Books, Manuscripts & Maps
Nicholas Worskett
Following 17 years in the Book Department at Christie’s South Kensington, where he became successively Head of Department and Senior Specialist, Nicholas joined Chiswick Auctions in 2009 where he puts together 4-5 book sales a year. Although he has a broad knowledge and experience of books and manuscripts in most areas, from incunables to Harry Potter, his particular interests are 19th and 20th-century literature, modern first editions, private press and illustrated books, and maps and atlases.
Follow his private blog: http://www.nicholasworskett.com/
Contact Nicholas – nicholas@chiswickauctions.co.uk
Highlights of book sales during the last 3 years
Lot 90, 17 November 2009
MILNE, A. A. The House at Pooh Corner, 1928, original cloth, dust-jacket. AN EXCEPTIONALLY FINE COPY OF THE FIRST TRADE EDITION. World Record price for this edition.
Sold for £2,000
Lot 197, 17 November 2009
BACON, Francis – Eadweard MUYBRIDGE. The Human Figure in Motion, 1955. INSCRIBED, ANNOTATED AND HEAVILY PAINT-MARKED BY FRANCIS BACON.
Sold for £9,400
Lot 212, 17 November 2009
WILDE, Oscar. The Sphinx, 1894, original vellum gilt. ONE OF LESS THAN 200 COPIES, IMPORTANT PRESENTATION COPY TO E. F. BENSON, inscribed, “To E. F. Benson, with the compliments of the author, Oscar Wilde, June [19]94.”
Sold for £8,000
Lot 20, 16 March 2010
The Pirate and the Trader’s of the West Indies, 1847, game in the form of a folding hand-coloured lithographed map. RARE.
Sold for £2,900
Lot 22, 16 March 2010
GAYER, G. W. Foot Prints. An Aid to the Detection of Crime for the Police and Magistracy, Calcutta, 1909, contemporary half calf. EXCEPTIONALLY RARE.
Sold for £1,100
Lot 35, 16 March 2010
LA FONTAINE, Jean de. Contes et Nouvelles, 1762, contemporary morocco. “Edition des Fermiers Generaux.”
Sold for £1,700
Lot 17, 22 June 2010
PALLADIO, Andrea. The Architecture, 1721, contemporary calf.
Sold for £1,800
Lot 18, 22 June 2010
PASS, Crispin van de. Hortus Floridus, 1616-17, contemporary vellum.
Sold for £4,000
Lot 131, 22 June 2010
MACHIAVELLI, Niccolo. The Prince, 1640, contemporary vellum. FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH.
Sold for £12,500
Lot 12, 28 September 2010
BANKS, Joseph. Florilegium, 1980-90, 33 original parts.
Sold for £6,600
Lot 15, 25 January 2011
ASIMOV, Isaac. I, Robot, 1950, original cloth, dust-jacket. FIRST EDITION.
Sold for £550
Lot 45, 25 January 2011
NIELSEN, Kay (illustrator). East of the Sun and West of the Moon, 1914, original vellum. ONE OF 500 COPIES SIGNED BY THE ARTIST.
Sold for £4,200
Lot 119, 25 January 2011
KIPLING, Rudyard. The Works, 1912-27, 26 volumes, EXCEPTIONALLY FINELY BOUND BY RIVIERE. BOMBAY EDITION, SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR.
Sold for £2,700
Lot 156, 25 January 2011
GOULD, John. A Century of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains, 1832, 76 hand-coloured lithographed plates. FIRST EDITION OF GOULD’S FIRST WORK.
Sold for £3,800
Lot 157, 25 January 2011
“MISS SMITH.” Studies of Flowers from Nature, 1818, 20 aquatint plates, 10 of which coloured by hand, contemporary red morocco. Bought by the Library of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew.
Sold for £5,500
Lot 465, 13 September 2011
MILLER, Philip. The Gardener’s Dictionary, 1731, contemporary calf. FIRST EDITION.
Sold for £1,100
Lot 472, 13 September 2011
SELLER, John. Atlas Minimus, 1678, 52 engraved maps, contemporary calf.
Sold for £6,200
Lot 11, 8 November 2011
BRAQUEHAIS, Bruno. “Album Historique de Malheurs de Paris,” 1870-71, 25 original photographs, in an album.
Sold for £3,000.
Lot 106, 8 November 2011
A Qu’ran on 360 leaves, ?19th-century.
Sold for £3,500.
Lot 27, 10 January 2012
ACCUM, Frederick. Description of the Process of Manufacturing Coal Gas, 1820, in an EXCEPTIONALLY RARE PUBLISHER’S BINDING. Bought by a descendent of the original binder.
Sold for £1,550
Lot 36A, 20 March 2012
CHESTERTON, G. K. Autograph letter on 4 pages, written by Chesterton whilst a pupil at St Paul’s School, [1886]. Bought by St Paul’s School for their archives.
Sold for £520
Lot 49, 12 June 2012
STOKER, Bram. Dracula, 1897, modern morocco. FIRST EDITION.
Sold for £1,350
Lot 162, 12 June 2012
FLEMING, Ian. Casino Royale, 1954, original cloth, dust-jacket. FIRST EDITION, third impression.
Sold for £1,500
Lot 206, 12 June 2012
COBURN, Alvin Langdon. New York, 1909, 20 photogravure plates, original cloth, dust-jacket.
Sold for £5,000
Lot 272, 12 June 2012
SPEED, John. America, 1626, engraved map.
Sold for £2,350
Lot 8, 4 September 2012
SORINE, Savely. Portraits, 1929, 32 coloured portraits.
Sold for £2,500
Lot 17, 4 September 2012
BEATON, Cecil. Fine original watercolour design for the dust-jacket of Gertrude Stein’s “Wars I Have Seen.”
Sold for £1,600
Lot 49, 4 September 2012
HERGE. The Adventures of Tintin. Flight 714, 1968, presentation copy, inscribed by the artist.
Sold for £1,050
Lot 99, 4 September 2012
WELLS, H.G. The Outline of History, 1920, 2 volumes, copiously annotated and corrected by the author.
Sold for £1,550
Lot 34, 5 March 2013
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 1800, containing Volta’s first announcement of the electric battery and various papers by Herschel
Sold for £1,750
