Valuable Books and Manuscripts

Christie’s Valuable Books and Manuscripts auction on 9 July presents a selection of important medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, autograph letters and printed books with particular strength in the fields of early printing, science, travel and natural history.

The medieval and Renaissance manuscript section is led by a sumptuous Paduan Missal, lavishly illuminated in 1420 for the Bishop of Padua, Pietro Marcello, from the library of Prime Minister William Gladstone, alongside Books of Hours, humanist texts and two compelling examples of English medieval culture: a copy of Magna Carta and a 13th-century tally stick from the Royal Exchequer. The autographs open with a Nelson letter written three days before the Battle of Trafalgar and run to a 1962 love letter from John Lennon to Cynthia, written from the Beatles’ Star Club residency.

Of particular note among the printed books is the exceptionally rare first edition of an astronomical text widely believed to be Galileo’s first published book — the Dialogo, 1605, published under the pseudonym Cecco di Ronchitti — and Pliny’s Historia naturalis, 1469, one of the first three books printed at Venice and among the most influential books ever published. Further highlights include the 17th-century Van Keulen maritime atlas, an excellent example from the golden age of Dutch cartography, alongside scientific first editions from Newton to Darwin and early printing spanning history and literature to warfare and medicine.

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). We recommend clients check before bidding whether the lot they wish to bid on is subject to these regulations. Please contact Emily Pilling EPilling@christies.com and see H2 of our Conditions of Sale for more information.