Fine Literature Auction with Archives from the Lord John Press - Thursday, April 16th

This Thursday beginning at 11:00 am Pacific, PBA Galleries will host another huge auction with over 600 offerings. There are 3 sections, the first is a nice selection of Fine Literature (nearly 400 lots), then books and files from The Lord John Press, then a bargain selection of collectibles with starting bids at $10.

The Fine Literature section features mostly 19th and 20th century literature, plus signed tomes and manuscript material from various authors. You can find mystery & detective, romance, and science fiction plus so many of the classics by famous, infamous and little known authors the world over.

There's a nice selection of Charles Dickens. Then there is lot 148, Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet. PBA is offering the rare first edition of this book by the third most widely read poet in history (behind Shakespeare and Lao-Tzu).

Lot 148: The Prophet

There are a few editions of Joyce's Ulysses, some Jack London books, including some inscribed, and a tremendous archive of correspondence from the publisher for Henry Miller's works. Lot 246 includes more than 100 autograph & typed letters from Henry Miller to his publisher Bradley Smith, plus much more.

Lot 246: Henry Miller Archive

There's a nice selection of John Steinbeck novels, and several classics are available by Mark Twain, the nicest of the group is a First American Edition of Huckleberry Finn.

Lot 352: Huckleberry Finn

And if you ever wanted to get your hands on some nice Lord John Press material, this is the auction for you. Not only books, but typescripts, correspondence archives, unique signed material, and more.

Check out the auction catalog for more offerings:

Sale 558: Fine Literature, Archive of Lord John Press

Sale 557 - Fine Americana & the Exploration of the West - Asian-American History & Art - Travel - Maps

Thursday, April 2 at 11:00 am Pacific Time, PBA Galleries is hosting an auction with over 750 lots of Americana, Asian-American History & Art, Travel, Maps, Atlases, & Views. The sale includes some African-Americana, Golf Rush, signed Presidential items, and items pertaining to the exploration of the West.

If you have not browsed the catalogue yet, hop to it! You can find it here: Sale 557 Catalogue

Let me take you on an abbreviated tour through this week's auction...

There's a small section of African-Americana, including this rare travel guide

Lot 29 - Rare Brochure

Then there is an amazing book on atomic energy, signed by over 50 specialists working at the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory in the 1940s.

Lot 47

Then, there is a big section of Californiana, small run of Civil War ephemera, 5 lots of rare and colorful Clipper Ship Cards, like this one:

Lot 119

Then, hundreds of lots of general Americana books, broadsides, photographs, and more including rare pieces of manuscript material like this Thomas Edison signed check:

Lot 146

Then there's a nice selection of Asian-Americana material including lots of manuscript material, dating from 1845-2006. One lovely piece from this collection is this etching, done by a WPA artist in 1939:

Lot 378

Then there's some nice angling books, then a massive travel & exploration section of the sale, starting with travels in Africa. Within the travel & exploration section can be found a 1634 edition of Walter Raleigh's Historie of the World.

Lot 512

Following this is an extensive maps, atlases & views section of the sale. Among the premium maps offered is Charles Preuss's landmark map, the first issue:

Lot 557

The last section is a huge offering of lots starting at $10 bids. They are all American, etc. But you can place bids starting at $10! Lots 586-751 are all $10 opening bid lots.

This was a very brief guide to the sale, so if you are serious about bidding, get to it!

45th Annual Golf Collectors' Society Annual Meeting & Trade Show - PBA Galleries Fine Golf Books Auction

PBA Galleries will host another auction of Fine Golf Books, Memorabilia, and Fine Golf Clubs at the Golf Collectors' Society Annual Meeting & Trade Show this September 17, 2015. The auction will include a library of golf books and memorabilia, plus a robust offering of rare hickory golf clubs and golf balls. 

Last November, PBA held a successful auction in Las Vegas, also at the GCS Meeting. Some of the highlights of the sale included very spirited bidding on the select group of hickory golf clubs, including a pair of waterfall face clubs that sold for $480. 

Pair of waterfall face clubs

A beautiful selection of rare and important golf books were offered, including a scarce third edition of The Goff, which sold for $60,000. 

The Goff: Third Edition

Also the first edition of The Rules of the Thistle Club in original wrappers sold for $10,800. 

Rules of the Thistle Golf Club: First Edition.

Important ephemera and memorabilia also sold above their estimates, like the 1935 Open Program, which sold for $1,080, 

1935 Open Program

and a great archive of advertising materials of Walter Hagen golf products, which sold for $1,920.

Archive of Walter Hagen promotional materials, some signed

Consignments for the September 17th, 2015 Golf Auction will be accepted until July 10. Contact Erin Escobar at (608) 819-6955 or by email erin@pbagalleries.com for more information.

Next stop - St. Charles, Illinois! See you on September 17, 2015.

