Freeman's | Hindman to offer over 1,400 Lots of Books, Manuscripts, and Historical Ephemera This Spring During Book Month

A selection of books to be offered in Fine Literature from the Collection of Richard C. McKenzie this June 6.

Chicago, Cincinnati, Philadelphia – Freeman’s | Hindman presents a month of books, manuscripts, and historical ephemera this spring across five sales in three salerooms. In all five auctions, the firm will offer more than 1,400 lots with a total estimated value of nearly $2.5 million.

Book Month at Freeman’s | Hindman kicks off in Cincinnati on May 31 with American Historical Ephemera and Photography. In June, the sale season continues in Chicago with two back-to-back live sales, beginning with Fine Literature from the Collection of Richard C. McKenzie on June 6 and Fine Books and Manuscripts, including Worlds of Tomorrow, and Americana following on June 7. Next, the firm will present Books and Manuscripts in Philadelphia on June 25. Rounding out the month is Freeman’s | Hindman’s first Western Manuscripts and Miniatures auction, taking place on June 27 live in Chicago.

Lot 356 | [CALIFORNIA - EARLY PHOTOGRAPHY]. Whole plate daguerreotype of San Francisco, California. Circa 1852-1853.

Estimate: $30,000 - $50,000

American Historical Ephemera and Photography | May 31, Cincinnati

The American Historical Ephemera and Photography auction showcases influential figures and pivotal moments from America’s storied past. Featuring a noteworthy selection of flags, early photography, manuscripts, broadsides, and militaria, the property presents American conflicts including the Civil War, politics, African Americana, westward expansion, and Native American affairs.

Headlining the sale is a whole plate daguerreotype of San Francisco, California, circa 1852-1853 (lot 356). Speaking to its unique nature is Katie Horstman, Associate Vice President, Senior Specialist, American Historical Ephemera and Early Photography, “This historic image encapsulates the rapid growth that transformed San Francisco from a settlement of approximately 200 residents in 1846 to a boomtown representing the epicenter of the California Gold Rush. A daguerreotype of this size and importance has not appeared at auction for nearly 20 years, and we are delighted to present the image in Freeman’s I Hindman’s May 31 auction.”

This summer, more property will be offered in a dedicated online American Historical Ephemera and Photography auction, with lots closing on July 2.

Other highlights from the sale include:

Lot 5 | [FLAGS]. 31-star American parade flag. Ca 1850-1859. | Estimate: $6,000 - $8,000
Lot 25 | [CIVIL WAR]. Charleston Mercury Extra:...The Union is Dissolved! [Charleston, SC]: [Charleston Mercury], 20 December 1860. THE FIRST CONFEDERATE IMPRINT. | Estimate: $15,000 - $25,000
Lot 317 | [LINCOLNIANA - EARLY PHOTOGRAPHY]. Sixth plate ambrotype of three patriotic women proudly displaying a portrait of Abraham Lincoln. | Estimate: $6,000 - $8,000

Lot 192 | MELVILLE, Herman (1819-1891). Moby-Dick; or, The Whale. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1851.

Estimate: $12,000 - $18,000

Fine Literature from the Collection of Richard C. McKenzie | June 6, Chicago

The Fine Literature from the Collection of Richard C. McKenzie auction on June 6 features 298 lots of first editions and literary high spots of 19th and 20th-century literature featuring major American and English authors, including Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, James Joyce, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, William Faulkner, and Herman Melville.

Highlights from the sale include:

Lot 67 | DICKINSON, Emily (1830-1886). Poems. -- Poems Second Series. -- Poems Third Series. Boston: Robert Brothers, 1890, 1891, 1896. | Estimate: $10,000 - $15,000
Lot 192 | MELVILLE, Herman (1819-1891). Moby-Dick; or, The Whale. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1851. | Estimate: $12,000 - $18,000
Lot 211 | [PLATH, Sylvia as:]. LUCAS, Victoria (1932-1963). The Bell Jar. London: Heinemann, 1963. | Estimate: $3,000 - $4,000

Lot 97 | Martian War Machine prop from the film War of the Worlds produced by Paramount Pictures. 1953.

Estimate: $5,000 - $7,000

Fine Books and Manuscripts, including Worlds of Tomorrow, and Americana | June 7, Chicago

Fine Books and Manuscripts, including Worlds of Tomorrow, and Americana features 379 lots, with several notable sessions. Worlds of Tomorrow explores the relationship between the scientific and technological advancements of the 20th century and the literature and film that developed in response to those rapid advances, presenting historic photographs, artifacts, and manuscripts alongside works of literature, film props, posters, and literary archives.

Also highlighted is Langston Hughes & Fine African Americana from the Collections of Noël Sullivan & William P. and Alice D. Mahoney including first editions of Hughes’s works presented by the writer and social activist to his patron and friend Noël Sullivan and his family with Hughes’s warm inscriptions.

