Ended

Fine Books and Manuscripts including Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes

The Property of Frieda Hughes

21 March 2018 | starting at 10:00 GMT | with lot 1

Live Auction

London, Knightsbridge

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PLATH (SYLVIA) The Bell Jar, FIRST EDITION, SYLVIA PLATH'S OWN COPY SIGNED AND DATED "CHRISTMAS 1962", WITH HER FITZROY ROAD ADDRESS on the front free paper, Heinemann, [1963]. Sold for £87,500 inc. premium

BLAEU (WILLEM and JOHANNES) Theatrum orbis terrarum, sive Atlas novus, vol. 1-3, Amsterdam, J. & C. Blaeu, 1644. Sold for £43,750 inc. premium

HOOKE (ROBERT) Micrographia: or Some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies Made by Magnifying Glasses, FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE, John Martyn and James Allestry, 1665. Sold for £40,000 inc. premium

PLATH (SYLVIA) Sylvia Plath's Hermes 3000 typewriter, with serial number 3001432, approximately 310 x 330 x 175mm., [1959]. Sold for £32,500 inc. premium

ANGAS (GEORGE FRENCH) South Australia Illustrated, 10 original parts [complete], FIRST EDITION, for the Proprietor by Thomas McLean, [1846]-1847. Sold for £20,000 inc. premium

POLAR - ARCTIC CROZIER (FRANCIS RAWDON MOIRA) A collection of 36 dried botanical specimens, [c.1825]. Sold for £6,875 inc. premium

CHINA Album of views sketched in Tientsin (Tianjin) by Ensign Frank Sadleir Brereton in 1861, the year following the conclusion of the Second Opium War, Tientsin, 1861. Sold for £4,000 inc. premium

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Fine Books and Manuscripts including Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes

Auction highlights

Lot gallery

1• — ANGLING [SALTER (ROBERT)] The Modern Angler, Being a Treatise on the Art of Fishing, &c. in a Series of Letters to a Friend, FIRST EDITION, Oswestry, [c.1790]; and 22 others (23)

3• — BIBLE - CAXTON MEMORIAL The Caxton Memorial Bible, NUMBER 39 OF 100 COPIES, "Wholly printed and bound in twelve hours", Oxford, O.U.P., 30 June 1877

4• — BINDINGS BRONTË (CHARLOTTE, EMILY AND ANNE) The Life and Works, Haworth Edition, 7 vol., [c.1910]; and approximately 66 others, including sets of George Eliot and Defoe (approximately 89)

5• — BINDINGS RUSKIN (JOHN) [Works], St. Mark's Edition, 27 vol., number 69 of 1,000 copies, Boston, Dana Estes, [c.1900]

6• — BINDINGS SAINTSBURY (GEORGE) The Heptameron of the Tales of Margaret, Queen of Navarre, 5 vol., J. Dodsley, 1774; and 9 others, nineteenth century sets of Plato and Herodotus (21)

7 — BLAKE AND LINNELL Group of glass-plate negatives of drawings by William Blake and John Linnell,

8• — BRONTË (CHARLOTTE) Jane Eyre: An Autobiography. By Currer Bell, 3 vol., Smith, Elder and Co., 1848

9• — CONJURING AND MAGIC DEAN (HENRY) The Whole Art of Legerdemain; Or, Hocus Pocus in Perfection... the fifth edition, with large additions and amendments, J. Hodges [and others], [1763?]

12 — DICKENS (CHARLES) Autograph letter signed ("Charles Dickens"), to the Rev Henry Solly and the Committee of the Working Men's Institute of Cheltenham, Devonshire Terrace, 12 January 1849, with autograph envelope

13• — DOMESDAY BOOK Great Domesday Book, "Millennium edition", 2 vol. [Facsimile], [Alecto, 1992]

14• — ELIOT (GEORGE) Middlemarch. A Study of Provincial Life, 4 vol., Edinburgh and London, William Blackwood, 1871-1872

16• — FOSCOLO (UGO) [STERNE (LAURENCE)] Viaggio sentimentale di Yorick lungo la Francia e l'Italia. Traduzione di Didimo Chierico [i.e. Ugo Foscolo], first Italian edition, PRESENTATION COPY FROM FOSCOLO TO GIOVANNI LESSI, Pisa, [colophon: dai torchi di. Gio. Rosini], 1813

