Autograph Leaves of Our Country's Authors - photo 1
Autograph Leaves of Our Country's Authors - photo 2

Autograph Leaves of Our Country's Authors

Lot 683
14.09.2022 10:00UTC -05:00
Classic
Sold
$ 630
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUSA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 797322
Lot 683 | Autograph Leaves of Our Country's Authors
Estimate value
$ 1 000 – 1 500
Autograph Leaves of Our Country’s Authors. Baltimore: Cushings & Bailey, 1864.

A gift to Melville's younger sister Augusta from Cornelia Van Rensselaer Thayer, memorializing Herman Melville. Inscribed on the front pastedown: “Augusta Melville from C.V.R. Thayer, January 1866.” Maria Gansevoort Melville, Herman and Augusta's mother, was descended from the Van Rensselaers, the dominant Dutch family of colonial New York family. Cornelia (1823-1897), known to Augusta as "Nilly," was possibly a cousin. Melville makes reference to his lineage in the first chapter of Moby-Dick when Ishmael describes going to sea "as a simple sailor," noting that the transition "touches one's sense of honor, particularly if you come of an old established family in the land, the Van Rensselaers, or Randolphs, or Hardicanutes." The present volume collects facsimile leaves from Francis Scott Key, Hawthorne, Emerson, Lincoln, Audubon, and many others, most notably Herman Melville, the recipient's brother. BAL 13672 for Melville’s “Inscription for the Slain at Fredericksburgh,” on p. 189, which was collected in Collected Poems (1947).

Small quarto. Original gilt-stamped cloth (a little fading to spine, wear along joints, a little loss at spine ends). Provenance: August Melville, 1821-1876 (gift inscription).
Place of origin:USA
Auction house category:Letters, documents and manuscripts
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
Preview
01.09.2022 – 14.09.2022
Phone +1 212 636 2000
Fax +1 212 636 4930
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase
Shipping Postal service
Courier service
pickup by yourself
Payment methods Wire Transfer
Business hoursBusiness hours
Mo 09:30 – 17:00   
Tu 09:30 – 17:00   
We 09:30 – 17:00   
Th 09:30 – 17:00   
Fr 09:30 – 17:00   
Sa closed
Su closed

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.