Advance notice strand: astrological book auctions and sales

1
This strand is being newly created in distinction from the established ongoing strand for astrological book auctions, which in future will be used only to record actual results.

The purpose of the present strand, in contrast, is to serve as a repository of currently valuable transient information in which any and all Skyscript forum members may give advance notice of both unfinished ebay-style auctions (preferably with at least a day or two still to run at the time of posting) and upcoming major auction house auctions for rare, uncommon or otherwise noteworthy or topically interesting items of astrological literature. Final results for the same may preferably be recorded in the separate results strand and / or by way of editing the same posts in which the unfinished auctions were originally notified in this strand, but not by the creation of new posts in this strand, since that would tend to make it unnecessarily unwieldy and untidy.

Deb has suggested that, in addition to auction notices, non-auction-style fixed-price private offers of second-hand books for sale directly to other interested Skyscript members may also be posted in this strand.

Philip
Last edited by Philip Graves on Thu Nov 01, 2007 4:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Some astrology books and reprints for private sale

2
In case anyone is interested, I have a number of spare astrological books, or reprints of books, to clear out from my collection and would prefer to sell them to good homes. Although I have them advertised on ebay existingly in a fixed-price format, and about thirteen have already sold on this basis, I thought I may as well (having obtained Deb's prior permission, with thanks) list them briefly here too, and would be glad to sell those that remain directly to Skyscript members individually for a 10% discount on my listed prices for all books, or in the cases of multiple purchases reduced offers may be accepted.

Swedish postal rates (all airmail) tend to be quite high for single heavy books weighing over 500g, or especially those weighing over 1kg, when packed, but become more affordable with bulk, especially for orders to European Union countries (please see newly added details at end). All postage will be charged strictly at cost.

Full details of condition, edition, etc. are available on request. This is just a shortlist of titles and list prices before the discount is applied. I'll try to edit it to keep it up to date whenever any sell.

1. Rarer and scarcer titles - all originals and all out of print unless otherwise stated
Antiochus of Athens 'The Thesaurus' ?24.99
Charles Carter 'Some Objections to Astrology Stated and Answered' (Astrological Association) ?17.49
Rodney Collin 'The Theory of Celestial Influence' (Penguin paperback edition) ?19.99
William Davidson 'Lectures on Medical Astrology' (complete set of eight bound in one volume, rare) ?74.99
Geoffrey Dean and Arthur Mather 'Recent Advances in Natal Astrology: A Critical Review, 1900-1976' ?57.99
Dorotheus etc. 'Teachings on Transits' ?24.99
Michael Erlewine 'Astrophysical Directions' ?74.99
Ralph William Holden 'The Elements of House Division' ?24.99
Richard Idemon 'Through the Looking Glass' ?39.99
Richard Lemay 'Abu Ma'Shar and Latin Aristotelianism in the Twelfth Century' (a good handful of copies of this study is found in libraries but there has been no other copy obtainable on the used market at any price in the past 18 months, and the previous one that was available sold 18 months ago for $300) ?149.99 SOLD FOR ?100.00
Magi Society 'Astrology Really Works' ?49.99
Chandra Dhi Manthri 'The Degrees of Life' ?54.99
Michael Munkasey 'Midpoints' ?24.99
Michael Munkasey 'The Astrological Thesaurus Part I: House Keywords' ?19.99
Otto Neugebauer 'Egyptian Astronomical Texts I' (UMI - hardcover reprint, itself now unavailable from UMI) ?49.99 SOLD FOR ?35
Otto Neugebauer 'Egyptian Astronomical Texts III' (UMI - softcover reprint, itself now unavailable from UMI) ?49.99 SOLD FOR ?35
Ptolemy 'The Phases of the Fixed Stars' ?24.99
Ptolemy 'Tetrabiblos' Books I and III (Project Hindsight) ?14.99
Vettius Valens 'Anthology Book II Part I' ?12.99
Andre Volguine 'Les Cahiers Astrologiques' No. 1-15 1938-1940 (two hardcover full-year volumes plus three separate issues, two of which are bound together as a 'double issue', from third year, comprising together the complete run of the 'Old Series' of the journal, which was not then resumed again until 1946; this is a rare set with only the Bibliotecque Nationale in Paris and the Warburg Institute in London having complete runs of the Old Series among all the libraries found on either OCLC or COPAC) ?399.99
K. T. Boehrer 'Declination: the Other Dimension' Fortunata Press, 1994: First edition. ?149.99 or best offer (very, very rare second-hand: no copies have come on the market for two years or more, and unlikely ever to be reprinted; a friend of mine who knew Boehrer personally told me a few years ago that he was privately offered $500 for his signed copy but declined to accept)