17 — GAME New Game of the Jew, J. Wallis, 27 May 1807

18 — GIANT COD - ABERDEEN MacMAHON, of Aberdeen. "Giant Cod. Specimens Landed at Aberdeen, March 1908. Average Weight 77lbs. Bought and Cured by A. & M. Smith, Ltd, Exporters of Salt Fish" [repeated in Spanish], [1908]

19• — GOULBURN (EDWARD MEYRICK) Hannibal or the Fall of Carthage... A Tragedy in Five Acts, [c.1830]; and 2 others (3)

20• — IRELAND – BANTRY BAY, THE RISING OF 1798 AND THE GREAT FAMINE Autograph memoir by the Irish-born Lieutenant-General Robert Crawford, headed "Londonderry 10th December 1822/ Many Circumstances respecting my Life", "Derry 10th December 1822"

21• — IRELAND [Society of United Irishmen of Dublin. Established November IX. MDCCXCI.], [Dublin, no printer, 1794]

22• — IRELAND The Irish Harp (Attun'd to Freedom): a Collection of Patriotic Songs; Selected for Paddy's Amusement, Dublin, Printed by the Printer Hereof, 1798

23• — KENT HARRIS (JOHN) The History of Kent, vol. 1 [all published], FIRST EDITION, W. Miller, 1810, folio; and 4 others on Kent and Canterbury including works by Edward Dering and William Somner (8)

25• — MACHIAVELLI (NICCOLO) Machiavel's Discourses Upon the First Decade of T. Livius, Thomas Paine, for William Hills and Daniel Pakeman, 1636

26 — NAPOLEON BONAPARTE Satchel reputedly used for the transmission of Napoleon's despatches,

27• — NAVAL SIGNAL BOOK Signal book for the Royal Navy executed in pen-and-ink and watercolour, c.1796

30 — OPTICAL TOY Polyorama Pantoptique, together with 18 hand-coloured lithographed views of Paris (10), London (7), and the Bay of Naples, each within original wooden frame with cloth tab, 5 views with some repairs and small loss, one with some loss to frame, each 145 x 200mm., [1850s]

32• — PHOTOGRAPHY MITCHELL (REUBEN) Photographic Views in Bolton and Neighbourhood, Bolton, Printed at the Old Post Office, Bradshawgate, by John Booth, 1868

33• — PHOTOGRAPHY MITCHELL (REUBEN) Photographic Album containing Twelve Photographs with Natural Clouds, [?Bolton, c.1870]

34• — REPTON (HUMPHRY) Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, including Some Remarks on Grecian and Gothic Architecture, FIRST EDITION, T. Bensley for J. Taylor, 1803

36 — ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY Album containing 62 photographs around the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, 1860s

37 — ROYALTY - CANADA Group of eleven photographs of Edward, Prince of Wales (and entourage) taken during his hunting, fishing and river canoe trip to Ontario, during his tour of Canada in 1919, [1919]

38 — RUSKIN (JOHN) Four autograph letters signed ("J. Ruskin", the last with initials), to Jessie Bathgate of Liscard, to whom he is sending copies of Fors Clavigera and other works, Brantwood and Herne Hill, the first three dated January 1880

39• — SCOTT (WALTER) Waverley; or 'Tis Sixty Years Since, 3 vol., FIRST EDITION, Edinburgh, Archibald Constable, 1814

40• — SMITH (ADAM) An Inquiry into theNature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, 3 vol., Glasgow, 1805; and 14 others (17)

41 — SWIFT (JONATHAN) Document signed ("Jonathan Swift Decan"), in Latin, appointing the Revd Theophilus Bolton, Chancellor of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, as acting Dean in his absence, [Dublin], 7 May 1722

42• — WORDSWORTH (WILLIAM) The Excursion, Being a Portion of The Recluse, a Poem, AUTHOR'S PRESENTATION COPY, inscribed "To Revd. Frederic Faber as a Token of sincere regards from Wm. Wordsworth" on the half-title, Longman, Hurst, 1814

43• — WORDSWORTH (WILLIAM) Autograph manuscript, signed ("Wm Wordsworth"), of his poem 'Scorn Not the Sonnet', Rydal, 1843

