Valuable Books and Manuscripts including Cartography

Christie’s Valuable Books and Manuscripts including Cartography auction on 8 July ranks among the most significant various-owner sales in the category in recent memory. Leading the sale is the Clermont-Tonnerre Grail, an exceptional late 13th-century illuminated manuscript of the greatest of all medieval romances: the epic tale of the quest for the Holy Grail, the story of Merlin and his diabolic birth, and the adventures of King Artur and the Knights of the Round Table. Other highlights include a sumptuous miniature by Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci; one of the earliest surviving witnesses of Charlemagne’s Admonitio Generalis, dating from the emperor’s lifetime; and two important collections of Romanesque manuscripts and richly illuminated Books of Hours.

The printed books are led by two major groups of atlases and maps from private European collections. Highlights include the French edition of Blaeu’s monumental 12‑volume Grand Atlas, the 1508 Rome edition of Ptolemy’s Geographia, and manuscript portolan charts of the Mediterranean and the North and Baltic Seas.

A selection from the Neapolitan library of Antonio Bonchristiano includes the fine Dogmersfield–Rosebery copy of Hamilton’s Campi Phlegraei and d’Hancarville’s Collection of Etruscan, Greek and Roman Antiquities. The autograph section focuses particularly on Albert Einstein, featuring three highly significant letters relating to the general theory of relativity, alongside letters and manuscripts by Newton, Kant, Marx and Horatio Nelson.

Learn more about the sale's top lot The Clermont-Tonnerre Grail now.

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Notice for buyers wishing to import certain lots into the EU: Certain lots in this sale may be impacted by the new licensing requirements and regulations relating to the import of ‘cultural goods’ into the EU (Regulation (EU) 2019/880 and its Implementing Regulation 2021/1079). Clients are advised to check before bidding whether the lot they wish to bid on is subject to these regulations. Please contact Phoebe Putnam (PPutnam@christies.com) and see H2 of our Conditions of Sale for more information.