2. Mid-priced books - mostly reprints
Barrett 'An Enquiry into the Origin of the Constellations' ?19.99
Robert Brown 'Primitive Constellations of the Greeks, Phoenicians and Babylonians' (two volumes, Ballantrae) ?24.99
Howard Leslie Cornell 'Encyclopedia of Medical Astrology' (first priting of Astrology Classics hardcover edition) ?24.99
Alan Leo / Frederick Lacey 'The Astrologer's Magazine' (first four annual volumes, Ballantrae) ?39.99
Ebeneezer Sibly 'A Complete Illustration of the Celestial Science of Astrology' (complete in four separate reprint volumes, three Ballantrae and one Kessinger) ?22.99
W. J. Tucker 'The Harmony of the Spheres' (Sacred Science Institute hardcover reprint) ?17.99

Some late additions, assorted
AFA Yearbook for 1946: ?9.99
Teri King 'Love, Sex and Astrology' St. Martin's Press first US edition (1973), hardcover, no dj, vgc ?2.99
Claudius Ptolemy 'Tetrabiblos' tr. Ashmand, Astrology Classics reprint, vgc softcover (internally nf) ?4.99
Tamsyn Barton 'Ancient Astrology' NF - fine softcover ?9.99
Henry Coley 'Clavis Astrologiae Elimata' Kessinger reprint (abridged in third book, like practically all reprints of this title) vg+-NF (internally fine) softcover ?7.99

More about postage on bulk orders to 10kg: Best shipping value to Europe is a flat-rate box issued by the Swedish postal service that will easily fit 10kg of bubble-wrapped books (in theory a weight up to 20kg allowed but it won't fit this much) for ?26.63.
Best value to the UK for a box with no size restrictions weighing up to 20kg is the 'DHL Import' service which costs ?39.95 including VAT when arranged from the UK.

Philip

NB: As of 11 Nov 2007, none of these books are any longer for sale because I have had to pack them up and place them into storage for the indefinite future - apologies
Last edited by Philip Graves on Tue Nov 13, 2007 10:47 pm, edited 10 times in total.

John Varley's 'Treatise on Zodiacal Physiognomy' spotted!

3
A rare copy of John Varley's 'Treatise on Zodiacal Physiognomy' has just been listed by an antiquarian bookdealer for $10950, considerably less than the price achieved by the complete copy that went to auction last Autumn, but a lot more than the price achieved by the copy in somewhat poor condition that went to auction this Spring.

http://www.ilab.org/db/search.php?Autho ... hysiognomy

The bookdealer is trying to milk the Blake connection for all it's worth. Canny guy! No luck for humble astrologers here, then - it will presumably sell to an art collector.

I wonder how quickly it will sell. Far out of my price league, that's for sure.

Philip
Last edited by Philip Graves on Sun Sep 16, 2007 7:53 am, edited 1 time in total.

Bulk disposal auction

4
I hope nobody minds my mentioning further to an earlier post in this strand that I am now auctioning off all 110 of my unsold spare astrology books (plus a few tarot and Arthur Edward Waite titles) previously priced individually at up to ?11.99 each as a bulk lot instead of individually, with bids from ?55 (?0.50 per book) for the entire lot invited. It's either this or giving them all away since we are desperately short of space at home!