44• — WORDSWORTH AND HEMANS Autograph "Extracts from Wordsworth" transcribed by Felicia Hemans, opening with the sonnets "It is a beauteous Evening" and "Wings have we", [between c.1821 and 1833]

45• — ANTIQUARIAN AND ECCLESIASTICAL Group of twenty five volumes pertaining to matters antiquarian and ecclesiastical, 1636 to c.1825

47 — BRITTON (LIONEL) Manuscripts and typescripts of his first three major works, 1930-1935

48• — CALLIGRAPHY, ILLUMINATION AND SCHOOL BOOKS Collection of over 50 school books from the eighteenth to the twentieth century

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PLATH'S PERSONAL COPY OF THE BELL JAR Is Top Lot At Bonhams Sale Of Plath-Hughes Collection

THE LIFE POETIC Personal Effects of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes at Bonhams Book Sale

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1^• —
ANGLING
[SALTER (ROBERT)] The Modern Angler, Being a Treatise on the Art of Fishing, &c. in a Series of Letters to a Friend, FIRST EDITION, Oswestry, [c.1790]; and 22 others (23)

3^• —
BIBLE - CAXTON MEMORIAL
The Caxton Memorial Bible, NUMBER 39 OF 100 COPIES, "Wholly printed and bound in twelve hours", Oxford, O.U.P., 30 June 1877

4^• —
BINDINGS
BRONTË (CHARLOTTE, EMILY AND ANNE) The Life and Works, Haworth Edition, 7 vol., [c.1910]; and approximately 66 others, including sets of George Eliot and Defoe (approximately 89)

5^• —
BINDINGS
RUSKIN (JOHN) [Works], St. Mark's Edition, 27 vol., number 69 of 1,000 copies, Boston, Dana Estes, [c.1900]

6^• —
BINDINGS
SAINTSBURY (GEORGE) The Heptameron of the Tales of Margaret, Queen of Navarre, 5 vol., J. Dodsley, 1774; and 9 others, nineteenth century sets of Plato and Herodotus (21)

7 —
BLAKE AND LINNELL
Group of glass-plate negatives of drawings by William Blake and John Linnell,

8^• —
BRONTË (CHARLOTTE)
Jane Eyre: An Autobiography. By Currer Bell, 3 vol., Smith, Elder and Co., 1848

9^• —
CONJURING AND MAGIC
DEAN (HENRY) The Whole Art of Legerdemain; Or, Hocus Pocus in Perfection... the fifth edition, with large additions and amendments, J. Hodges [and others], [1763?]

12 —
DICKENS (CHARLES)
Autograph letter signed ("Charles Dickens"), to the Rev Henry Solly and the Committee of the Working Men's Institute of Cheltenham, Devonshire Terrace, 12 January 1849, with autograph envelope

13^• —
DOMESDAY BOOK
Great Domesday Book, "Millennium edition", 2 vol. [Facsimile], [Alecto, 1992]

14^• —
ELIOT (GEORGE)
Middlemarch. A Study of Provincial Life, 4 vol., Edinburgh and London, William Blackwood, 1871-1872

16^• —
FOSCOLO (UGO)
[STERNE (LAURENCE)] Viaggio sentimentale di Yorick lungo la Francia e l'Italia. Traduzione di Didimo Chierico [i.e. Ugo Foscolo], first Italian edition, PRESENTATION COPY FROM FOSCOLO TO GIOVANNI LESSI, Pisa, [colophon: dai torchi di. Gio. Rosini], 1813

17 —
GAME
New Game of the Jew, J. Wallis, 27 May 1807

18 —
GIANT COD - ABERDEEN
MacMAHON, of Aberdeen. "Giant Cod. Specimens Landed at Aberdeen, March 1908. Average Weight 77lbs. Bought and Cured by A. & M. Smith, Ltd, Exporters of Salt Fish" [repeated in Spanish], [1908]

19^• —
GOULBURN (EDWARD MEYRICK)
Hannibal or the Fall of Carthage... A Tragedy in Five Acts, [c.1830]; and 2 others (3)

20^• —
IRELAND – BANTRY BAY, THE RISING OF 1798 AND THE GREAT FAMINE
Autograph memoir by the Irish-born Lieutenant-General Robert Crawford, headed "Londonderry 10th December 1822/ Many Circumstances respecting my Life", "Derry 10th December 1822"

