A beautiful art and market event page, which adds to the wonderful pages of art, history and science that opened and concluded the second semester of enchantments at Il Ponte with the auction of ancient and artists’ books of 24 and 25 September 2024. The rich and prestigious catalog has attracted the interest of collectors, recording a turnover of €650,000, 90% of lots sold and a revaluation of estimates of 136%.
Between the top lotshone the masterpiece by Sir William Hamilton, sold for €81,900: a monumental work of geophysics and volcanology created in 1779 in three volumes with Pietro Fabris, enriched by 59 plates that immortalize the volcanic activity of Naples and Sicily.
The sale was also animated by other illustrated treasureslike the rare vintage mountaineering volume Of Désiré-Raoul Rochette“Voyage picturesque dans la Vallée de Chamonix et autour de Mont Blanc,” presented in the first edition of 1826 (€25,200). It is worth highlighting the extraordinary collection of over 14,000 ex librismade between the 17th and 20th centuries, originally used to mark books and now considered objects of art and cult collectibles, a collection that has achieved notable results (€25,200).
Among the particularly important awards: the “De architectura libri dece” by Vitruviusprinted in 1521 (€25,200), a copy of the famous work by Johannes Hevelius dedicated to comets published in 1668 (€25,200), the study “Gleanings of Natural History” by George Edwards published between 1758 and 1764 (€11,340) and the first and only edition of “Scenes from the Snow-Fields” by Edmund Thomas Colemanpublished in London in 1859 (€11,340).
The section dedicated to Artist’s bookssignaling an increasingly established trend and lively demand from enthusiasts. Among the prominent works, “Quatre histoires de blanc et noir” by stands out Frantisek Kupkapublished in Paris in 1926 (€21,420) and the incredible example in perfect condition, numbered 190/200, of the “Poèmes” by Marc Chagall from 1968 accompanied by 24 magnificent plates (€17,640)
Below are the top lots passed in the round of 24 and 25 September 2024 (Courtesy Il Ponte Auction House)
Lot 43.HAMILTON, Sir William (1730-1803) – Phlegraei Fields. Observations on the Volcanoes of the two Sicilies as They have been communicated to the Royal Society of London. Naples: (Pietro Fabris), 1776.
Sold €81,900
Lot 49. RAOUL-ROCHETTE (1789-1854) – Gabriel LORY (1784-1846) – Voyage picturesque dans la Vallée de Chamonix et autour de Mont Blanc.
Paris: JF Osterwald, 1826. Sold €25,200
Lot 29. (EXLIBRIS) – An extraordinary collection of over 14,000 exlibris from different eras, countries, artists, topics, techniques and formats. 17th-20th century.
Sold €25,200
Lot 31. VITRUVIUS, Marco Pollione (c.80-70 BC- c.15 BC) – De architectura libri dece. Translated by Cesare Cesariano (c.1478-1543). Commentary by Cesariano, Benedetto Giovio and Massimo Bono Mauro. Como: Gottardo da Ponte, 1521. Sold €25,200
Lot 25. HEVELIUS, Johannes (1611-1687) – Cometographia, totem naturam cometarum.. exhibens.. cumprimis vero, cometae anno 1652, 1661, 1661 & 1665. Danzig: Simon Reiniger for the author, 1668.
Sold €25,200
Lot 67. EDWARDS, George London (1694-1773) – Gleanings of Natural History. London: Royal college of Physicians, 1758-1764. Sold €11,340
Lot 19. COLEMAN, Edmund Thomas (ca. 1823-92) – Scenes from the Snow-Fields; being, Illustrations of the Upper Ice World of Mont Blanc from Sketches made on the Spot in the Years 1855, 1856, 1857, 1858. London: Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, and Roberts, 1859.
Sold €11,340
Lot 66. Frantisek Kupka ( OPOCNO 1871 – PUTEAUX 1957 ) KUPKA, Frantisek (1871-1957) – Quatre histoires de blanc et noir. Paris: Marcel Baque, 1926. Sold €21,420
Lot 65. CHAGALL, Marc (1887-1985) – Poems. Geneva: Cramer, 1968. Specimen in perfect condition n. 190 of 200 on grand vélin de rives, signed by Chagall and with the watermark designed by the artist. The work is accompanied by 24 magnificent plates, 6 of which have fascinating collages by the artist applied. Cramer books 74.
Sold €17,640
Carlo Franza