Results: Books, Maps & Manuscripts 11th December

A scarce copy of Beatrix Potter’s The Fairy Caravan sold for £3,000 in Tennants Auctioneers’ Books, Maps & Manuscripts Sale on 11^th December; only widely published in America, it was the story she felt was too personal and autobiographical for her to feel comfortable publishing it in this country (all figures exclude buyer’s premium). In order to secure English copyright a small number of copies were privately printed in Ambleside for the author in 1929, one of which is the present copy. Also relating to the author was an interesting group of books including a university exercise book on animal physiology written by Potter’s father Rupert, and a selection of books and ephemera reputedly from Beatrix’s own collection (sold for £2,200). The books had passed by descent from one of the executors of Potter’s estate.  

A fine selection of books relating to Polar Exploration from three different vendors saw much interest from bidders, with many of the lots selling well above pre-sale estimates. One of the top lots was Endurance: An Epic of Polar Adventure by Frank Arthur Worsley, which sold for £1,300. The first edition was published in 1931 and tells the story of Wolsey’s adventures as commander of the Endurance on the fateful 1914-16 expedition with Shackleton, and his later life fighting U-Boats in the First World War.

Of more local interest was a copy of the first printed map of Yorkshire, published in Christopher Saxon’s Atlas of England and Wales in 1579, which sold for £2,300. The hand-coloured map was engraved by Augustine Ryther, and it bears the coat of arms of Thomas Seckford. A collection of over fifty Manuscript Documents dating from the 16^th to 19^th centuries sold for £1,100. Mostly indentures, the manuscripts relate to land and property around Bingley and Bradford, and including several signed by the 3^rd and 4^th Earls of Cumberland.

A relatively rare first edition of The Road to Serfdom by the Austrian-born British economist and philosopher Friedrich August von Hayek sold well at £3,200. Seldom seen at auction, particularly with its dust jacket, The Road to Serfdom was the most successful of the Nobel Prize winning author’s books.

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