AUCTON 58 - Books, Autographs and Manuscript [..]

Gonnelli Casa d’Aste is preparing for the spring auction dedicated to Books, Autographs and Manuscripts, which will be held from the afternoon of Tuesday 11 March to Thursday 13 March at the headquarters in via Fra’ Giovanni Angelico 49 in Florence.

Over the three days of the auction, 657 lots will be put up for auction, divided into five sales sessions.  

The first session (lots 1-86) opens with a refined selection of 86 lots including Autographs, Manuscripts and Futurism. Among the autographs are the Abbozzo musicale dall’opera L’elisir d’amore by Donizetti (lot 18, starting price €1,200), the Dedica su spartito by Listz (lot 21, starting price €700), a copy of the first Russian national anthem (1855) with a dedication by the composer L’vov, and two telegrams by Verdi. These are followed by a letter by Manzoni (lot 23, starting price €1,200), a card by Paul Celan (lot 15, starting price €700), and autographs by Juri Gagarin, Fidel Castro, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, and many others. Among the manuscripts, the following stand out: a delightful, very small Renaissance book of hours (lot 26, starting price €2,000); some fascinating alchemical, astronomical and kabbalistic manuscripts (of note is the one on Arte aurifica, with parts dedicated to the philosopher’s stone, lot 39, starting price €100); and four very fine miniatures for 16^th-17^th century commissioni dogali (lot 30, starting price €1,800). The section closes with a selection of oriental manuscripts, dominated by a sumptuous handwritten and illuminated Koran from the mid-nineteenth century (lot 47, starting price €5,000). As regards our usual section dedicated to Futurism, made up of a small group of manifestos, books and autographs (by Marinetti and Depero), we would like to point out the very rare plaquette Mostra di ferroplastica del pittore Oswaldo Bot. (ca. 1933, lot 64, starting price €800).  

The second session (lots 87-200) opens with a selection of 20^th century books, dominated by a copy of the extremely rare Esposizione Universale di Roma 1942 by Vittorio Cini, a luxury edition with large colour plates including one by Sironi (lot 93, starting price €950), and by some unmissable first editions including J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter e la Pietra Filosofale (lot 106, starting price €400). Also noteworthy is the example of Charmes by Valéry, which belonged to the bookbinder Canape and was splendidly bound by him (coming from the collection of Tammaro De Marinis, lot 110, starting price €400). Subsequently, we find a collection of Facsimiles among which stands out the Hortus Eystettensis by Besler (lot 117, starting price €400). Finally, a beautiful heterogeneous group of Artist’s Books, among which we highlight: Dix eaux-fortes (1962) with 10 sensational original engravings by Lucio Fontana, numbered in pencil and signed (lot 152, starting price €8,000); Hommage à Hans Arp (1966) one of 100 copies of the special edition, with the famous complete portfolio of 14 works by the artist’s friends; and a copy of Dalì’s Biblia Sacra with its silver paperweight "small hand" (lot 147, starting price €3,800).  

The rich third session (lots 201-361) begins with a selection of works on Hunting and fishing, among which stand out the very rare Il canto de gl’augelli by Antonio Valli (1601), the first Italian book on ornithology (lot 222, starting price €500) and a copy of Thomas Williamson’s Oriental Field Sports (lot 223, starting price €2,000), illustrated by spectacular hand-coloured aquatints. In the Italian Local History section, works of Tuscan interest prevail, including: a fourth edition of Bardi’s Memorie del calcio fiorentino (1688, lot 229, starting price €1,100); Il Mondo Festeggiante, rare and famous book of Medici celebrations in elegant contemporary vellum binding with arms of the spouses (lot 236, starting price €1,800). Among the lots of Roman interest, three albums by Falda stand out (Fabriche, Fontane, and Giardini). This third session closes with an exceptional selection of 40 Incunabula and 34 Post-Incunabula, of which we highlight: the Danthe alegieri fiorentino from 1493, second Capacasa edition of the Divine Comedy, profusely illustrated and extremely rare to find complete (lot 293, starting price €6,000); enchanting rubricated copies of De antiquitatibus by Giovanni Nanni (1498, lot 317, starting price €1,800), of the Sermones de tempore by Bernardo da Chiaravalle (1495, lot 302, starting price €1,200) and various other works; a Bible commented by Niccolò di Lira (1482) with delightful illuminated initials on a gold background and a small contemporary drawing depicting Noah’s Ark (lot 320, starting price €2,000); the Vita di sancti Padri, a complete copy of one of the rarest and most sumptuous illustrated books printed in Venice at the beginning of the 16^th century (lot 246, starting price €2,000); a spectacular complete, wide-margined, rubricated copy in a contemporary pigskin binding of Foresti’s 1506 edition (lot 341, starting price €4,000); a very rare Pronostico from 1514 relating to the malignant influences of a monstrous birth that occurred in the Bolognese countryside (lot 342, starting price €1,000).  

The fourth and fifth sessions (lots 362-657) contain a substantial section of almost 300 printed books from the 16th to the 19th century, among which emerge first of all numerous important first editions, in excellent condition, of modern scientific texts such as: Borel’s De vero telescopii inventore (1655), first history of the telescope and microscope and first mention of the discovery of Saturn’s rings (lot 432, €15,000); the Arithmeticorum libri sex (1670), first edition of Pierre de Fermat’s comments on the six books of Diophantus’ Arithmetic with the first appearance of the famous "Fermat’s Last Theorem", proved only in 1994 by Andrew Wiles (lot 485, starting price €9,000); the Horologium oscillatorium (1673) by Huygens, one of the three fundamental works on 17^th century mechanics (lot 530, starting price €12,000); and Napier’s rare Rabdologiae (1617), one of the key texts in the history of mathematics (lot 573, starting price €15,000). Following this, various rare works on geography and travel should be mentioned, among which the Ortelius, Theatrum orbis terrarium, dated 20 May 1570, first edition, first impression, of the first atlas of history stands out (lot 577, starting price €8,000); the Innocentia victrix by Father Gouvea, a very rare woodcut book printed by the Jesuits in China in 1671, also containing references to their astronomical activities (lot 519, starting price €8,000); the Isolario by Bordone (1547), a very famous illustrated essay on the islands and peninsulas of the world (lot 430, €6,000); the Letter to m. Dacier of Champollion (1822), first edition of the founding text of modern Egyptology with ita original wrappers and with dedication by the author to the linguist Langlès (lot 457, €10,000). As regards the classics, we highlight a small Petrarcha from 1521, a preciously illuminated copy that belonged to Tammaro De Marinis (lot 595, starting price €5,000); the first edition of the Cortegiano, printed by Aldo Manuzio in 1528 (lot 447, starting price €900). Among hand-coloured herbals, books on torture, exorcisms and haunted places, a dozen works from the Landau and Galletti collections, five PMMs, various Aldines and much more, there is no shortage of exquisite curiosities such as Ghisi’s Laberinto from 1616, a very rare and very complicated sleight of hand in book form, from which the image of the catalogue cover was taken (lot 516, starting price €800).   Viewing at our headquarters: Wednesday 5th - Saturday 8th March: 9.30am-1.00pm | 2pm-5.30pm CET Monday 10 March: 9.30am-1.00pm | 2.00pm-5.30pm CET   For detailed condition reports please write to: condition@gonnelli.it