Graphic art - curated by me

Here are some of my favorite picks from the upcoming auction at PBA Galleries, on Thursday March 19th, beginning at 11:00 am Pacific Time. Click here for the full catalog: Sale 556: Children's & Illustrated Books, Books in All Fields, Counterculture

I love the two original posters for the magician Carter the Great. Each offered with estimates of $1,500-2,500

Original Carter the Great Poster - Magic

And for the fan of the comic strip, there are over 40 lots of comic art, beginning with lot 221. This is one of my favorites:

Original comic art by Milton Caniff

 There is also some original Peanuts art to be offered too.

Sally - Peanuts

And there is a great selection of Counterculture memorabilia including rock posters, and publications.

The complete run of the San Francisco Oracle

Looking to decorate your walls with a higher art form? Check out these oil paintings available for very low starting bids.

Lois Kinevan - Illinois-California artist, original oil

Four original oil still-life paintings

Over a century of golf art

Golf art holds an important place in the history of the game, and has also led to some important discoveries about the history of the game. You have the opportunity to acquire some golf art from the mid 1800's to 1999, ranging from artists like John Charles Dollman to Walt Disney, plus some unknown artists.

Available on Thursday March 5th, 2015 are a pair of hard-to-get artworks by John Charles Dollman:

Lot 404: The Beginning of Golf

Lot 405: The End of Golf

And, if you like to discover new artists, here's a unique opportunity to get your hands on a bunch of art all in one lot, mostly by unknown artists.

Lot 427: Approximately 45 pieces of golf art

A few famous cartoonists make an appearance, such as Vic Forsythe's original comic strip:

Lot 406: Original ink cartoon by Vic Forsythe

And the most famous of all, Walt Disney:

Lot 403: How to Play Golf - Goofy cel

The first book of golf instruction

Golf instruction, like most aspects of the game, has a long and interesting past. One glimpse into the past includes this book:

It's the first book of golf instruction (and the first book of prose devoted entirely to the game of golf). Written by "A Keen Hand" who is H.B. Farnie, who published this first edition in 1857 under a pseudonym. Perhaps he was nervous that golf instruction would not be well received? Well, Farnie had the right idea, and obviously had his finger on the pulse of what was popular in golf in 19th century Scotland. Farnie wrote several guide books, was an editor at a newspaper, and was later a journalist in London.

Here's a look at the beautiful red cloth cover, lettered in gilt. Rare to find in its complete original cloth covers.

You can own this piece of golf history, if you register to bid with www.pbagalleries.com and place your bid of $4,000 or higher. A fair price to pay to expand your golf library with a key work in the history of the game. (A lesser copy last sold at auction for over $6,000! A copy in great shape like this is a steal at $4,000.)

Click here for more information on this lot: Lot 110: Golfer's Manual 1857

Don't wait too long! The sale will go live on Thursday, March 5th, 2015 starting at 11:00 am Pacific Time.

The Chicago Golf Club: The Oldest Golf Club in North America

In the year 1850, there were only 15 golf courses in the world, all in the UK (in fact all except for the Royal Blackheath Golf Club were in Scotland!). With the invention of the gutta percha golf ball, and its relative ease of production, the game of golf expanded rapidly across the world. By the year 1900, the number of worldwide golf courses had exploded to 2,000.

The Chicago Golf Club was established in 1892, during this period of expansion. It is the oldest golf club in North America, and hosted the U.S. Open in 1897. It was the third U.S. Open ever, and during the early years the U.S. Open was dominated by English and Scottish golfers, many of whom were playing their very first game in the United States.

That brings me to this beautiful sterling silver trophy produced by American silversmith, Gorham:

Lot 552 in the PBA Galleries Auction of Fine Golf Books & Memorabilia: The Library of John Burns, Part II - with Additions.

Lot 552: Gorham silver trophy from Chicago Golf Club

The hallmark from the premier silversmith Gorham Manufacturing Company (Lion, Anchor, Gothic Letter G), which was founded in Rhode Island in 1831, can be seen clearly stamped on the bottom:

And here you can see its elegant design, with floral border details:

Don't miss your opportunity to own this trophy from early American golf history, and others in the PBA Galleries auction, to be held on Thursday, March 5th, 2015 beginning at 11 a.m. Pacific Time.

The full online auction catalog can be found here:
Sale 555: Fine Golf Books & Memorabilia: The Library of John Burns, Part II with Additions

Any questions about auctions, buying and selling, antiquarian books or collectibles? Give me a call or shoot me an email!

Erin Escobar
Antiquarian Books, Fine Art & Golf History Specialist
PBA Galleries, Midwest Division
(608) 819-6955 
erin@pbagalleries.com
www.linkedin.com/in/erinantiquarianbookexpert 
Meet the Expert: Erin Escobar, Midwest Representative