Twain, Seuss, Rembrandt Results from National Book Auctions

ITHACA, NY—National Book Auctions, located in Ithaca, NY, hosted a Sunday, September 11th auction featuring a broad assortment of collectible books and ephemera, highlighted by the works of notable authors such as Mark Twain, Benjamin Franklin, and Alexander Hamilton. The 404-lot auction also featured a collection of rare antique atlases, antique Victorian lithographs, and items relating to the Civil War.
 
A scarce memorial edition of The Writings of Mark Twain (1929) fetched a hammer price of $8700 (including buyer’s premium). This 36-volume set features a unique, original handwritten manuscript page from the Estate of Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain) in Volume One. This handsome set is decoratively bound in three-quarter crimson leather over light red cloth with five raised spine bands and gilt tooling in the compartments. The set is hand-numbered 56 of 90 sets containing the manuscript material and signed by the publisher.
 
Realizing a hammer price of $1080 (including buyer’s premium) was the first edition of The Private Life of Benjamin Franklin (1793). This antique volume is a scarce autobiographical work, considered to be the greatest autobiography produced in Colonial America.
 
Another noteworthy item was an original period or early engraving by (or after) Rembrandt, which fetched a hammer price of $1020 (including buyer’s premium). This piece, which features a woman holding a flower, shows a magnificent level of detail.
 
A vintage first edition of Dr. Seuss’s The Cat In The Hat (1957) brought a hammer price of $960.00 (including buyer’s premium). This copy of the landmark children’s book included the first issue dust jacket.