Because of high shipping costs outside the EU, I would not advise non-European-based people to go for this lot - shipping would probably be very high outside the EU, but there are good prices within the EU.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0150563107

PS: The bulk auction of books sold to a sole bidder from Lancashire! A good home, I'm sure of it. The other, rarer and more expensive books in Message 2, which I've edited to remove those that have sold, remain available. One new addition is a very rare near-fine copy of K T Boehrer's 'Declination: the Other Dimension' - see Message 2 above.

Bonatti (1506) and Abu MaShar (1489) upcoming auctions

5
The new auction season is finally kicking into action for astrological collectors with a couple of well-loved medieval classics in early Renaissance printings on offer at Bloomsbury Books on October 24th. These works are far outside the realms of affordability for me, and readily available as reprints - Bonatti in the 1489 edition through UMI Print on Demand, and Abu Ma'Shar in the Richard Lemay edition of 1995. So it is not exactly necessary to have originals to study the Latin text today, unlike with many other classics. I also think the estimate on the Bonatti work is likely to be shattered but for a minor miracle, though it might sell for as low as $5000, but anyhow, details are given as follows (from www.americanaexchange.com):

1. Lot number: 39
BONATUS (BONATTI), Guido, de Forlivio (d. ca. 1298).
Title: Decem continens tractatus Astronomie .
Year Published: 3 July 1506.
Place Printed: Venice
Printed By: Jacobus Pentius de Leuco for Melchior Sessa,
Description: Decem continens tractatus Astronomie . Venice: Jacobus Pentius de Leuco for Melchior Sessa, 3 July 1506. Folio (12 x 8 1/4 inches; 308 x 210 mm). Final blank preserved. Gothic type, double column. Large allegorical woodcut on title. Many small woodcut astrological text illustrations, frequently repeated, several astronomical diagrams and a diagram of the terrestrial climate zones, woodcut initials in various sizes and from various sets, a few initial spaces with guide letters. Impression of bearer type on title. Modern goatskin over original(?) wooden boards, preserving contemporary German blind-stamped dark brown covers, triple fillet rules forming a saltire design, the central panel stamped with large and small rosettes and circular stork tool, the panel framed by a roll-tool of a scrolling plant with quatrefoils.
Estimate: US$ 4000-$6000
Final sale price: $5600 + 20% buyer's premium = $6720

2. Lot number: 38
Author: ALBUMASAR [i.e. Ja'far ibn Muhammad Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi] (A.D. 787-886).
Title: Introductorium in astronomiam.
Year Published: 7 February 1489
Place Printed: Augsburg
Printed By: Erhard Ratdolt,
Description: Introductorium in astronomiam. Translated from Arabic into Latin by Hermannus Dalmata. Augsburg: Erhard Ratdolt, 7 February 1489. Small 4to (7 3/4 x 5 1/4 inches; 196 x 138 mm). [70] leaves (a-h8, i6). 40-41 lines. Type: 4:76G, 7c:63G, 8:9G, 9:130G. Contemporary foliation (1-69 in red). 46 allegorical woodcuts of the Zodiacal signs, sun and moon, a zonal world map, a diagram of the Aspects, and of the Twelve Houses, numerous historiated woodcut initials. 20th green morocco, covers with wide gilt border with corner devices, spine gilt, gilt turn-ins, marbled endpapers, g.e.
Condition: Title cut and mounted, spine faded.
Lot Note: first edition of this scarce work presenting the philosophical and historical justifications for astrology. the text was one of the earliest and most important vehicles for the transmision of aristotelian concepts to the west . (Richard Lamay Abu Ma'shar and Latin Aristotelianism in the Twelfth Century... , 1962).
Albumasar, the most renowned of astologers writing in Arabic, was part of the group of pro-Persian intellectuals who served the Caliph al-Ma'mun (813-833) in Baghdad. The present work is a slightly abridged version of his Kitab al-mudkhal al-kabir ila 'ilm ahkam al-nujjum (''Great Introduction to the Science of Astrology''), written in about 848-850. It was not until the 12th century that the works of Aristotle on nature became available in Latin. In the 12th century he became known as the master of Natural Philosophy.
References: BMC ii, 382; Goff A-359; GW 840; Hain 612; Proctor. Schreiber 3075.
Provenance:
Estimated Price: USD 10,000-15,000
Final Sale Price: USD 14,000 + 20% Buyer's Premium = $16800

