Over recent years the specialist books sales have become a strong arm in the Cotswold Auction company’s list of good sales.
In the autumn of 2004 a superb private library was consigned for sale shortly after Jenny Low joined the company. It was an exciting and challenging start to catalogue such a wonderful collection of books. This collection came to sale in March of 2005. The stellar lot was the rare ‘Sussex Edition’ the complete works of Rudyard Kipling, numbered 228 of 500 copies, signed by the author and bound in full red morocco. The rarity of this set is due to the fact that few of the five hundred copies survive due to most being destroyed in a warehouse fire during the Blitz in the Second World War. This ‘fine’ set realised £8,200 Another collector’s dream was a full set of Jane Austen’s works, published by Richard Bentley in 1885, half leather with marbled boards, endpapers and edges – this sold for £480. A signed copy of ‘The Evil Genius’, a lesser known work by Wilkie Collins, realised £380. This had a dedication and signature by the author who many consider to be the forerunner of the modern detective novel.
Some eighteen months later The Cotswold Auction Company was asked to tender for a large collection from the Gloucester Library Services which were to be sold as part of their regeneration programme. The books were found in the dark and dank basements in the Cheltenham and Gloucester Libraries – not the most ideal place for research and cataloguing. However, the books came to sale in October 2007. Colour plate books will always hold their value at auction and despite library stamps – luckily to the reverse of the plates – eight volumes of Henry Dresser’s ‘The Birds of Europe’, published by the author 1871-1881 sold to a top London dealer for £4,800. A small book of engravings ‘ Le Fontana di Roma’ by Giacomo de Rossi (1675) returned to Italy at a cost of £2,400 to name but a couple of the superb books the company was given to sell.
Then again a year later our services were called again to tender for a collection of books on Palestine and the Middle East that had been languishing on the shelves in the Gloucester Archives. These books came to our sale room in Cheltenham in March of 2009. Many of these books were so rare that it was difficult to ascertain a true auction value until they were actually out for sale. Having several books published in the 16th century made for exciting cataloguing as one thought of the history and times the books had been through. A book by Thomas Tymme ‘ A Brief Description of Hierusalem and the Suburbs thereof..’ 1595 bound with another book , 1615, sold for £2,500 while Adam Reisner ‘Jerusalem, die alte Hubtstat der Juden...’ Frankfurt 1569 realised £2,100.
Also in this sale of books from the Gloucester Libraries were a full set of Wisden’s Cricketing Almanacs and and some separate volumes. Thirty seven volumes dating from 1879 – not quite the very first one – 1921 sold for £20,000 and another lot comprising of 24 volumes, 1922-1956 made £5,000. The full set which had in the main been rebound dating from 1879-1007 found a buyer at £10,000.
Jenny Low also found while searching the shelves of the library, an oblong folio of engravings , which one librarian thought ‘might be interesting’! It certainly was! It contained a collection of thirty six engravings by Piranesi and again returned to Italy with a hammer price of £16,500.
The Cotswold Auction Company sells books in all three salerooms when so called general boxes come in. Jenny does try to filter through all boxes and has had some notable success, one being a copy of Ernest Shackleton’s ‘South’ which sold for £900, another was a bible which realised over £500.
Modern first editions are more collectable than a many Victorian and Edwardian publications, unless superbly bound. A signed copy Sebastian Ffoulkes ‘Birdsong’ realised £300 and Aldous Huxley, first edition of ‘Brave new World’ sold for £500 during the past couple of years. There are too many to mention here but please always keep the dust jackets to all books as without them the value drops dramatically!
The books sales are always held in the Cheltenham saleroom in Chapel Walk where we can display them well, with easy viewing. Also there is the advantage of live online bidding which brings in collectors and dealers from all over the world. Every item is photographed and we then expect to give extra condition reports and to send images of any considered faults so the buyer is fully aware of what they are bidding for if unable to visit the saleroom.