Highlights from the sale include:

Lot 95 | Award given to Forrest J. Ackerman by Isaac Asimov at the 11^th WorldCon. 1953. FIRST HUGO EVER AWARDED. | Estimate: $5,000 - $7,000
Lot 167 | HAMILTON, William (1730-1803). -- HANCARVILLE, Pierre-Francois Hugues d' (1719-1805). Collection of Etruscan, Greek and Roman Antiquities from the Cabinet of the Hon. William Hamilton. Naples: Francois, Morelli, 1766-[1776]. Estimate: $70,000 - $90,000
Lot 217 | HUGHES, Langston. Scottsboro Limited. Prentiss Taylor, illustrator. 1932. FIRST EDITION, LIMITED ISSUE. INSCRIBED BY HUGHES TO NOEL SULLIVAN. | Estimate: $6,000 - $8,000

[Keats, John], The Works of that Famous English Poet, Mr. Edmond Spenser. London, 1679. Keats’ own copy.

Estimate: $50,000 - $80,000

Books and Manuscripts | June 25, Philadelphia

Continuing the series of live sales is the Books and Manuscripts auction presented in Philadelphia. This sale will feature almost 300 lots of printed Americana, literature, fishing, art, maps, prints, and more, led by an incredible rarity with a remarkable association: English Romantic poet John Keats's personal copy of The Works of Edmond Spenser. Renowned book collector A. Edward Newton considered it the centerpiece of his own legendary collection.

"Books such as Keats's own copy of Spenser remind us all how much history can be quietly sitting on a shelf, waiting to be recognized and reintroduced to the world of book collecting,” says Darren Winston, Senior Vice President and Co-Head of the Books and Manuscripts department. “Books should make you stop and think, or gasp, or sometimes think you have a direct line to the history of literature, as holding this copy of Spenser does. A truly remarkable and unique book."

Other top lots include an impressive 1615 illuminated portolan chart of the Mediterranean by John Oliva (estimate: $20,000 - $30,000) and the very rare 1698 first edition of Gabriel Thomas’s foundational An Historical and Geographical Account of the Province and Country of Pennsylvania; and of West-New-Jersey in America… (estimate: $15,000 - $25,000).

Highlights from the sale include:

(Walton, Izaak): The Compleat Angler or the Contemplative man's Recreation. Being a Discourse of Fish and Fishing | Estimate: $30,000 - $50,000
Oliva, Joan: Portolan Chart of the Mediterranean | Estimate: $20,000 - $30,000
Kennedy, John F., and Richard Nixon: Inscribed Photograph | Estimate: $10,000 - $15,000

Book of Hours, France, Paris, close follower of the Boucicaut Master, 4 large miniatures
Estimate $50,000 - $70,000

Western Manuscripts and Miniatures | June 27, Chicago

Freeman’s | Hindman also announces its inaugural Western Manuscripts and Miniatures sale which presents illuminated leaves and Books of Hours from the 13th to the 15th centuries. The sale will be presented live in Chicago on June 27 and showcases over 70 lots with an estimated total value of $400,000.

The auction is presented in collaboration with Sandra Hindman, Senior Consultant, a leading expert on Medieval and Renaissance manuscript illumination. She serves as Professor Emerita of Art History at Northwestern University and is the Owner and Founder of Les Enluminures in Paris, Chicago, and New York.

Gretchen Hause, Senior Vice President and Co-Head of the Books and Manuscripts department, asserts, “To wrap up June Book Month at Freeman’s | Hindman, we proudly announce the firm’s inaugural dedicated sale of Western Manuscripts and Miniatures. This June, we invite buyers to explore our sales to discover a diverse selection of fine objects from a broad range of collecting categories, anchored by exceptional offerings from private collectors.”

Highlights from the sale include:

KEATS, poems. A Modern Illuminated Manuscript on Vellum by Sangorski, in a striking jeweled binding by Riviere & Son. | Estimate: $60,000 - $70,000
Follower of the Boucicaut Master. Book of Hours. Paris, France, probably 1420. With 4 larger miniatures. | Estimate: $50,000 - $70,000
Book of Hours. France. Likely Rouen, Master of the Geneva Latini. 13 miniatures. | Estimate: $40,000 - $60,000

How to Bid

Books, manuscripts, American historical ephemera, and photography will be offered across the firm’s three salerooms this spring. Bidding will be available in-person, via absentee and telephone bid, and online via our Digital Bid Room.

About Freeman’s | Hindman

Freeman’s | Hindman merged in 2023 to create a global team of experienced specialists who embrace tradition and innovation, creating a truly client-centric auction house. As America’s oldest auction house, Freeman’s has been an active part of the auction world and art market for nearly 220 years. Hindman, established in 1982, brings an expansive cross-country network, wealth of expertise, and strong relationships with fiduciaries nationwide to build a market-leading auctions and appraisals firm in Freeman’s | Hindman.