The top lot of both days of the sale was this copy of the second Russian edition of Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev’s Oznovy Khimii (The Principles of Chemistry), published in 1872-3, which crossed the block for $9,920 ($3,75/7,500).
Review by Kiersten Busch
AMESBURY, MASS. — Two days and a little less than 1,300 lots later, John McInnis Auctioneers completed its December 13-14 sale of the private alchemy and chemistry library of Dr Arthur Greenberg which, according to the auction catalog, took more than half a century to amass, and consisted of more than 1,500 volumes on the subjects of alchemy and chemistry.
Leading both days of the sale was copies of the second Russian edition of Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev’s Oznovy Khimii (The Principles of Chemistry). Published in 1872-3 by the St Peterburg-based Tovarishchestva “Obschchestvannaja Polza,” the two octavo volumes were bound in contemporary ½ brown leather over brown marbled boards, over their original printed wrappers. Both volumes also contained old paper labels on their spines and numerous wood engravings. According to the auction catalog, three additional copies of this edition are known, including one at Cornell University, another at a library in Prague and a third belonging to the Gregory S. Girolami and Vera V. Mainz collection of rare books in science. This copy earned $9,920, surpassing their $3,75/$7,500 estimate.
Two additional editions of Oznovy attracted bidder attention on day two of the sale. The first, which flipped to $4,650, was a third Russian edition, published in 1877 in St Petersburg by V. Demakov. Including two volumes, the lot had numerous wood-engraved illustrations, diagrams and calculations and was bound in modern black half-calfskin over blue marbled boards. The volumes had extensive provenance, including to the Library of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the Library of the Polish Association of Physicians of Bialystok Province, Library of the Warsaw Medical Society and a few bookstores and private libraries.
Leading day one was “Depiction of the Chemical Elements” by Johann Winckler, 1747, oil on panel, 20½ by 23½ inches framed, signed and dated, which realized $8,680 ($10/15,000).
The third edition of Oznovy, which did particularly well, was a fifth Russian edition published by the same company as the top selling lot. A royal octavo, this edition was bound in modern half-leather over brown marbled boards. According to the catalog notes, “This is the first edition of Oznovy following the discovery of all three elements predicted by Mendeleev: ‘eka-aluminum’ (gallium, Lecoq de Boisbaudran, 1875); ‘eka-silicon’ (scandium, Nilson, 1879); ‘eka-boron’ (germanium, Winkler and Brauner, 1886).’” This example surpassed its $1/2,000 estimate to achieve $3,720.
Day one was led by “Depiction of the Chemical Elements,” an oil on panel by Johann Winckler. Signed and dated 1747, the painting had a few varnish inconsistencies. Still, the work earned $8,680.
A folio of the final edition of Lazarus Ercker’s major work sold for $3,720, one of two lots to earn the second highest price of day one. Published in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1736, Aula Subterranea Domina Subdita Subditorum had an engraved frontispiece, 44 plates and a full paper cover with carboard floral decorations.
A copy of The Practise of the New and Old Physicke by Conrad Gesner also realized $3,720. The book, a quarto volume bound in vellum, was published in 1599 by Peter Short in London. Although it had two new end papers, the originals were preserved and included in the lot.
Published in 1599 by Peter Short (London) was this quarto volume of The Practise of the New and Old Physicke by Conrad Gesner, which included both new and original end papers and earned $3,720 ($1,25/2,500).
A letter from André-Marie Ampère to the Count of Gasparin, Adrien Étienne Pierre, wrote a $3,410 finish, surpassing its high estimate by four and a half times. The letter, an extract from the journal Annales de Chimie, Volume 90, discussed molecular science. On its title page, it contained a small stamp of Adrien de Gasparin. This edition of the letter was an offprint identical to a copy which is part of the collection of Giralomi and Mainz. It was published in Paris in 1814.
The second highest price of day two went to a first collected edition of the works of Andreas Libavius. Five separate works were compiled in the folio, with all but one published in Frankfurt in 1615; one was published in 1613. The volume contained numerous woodcut illustrations and was bound in stitched contemporary vellum with a red and gold-stamped leather spine label. According to catalog notes, “this copy collates identically with the absolutely complete Neville copy… with one exception: there is a duplicate of the folio sheet in Syntagmatis selectorum… This is the original error of the publishing house.” The folio closed its cover for $8,680.
A small octavo of The Hermetical Triumph; of The Victorious Philosophical Stone by Alexandre Toussaint de Limojon de Saint Disdier made $7,440, almost doubling its high estimate. Published in 1723 by P. Hanet in London, this example included a frontispiece that is generally missing from this work in other copies, accentuating its rarity. Bound in contemporary calfskin, the book was graded very good-excellent in condition.
Prices quoted include buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For additional information, 978-388-0400 or www.mcinnisauctions.com.
