Brunk Auctions
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Premier Auction | May 19, 2023

Fri, May 19, 2023 09:00AM EDT
Lot 656

Important and Rare Mark Catesby Appendix, First Edition

Estimate: $20,000 - $40,000

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $25
$100 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $200
$3,000 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$20,000 $2,000
$50,000 $5,000
$100,000 $10,000

(British, 1679-1749)
Appendix to Volume II of The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and The Bahama Islands, 1747, complete with twenty (T.1-20), hand colored engravings on laid paper, with Index and text, sheets 16-5/8 x 12-1/8 in., binding of three quarter red leather and pebbled fabric, 17 x 12-7/8 x 3/8 in.

Note: When Mark Catesby completed the approximate 180-200 volumes of The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and The Bahama Islands (1731-1743), he published an advertisement for the Appendix of an additional 20 plates, stating, “ I have now by me ample Materials for another Appendix. This however need not obstruct the immediate Binding of both Volumes, for by leaving a small Vacancy at the End of the Second Volume, with Guards for fifteen Sheets, they may be inserted without any Defacement, or being perceived.” According to Nelson and Elliott’s, The Curious Mister Catesby, “There are a few copies that have the Appendix bound as a separate third volume, the owners again apparently missing Catesby’s instructions for fitting it into the second volume. There are only a handful of perfect copies-copies that are both complete and are bound in the correct, intended sequence.”
This rare volume is representative of those who did not follow instructions but also of an incredible opportunity to complete an incomplete two volume set of this important documentation of the flora and fauna of the Southern regions of North America.

 

Condition

colors strong, light toning with some light foxing with most in outer pages; binding with wear and losses to spine

Catesby Woodford Spears (1876-1943), who collected prints by his
namesake including this Appendix; his daughter Sally Woodford Spears Hinkle; By descent in the family.