One auction house's sky-high expectations from W. H. Chaney

6
An auction house called PBA Galleries would have us believe that a first edition from 1890, not in the best of binding condition but complete, of W. H. Chaney's 'Primer of Astrology and American Urania' is worth $1500-$2000.

http://www.americanaexchange.com/NewAE/ ... =&aid=2242

It is being auctioned as part of a collection of Jack London-related items said to have been owned by a Donald Bauer. I presume he is a famous collector known well by Jack London fans.

However, the valuation suggested for this book strikes me as very optimistic even though there have been no other copies listed for sale on the Internet in the past eighteen months or so, to the best of my knowledge.

Back around February 2006, I purchased a fine cloth copy of the same book for $99 on Alibris. It was also a first edition from 1890 (there has been no other), and the only copy available at that time.

I purchased it in something of a hurry because at the same time there was an ongoing ebay auction for the same work in the form of eight separate loosely connected pamphlets that had never been properly bound, which had just eclipsed the fixed price offering in price. I had placed an early bid on the pamphlet-form version at $60. After one of our good friends here at Skyscript gave chase to part of that distance, my bid was suddenly eclipsed by a new bidder. All this early activity seemed to bring a frenzy of other late bidders out of the woodwork, and at the close there were two bidders with bids suddenly exceeding $200, the highest of which was a Jack London Bookstore, which purchased it for about $235. It then offered it for resale from its website in a custom box for $1500, but I don't know if it sold because the website disappeared later last year.

The copy being offered by PBA Galleries does not appear to be the same one although the asking price is strangely similar, since the PBA Galleries copy appears to be bound in an old leather binding which in turn has been placed in a clamshell case.

Personally I'm very happy with my little copy at $99, and I know that two of my good friends from this forum subsequently each managed to purchase original copies of the same work for considerably less than $99 each that same year - one of them listed on ebay, for not more than about $50, and one on Abebooks for around $75.

It will be interesting to see how close to the $1500 lower estimate the PBA Galleries copy reaches. On paper, it should fail miserably in view of the sale values of other copies only last year. However, if crazed Jack London collectors know no better and trust the auctioneer's estimate more than their own research (or lack thereof), and it therefore succeeds in reaching $1500, it would appear that three of us here at Skyscript separately made an exceptionally fortunate investment in the first half of 2006.

That said, I have no plans to put my copy up for auction whatever the outcome of the PBA auction. I care more about the completeness of my own astrological collection for posterity than transient pecuniary expediencies.

PS: It sold to a sole bidder for the auction house's starting price of $750. Good sense prevailed among everybody else, and the auction house's estimate was proven to be pie in the sky.

Philip
Last edited by Philip Graves on Sat Nov 17, 2007 4:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Rare copy of Hilary Carey's work on the history of astrology

7
Dr. Hilary Carey's book on the history of astrology 'Courting Disaster' has been terminally out of print for a good few years since its publication in 1992, and is very scarce. I waited at least two years for a single copy to come up on Abebooks, then bought that one immediately. There has been none other since.

However, by chance, I just spotted a new one that has come up recently on another network, Choosebooks.com.

http://cgi.choosebooks.com/SESSz9955436 ... &dcurr=GBP

First come, first served. It is not cheap, but in view of its rarity I believe it will more than hold that price. I hope it finds an appreciative home!