21^• —
IRELAND
[Society of United Irishmen of Dublin. Established November IX. MDCCXCI.], [Dublin, no printer, 1794]

22^• —
IRELAND
The Irish Harp (Attun'd to Freedom): a Collection of Patriotic Songs; Selected for Paddy's Amusement, Dublin, Printed by the Printer Hereof, 1798

23^• —
KENT
HARRIS (JOHN) The History of Kent, vol. 1 [all published], FIRST EDITION, W. Miller, 1810, folio; and 4 others on Kent and Canterbury including works by Edward Dering and William Somner (8)

25^• —
MACHIAVELLI (NICCOLO)
Machiavel's Discourses Upon the First Decade of T. Livius, Thomas Paine, for William Hills and Daniel Pakeman, 1636

26 —
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE
Satchel reputedly used for the transmission of Napoleon's despatches,

27^• —
NAVAL SIGNAL BOOK
Signal book for the Royal Navy executed in pen-and-ink and watercolour, c.1796

30 —
OPTICAL TOY
Polyorama Pantoptique, together with 18 hand-coloured lithographed views of Paris (10), London (7), and the Bay of Naples, each within original wooden frame with cloth tab, 5 views with some repairs and small loss, one with some loss to frame, each 145 x 200mm., [1850s]

32^• —
PHOTOGRAPHY MITCHELL (REUBEN)
Photographic Views in Bolton and Neighbourhood, Bolton, Printed at the Old Post Office, Bradshawgate, by John Booth, 1868

33^• —
PHOTOGRAPHY MITCHELL (REUBEN)
Photographic Album containing Twelve Photographs with Natural Clouds, [?Bolton, c.1870]

34^• —
REPTON (HUMPHRY)
Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, including Some Remarks on Grecian and Gothic Architecture, FIRST EDITION, T. Bensley for J. Taylor, 1803

36 —
ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY
Album containing 62 photographs around the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, 1860s

37 —
ROYALTY - CANADA
Group of eleven photographs of Edward, Prince of Wales (and entourage) taken during his hunting, fishing and river canoe trip to Ontario, during his tour of Canada in 1919, [1919]

38 —
RUSKIN (JOHN)
Four autograph letters signed ("J. Ruskin", the last with initials), to Jessie Bathgate of Liscard, to whom he is sending copies of Fors Clavigera and other works, Brantwood and Herne Hill, the first three dated January 1880

39^• —
SCOTT (WALTER)
Waverley; or 'Tis Sixty Years Since, 3 vol., FIRST EDITION, Edinburgh, Archibald Constable, 1814

40^• —
SMITH (ADAM)
An Inquiry into theNature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, 3 vol., Glasgow, 1805; and 14 others (17)

41 —
SWIFT (JONATHAN)
Document signed ("Jonathan Swift Decan"), in Latin, appointing the Revd Theophilus Bolton, Chancellor of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, as acting Dean in his absence, [Dublin], 7 May 1722

42^• —
WORDSWORTH (WILLIAM)
The Excursion, Being a Portion of The Recluse, a Poem, AUTHOR'S PRESENTATION COPY, inscribed "To Revd. Frederic Faber as a Token of sincere regards from Wm. Wordsworth" on the half-title, Longman, Hurst, 1814

43^• —
WORDSWORTH (WILLIAM)
Autograph manuscript, signed ("Wm Wordsworth"), of his poem 'Scorn Not the Sonnet', Rydal, 1843

44^• —
WORDSWORTH AND HEMANS
Autograph "Extracts from Wordsworth" transcribed by Felicia Hemans, opening with the sonnets "It is a beauteous Evening" and "Wings have we", [between c.1821 and 1833]

45^• —
ANTIQUARIAN AND ECCLESIASTICAL
Group of twenty five volumes pertaining to matters antiquarian and ecclesiastical, 1636 to c.1825

47 —
BRITTON (LIONEL)
Manuscripts and typescripts of his first three major works, 1930-1935

48^• —
CALLIGRAPHY, ILLUMINATION AND SCHOOL BOOKS
Collection of over 50 school books from the eighteenth to the twentieth century