Results: Books, Maps & Manuscripts Sale, 15th April

A historically significant archive of letters relating to the family life of Joseph Priestley (1733-1804), the West Yorkshire-born chemist, natural philosopher, theologian and political thinker whose work helped shape modern science, sold for £3,000 at in Tennants Auctioneers’ Books, Maps & Manuscripts Sale on 15^th April (all figures exclude buyer’s premium). Priestley is best known for discovering oxygen in 1774, which he called “dephlogisticated air,” advancing the study of gases, contributing to the Chemical Revolution, and even inventing carbonated water. A dissenting minister, Priestley supported religious freedom and controversial political reforms, bringing him into conflict with authorities. After riots destroyed his home in Birmingham, he emigrated to the United States. The letters, which were written by Joseph’s brother Timothy, are all addressed to their sister Martha Crouch, and reveal that religion and theology were central to the Priestley family’s life, although money is another frequently discussed subject along with concern for Joseph. Timothy, like his brother, was primarily focused on religion and science; an independent minister, he also constructed ‘electrifying machines’.

Recording rather more far-flung travels was an extensive collection of Underwood & Underwood stereoscopic cards, which when viewed through a stereoscope merge into a 3D picture; popular from the 1850s to the 1920s, they provided immersive images of travel. The present collection dates from circa 1898 to 1918 and include hundreds of cards of countries such as Palestine, Australia Congo, Russia, and Norway alongside images of the Second Boer War and the First World War. Selling for £3,200, the collection also included a rare complete set of images of China which incorporate images of the Battle of Tientsin during the Boxer Rebellion and the ‘Lama Temple’ in Beijing.

 In a strong sale overall, further notable results were achieved for Brook and River Trouting: A Manual of Modern North Country Methods… by Harfield H Edmonds and Norman N Lee (sold for £1,700), The Collected Speeches of Margaret Thatcher edited by Robin Harris and sold alongside the signed first edition autobiography The Path to Power (sold for £1,500), and A Collection of H.G. Well’s Political Works (sold for £600).

 The Books, Maps & Manuscripts Sale realised a total hammer price of £43,300 for 138 lots, and a 95% sold rate.

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