East 25th Street is closed to the public. Private viewings are available by appointment only, and must be arranged in advance. To make an appointment please contact our Exhibitions Coordinator Leah Fletcher, lfletcher@swanngalleries.com.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions.
Specialist for the Sale
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