Philip

Rare Coley and Lilly originals at auction - RESULTS POSTED

8
Two original first edition 17th century copies of William Lilly's 'Monarchy or No Monarchy' and one 17th century first edition of the Lilly-edited Guide for Astrologers featuring aphorisms from Bonatti and Cardan and known by the title of 'Anima Astrologiae' are about to be auctioned off by Bonhams auctioneers at the same auction on 13th November 2007

Bonhams does not accept credit cards, so you have to have money up-front to bid on these ones. I don't personally have original editions of either - my Ballantrae reprint of 'Monarchy or No Monarchy' and George Redway second edition from 1886 of 'Anima Astrologiae' are quite satisfactory, and nor do I have the money to pay for the originals, even at auction prices (which tend to be less than bookseller prices). However, for someone who does, they could be a very sound financial investment.

The lot containing 'Anima Astrologiae' also contains two rare almanacs edited by Coley, and in my estimation is worth at least ?1000-?1250 overall, far higher than the auctioneer's estimate of ?300-?500

Lot 203:

COLEY (HENRY) Merlinus Anglicus Junior: or, An Ephemeris for the Year 1689. According to the Method of Mr. W. Lilly. With (modest) Astrological Praedictions, and Monthly Observations, engraved portrait of William Lilly on title [Wing A1440], J. Macock, 1698; WILLIAM (ANDREWS) News from the Stars: or, An Ephemeris for the Year 1689, printed in red and black [Wing A1285], E. Wester, 1689; COLEY (HENRY) Nuncius Sydereus: or, the Starry Messenger, printed in red and black [Wing A1466], E. Wester, [1689]; and several others bound in one vol., contemporary morocco gilt, worn--[LILLY (WILLIAM) Anima astrologiae: or, A Guide for Astrologers], engraved portrait frontispiece, folding table, some soiling, margins trimmed affecting headlines and pagination, lacking title and preliminary leaves, frontispiece defective, several repairs with loss of text, tear in fold of table without loss, some early annotations, later morocco [Wing L2208A?], [B. Harris, 1683?]--WATSON (JOHN) The Gentleman and Citizen's Almanack, contemporary calf, ink signature on upper cover, Dublin, J. Watson, 1759, 8vo; and another (4)

SOLD for ?460 including buyer's premium - within estimate, and a bargain at the price

*****

The standalone edition of 'Monarchy or No Monarchy' is estimated more accurately in my opinion, although I think it is on the optimistic side at ?500-?750, and it might land on the shy side of ?500:

Lot No: 122
CHARLES I
LILLY (WILLIAM) Monarchy or no Monarchy in England. Grebner his Prophecy concerning Charles Son of Charles... English, Latin, Saxon, Scottish and Welch Prophecies concerning England in particular, and all Europe in general, 19 full-page woodcuts at end and 2 diagrams, title torn with some loss, some leaves trimmed, with loss of side-notes or to platemark or edge of image, repair to one leaf of woodcuts, manuscript notes on inserted leaves at front and end, contemporary calf, rubbed, rebacked [Wing L2228], 8vo, Humfrey Blunden, 1651

SOLD for ?368 including 15% buyer's premium, vindicating my estimation that the official estimate was overoptimistic

*****

Then there is also another first edition copy, more complete than the above, to judge from the description, of the same book, bound together with several non-astrological titles from the period. Most bizarrely, it is given a lower estimate by the auctioneer: only ?150-?250, when in view of the additional rare books bound in with it, it should be worth more. Even if the other books were worthless, the Lilly could be disbound from their company and rebound in a fine period-style binding and would then be worth considerably more than the more expensively estimated standalone copy in the lot described above. The details given for this one are:

Lot No: 135
ENGLAND, PARLIAMENT
All the Several Ordinances and Orders, made by the Lords and Commons, worm trail in blank margin of one or two leaves [Wing E1208], Edward Husband 1650; A Common Councell Holden the first day of May, [Wing L2852Q], James Flesher, 1660; Three Ordinances Declarations and Votes, [Wing L2852Q], John Wright, 1642; The Votes of the Lords and Commons, [Wing E2456], Edward Husband, 1647; HUNTLEY (GEORGE) An Argument upon a generall Dumerrer joyned and entered in an Action of false Imprisionment in the Kings Bench Court, shaved affecting a few pagination numerals [Wing H3779], George Huntley, 1642; HARCOURT (DANIEL) A New Remonstrance from Ireland, title cropped at bottom edge [Wing H692], Henry Shephard, [1643]; The Triall of Lieut. Collonell John Lilburne, [Wing W338], Henry Hills, [1649]; LILLY (WILLIAM) Monarchy or No Monarchy in England, 20 full-page woodcut illustrations [Wing L2228], Humphrey Blunden, 1651, 8 works in one vol., some browning, early ownership inscription of J. Platts on initial blank, contemporary calf, gilt armorial on covers, rebacked, 4to

Frankly, though I do not know how common the other titles bound in with the Lilly are, my hunch is that that lot is worth very considerably upwards of ?1000, and that the estimate of ?150-?250 is absurd.

Sold for ?1150 including 15% buyer's premium, vindicating my hunch

If anyone from Skyscript cares to invest in these original editions, the auction is at New Bond Street in London on the 13th November 2007, and commission bids are accepted in absentia by those who cannot be present, subject to satisfactory contact being made with the auctioneers in advance.

At times like this I wish I had a decent regular income....

Good luck to anyone who intends to bid!

PS: I feel I should add that the prices I'm suggesting the books are worth will probably be higher than the prices that dealers are willing to pay in order to sell them on. Whether or not these prices are fetched will depend on whether or not collectors willing to outbid dealers at the auction show up and bid until the dealers give up. If only dealers bid, or collectors bid considerably less than the books are worth, the dealers will get them for a price probably below my estimates of their worth.

Dealers generally pay a bit less than books are worth then sell them for a bit more than they are worth. They perform a valuable service in that they price rare books high enough to keep them for the buyer who really wants them the most at the time that suits the buyer. The end-buyer may save money in the first place by outbidding all the dealers directly at the original auction, but buyers don't always have the means to buy a particular rare book they want at the moment it comes up for auction. It can then be very advantageous to them for a dealer to purchase the book at a lower price than it is worth and then list and hold it at a slightly higher price than it is worth until the right buyer has the means to purchase it.

Without so much as saying, in the style of Voltaire's famous words in 'Candide', that this set-up makes for the 'best of all possible worlds', I nevertheless think that bookdealers perform a very valuable service to collectors as well as to the preservation of books which otherwise might be thrown away.

Philip
Last edited by Philip Graves on Tue Nov 13, 2007 8:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Is everything coming in twos lately? More Lilly

9
As though the two first editions of Lilly's 'Monarchy or No Monarchy' listed with absurdly different estimates from each other at the same auction were not enough, it emerges that simultaneously, in the same week, two 1647 first editions of the same gent's 'Christian Astrology' have been listed on ebay.

If the past twelve to eighteen months is anything to go by, first editions of C. A. are a lot less scarce in absolute terms than most of the other 17th century astrology classics, but their great popularity has kept prices high.

Last year, Weiser apparently sold their copy lacking its original portrait (but replaced in facsimile) for $3250; a 1659 copy sold immediately on listing for $2500; and another 1659 copy was being offered in Lyme Regis for the staggering figure of ?3500 (about $6500 at the time, over $7000 today), and also disappeared from the marketplace, suggesting it too had sold.

Also, another 1659 copy lacking its frontispiece and with a few central pages replaced in an elegant old manuscript hand, but with a flawless later rebinding, sold at auction in England for ?740 plus 15% buyer's premium - that was the one I bought, and at the exchange rates of the time that was roughly equivalent to $1500 in total, though today it would be more.

