Sale Overview
Christie’s Fine Printed Books & Manuscripts including Americana auction will take place online in New York this October. The material on offer is led by Norland: Important Literature from an East Coast Gentleman, which includes one of the finest complete collection of first editions by Jane Austen to ever come to auction, as well as works by Milton, Byron and Hobbes.
Christie’s is also honoured to offer highlights from the collection of renowned Renaissance scholar and bibliophile Phyllis Goodhart Gordan. These include such masterpieces as the prized first edition of Aristotle’s De animalibus (Venice: 1476), many rare Humanist staples from Cicero, Plutarch, Pliny and more (many rediscovered by Poggio and Niccoli and referenced in Gordan’s book, Two Renaissance Book Hunters), as well as the first appearance in print of the Middle English poem Pierce Plowman (London: 1550).
Christie’s is also proud to present Valuable Books from the Library of Antonio Bonchristiano, a collection that embodies decades of intellectual passion, historical curiosity, and bibliophilic devotion. Spanning three centuries of exploration, conquest, and cultural exchange, this remarkable library offers a unique opportunity to acquire some of the most rare and significant books from the Age of Exploration.
In addition to these important collections, this sale will offer works spanning to Lobachevsky in the 19th century and the Beatles in the 20th. The sale will be on preview at 20 Rockefeller Center from 11 to 15 October.