Freeman’s June 8 auction, A Fine Collection of American Literature and History, is fittingly led by an 1855 first edition of Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, perhaps the most influential poet in American history. The magnificent copy boasts impressive provenance, coming to market from the libraries of both the preeminent American collector Thomas Winthrop Streeter, as well as Arthur Swann. In addition to nearly thirty other Whitman titles, the upcoming sale features works by the likes of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, as well as significant Americana. Standout highlights include a very rare American 1776 edition of Thomas Paine’s revolutionary pamphlet Common Sense and a first edition of Thomas McKenney and James Hall’s monumental three-volume folio History of the Indian Tribes of North America. With quintessential offerings, like a rare 1787 first edition of the leading anti-Federalist attack on the United States Constitution, Observations Leading to a Fair Examination of the System of Government Proposed by the Late Convention…, Freeman’s upcoming auction presents unmissable opportunities for collectors of American printed matter.
Lot 4
[American Revolution] Burke, Edmund Group of 3 Titles
Sold for $5,670
Estimated at $1,000 - $1,500
Lot 5
[American Revolution] Cornwallis, Charles, and Henry Clinton Group of 2 Titles
Sold for $1,386
Estimated at $400 - $600
Lot 6
[American Revolution] [Clinton, Sir Henry] Group of 3 Titles
Sold for $1,512
Estimated at $700 - $1,000
Lot 9
[American Revolution] (Paine, Thomas) Common Sense; Addressed to the Inhabitants of America...
Sold for $35,280
Estimated at $20,000 - $30,000
Lot 11
[American Revolution] Ramsay, David The History of the American Revolution
Sold for $882
Estimated at $600 - $900
Lot 17
[Americana] Audubon, John James, and John Bachman The Quadrupeds of North America
Sold for $3,024
Estimated at $2,000 - $3,000
Lot 18
[Americana] Franklin, Benj(amin). Political, Miscellaneous, and Philosophical Pieces…
Sold for $3,780
Estimated at $3,000 - $5,000
Lot 19
[Americana] Franklin, Benjamin The Private Life of the Late Benjamin Franklin…
Sold for $6,930
Estimated at $2,000 - $3,000
Lot 22
[Americana] Hamilton, Alexander Alexander Hamilton's Report On The Subject Of Manufactures…
Sold for $409
Estimated at $200 - $300
Lot 23
[Americana] Hickcox, John H. An Historical Account of American Coinage
Sold for $693
Estimated at $300 - $500
Lot 24
[Americana] [Jefferson, Thomas] Group of 2 Reports on Thomas Jefferson's Library
Sold for $4,095
Estimated at $600 - $900
Lot 38
[Finance] Mackay, Charles Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions
Sold for $4,410
Estimated at $3,000 - $5,000
Lot 39
[Judaica] Herzl, Theodor Der Judenstaat. Versuch einer modernen Lösung der Judenfrage
Sold for $3,780
Estimated at $5,000 - $8,000
Lot 40
[Literature] (Addison, Joseph, and Richard Steele, et al.) The Spectator
Sold for $347
Estimated at $200 - $300
Lot 42
[Literature] (De Quincey, Thomas) Confessions of an English Opium-Eater
Sold for $1,512
Estimated at $1,000 - $1,500
Lot 47
[Literature] Hawthorne, Nathaniel The House of the Seven Gables, A Romance
Sold for $189
Estimated at $300 - $500
Lot 51
[Literature] (Thoreau, Henry D.) The Dial: A Magazine For Literature, Philosophy, and Religion
Sold for $1,386
Estimated at $1,000 - $1,500
Lot 52
[Literature] Thoreau, Henry D. A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers
Sold for $945
Estimated at $1,500 - $2,500
Lot 53
[Literature] (Thoreau, Henry D.) New-York Weekly Tribune
Sold for $378
Estimated at $600 - $900
Lot 54
[Literature] [Thoreau, Henry David] Group of 8 Magazines and Periodicals, ca. 1852-78
Sold for $819
Estimated at $1,000 - $1,500
Lot 55
[Literature] Thoreau, Henry D. Walden; or, Life in the Woods
Sold for $7,560
Estimated at $8,000 - $12,000
Lot 59
[Literature] Thoreau, Henry D. Letters To Various Persons
Sold for $189
Estimated at $300 - $500
Lot 60
[Literature] Thoreau, Henry D. A Yankee In Canada, with Anti-Slavery and Reform Papers
Sold for $347
Estimated at $500 - $800
Lot 61
[Literature] Thoreau, Henry David The Writings of Henry David Thoreau
Sold for $10,080
Estimated at $8,000 - $12,000
Lot 62
[Literature] Whitman, Walt Group of 11 Magazines and Periodicals, ca. 1841-92
Estimated at $500 - $800
Lot 64
[Literature] (Whitman, Walt) Leaves of Grass
Sold for $151,200
Estimated at $100,000 - $150,000
Lot 73
[Literature] Whitman, Walt Drum-Taps, with Sequel to Drum-Taps
Sold for $7,560
Estimated at $1,000 - $1,500
Lot 75
[Literature] Whitman, Walt After All, Not To Create Only
Sold for $473
Estimated at $400 - $600
Lot 76
[Literature] Whitman, Walt After All, Not To Create Only
Sold for $409
Estimated at $400 - $600
Lot 77
[Literature] (Whitman, Walt) As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free. And Other Poems
Estimated at $4,000 - $6,000
Lot 81
[Literature] (Whitman, Walt) Good-Bye My Fancy, 2d Annex to Leaves of Grass
Sold for $252
Estimated at $200 - $300
Lot 83
[Literature] [Whitman, Walt] Burroughs, John Notes on Walt Whitman, As Poet and Person
Sold for $1,071
Estimated at $800 - $1,200
Lot 84
[Literature] [Whitman, Walt] Camden's Compliment to Walt Whitman…
Sold for $315
Estimated at $300 - $500
Lot 85
[Literature] (Whitman, Walt) Traubel, Horace With Walt Whitman In Camden…
Estimated at $800 - $1,200
Lot 88
[Literature] Whitman, Walt The Complete Writings of Walt Whitman
Sold for $819
Estimated at $1,200 - $1,800
Lot 90
[Natural History] Evelyn, John Silva: Or, A Discourse of Forest-Trees…
Sold for $2,016
Estimated at $3,000 - $5,000
Lot 93
[Philosophy] Aristotle Politiques, or Discourses of Government...
Sold for $12,600
Estimated at $5,000 - $8,000
Lot 95
[Philosophy] Locke, John A Letter Concerning Toleration
Sold for $4,410
Estimated at $5,000 - $8,000
Lot 97
[Travel & Exploration] [Cook, Captain James] The Three Voyages of Captain Cook
Sold for $11,970
Estimated at $8,000 - $12,000