Last Autumn, a really ropy copy fetched just over $400 on ebay around the time I began tracking rare book auctions here on ebay.

Early this year, a 'best offer' of just $750 was accepted on a more half-decent (but mouldy on one side) copy; then another, better copy, complete but for the missing portrait and with a detached front cover, sold at auction for just over $1100 if I recall correctly, again on ebay.

Now there are two more 1647 copies on offer on ebay at once. The first (lacking portrait - replaced only by a facsimile of one) is currently only on around $200, reserve not met:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1647-WILLIAM-LILL ... dZViewItem
SOLD FOR $886.05 to a British buyer - a Skyscript regular possibly?

while the second (with portrait, but with margins trimmed too close, affecting headlines and running notes at the side, and with some marginal annotations by previous owners):

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... :IT&ih=016

... has a no-reserve starting price of $500 which is likely to mean that the first copy will sell for less than it is worth as people put their bets on the second one after the first exceeds or approaches $500.

SOLD FOR $510 - a bargain!

Meanwhile, an experienced bookseller has boldly put his 1647 first edition on Abebooks at a fixed price of only $1500, including portrait.

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDet ... 90%26y%3D9

I put it to him that to judge by last year's prices it's worth twice that much, but he has personal reasons for pricing it sharply (nothing to do with the condition of the book), and on principle of confidentiality of private communications I shall not divulge those, but I see a business opportunity for a reseller looming fast if a good astrologer from Skyscript doesn't snap it up at that price. Of course, the market may have a short memory, and prices fluctuate with supply and demand, but it would strike me as very strange for a book that was worth $2500-$3250 only last year (and sold at those prices) to suddenly be worth half as much this.

UPDATE (Nov 14 2007): I've just been informed by the office of the bookseller that the high-quality $1500-priced copy has now sold! The same bookseller may still have some bargain-priced more defective copies to sell however, from as little as $500, at the present time.

Philip

The Diall of Destiny (John Maplet) and Astrologia Gallica

10
Sotheby's is offering a rare copy of John Maplet's 'The Diall of Destiny' from 1582 on March 13th as part of its sale called 'The Library of the Earls of Macclesfield. Part XI'. Quite an interesting provenance there for this copy of one of the very earliest surviving English-language books on astrology, predating even the first English translation of Dariot.

http://browse.sothebys.com/?q=maplet

Unfortunately, Maplet's work is bound in this copy with several other works in the same volume, resulting in an outlandish estimate of ?3000-?5000 for the volume. The upper-middle territory within the range of that valuation is equivalent to the combined cost of all three fixed price original copies in Latin of the entire 26 books of Morin's 'Astrologia Gallica' (1661) currently offered by Ken Karmiole on the used book networks at $2500, $3000 and $3000 respectively.

While it might be fairly said that Maplet's work is by far the rarer as judged by the number of surviving copies (I can find physical copies only at Oxford, the British Library, and the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in Germany, with absolutely none in the USA, whereas dozens of copies of Morin survive in libraries across the world), Morin's is certainly inordinately more substantial in content, at some 800 mostly dual-columned folio pages if the introduction is counted, as compared with barely 80 small pages in Maplet. Besides, the only reason why Ken Karmiole has three copies to sell is that he purchased the entire rare books collection of Zoltan Mason on his death a few years ago. Mason presumably cherry-picked the best copies that came up for sale over decades of his life. I suspect that once those three are sold others will seldom be found on the used book market, and that their prices will massively increase over the next fifty years or so. (For anyone who doesn't know, Zoltan Mason made a career out of introducing and teaching the methods of Morin to astrologers in America, and it is arguably largely thanks to his lead first and foremost that almost ten books of the Astrologia Gallica are now available in English translation.)

http://www.ilab.org/db/search.php?Autho ... tion=&All=

Philip

PS: I have just found a brief bibliographical entry on John Maplet here:
http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php ... &UID=11720