Report from the Salerooms

2010 proved a much more interesting year for Byroniana in the salerooms than its predecessor, although it was slow to start. The first sale to attract my attention was at Bloomsbury Auctions on 8 July. Three lots had Byron connections. The first (Lot 111) was a forgery, a letter from the pen of the notorious Major Byron purporting to be from Byron to Douglas Kinnaird, dated 'Ravenna 9 November 1820' and concerning Don Juan and Byron's consumption of claret. Estimated at £100-£150, it sold for £320 plus buyer's premium and VAT. The second item was Lot 130, which consisted of six pieces relating to Lady Byron: two autograph manuscript poems ('The Solitary Star' dated 'Sept 1843' and 'Lines on Lord Melbourne' dated '1848'), a note written in the third person, an engraved portrait and two other snippets that were not catalogued, and not important (so I did not make a note of them). Estimated at £1200-£1800, it sold before commission at £1000, which bears out my theory that Byronists find it hard to spend money on Anne Isabella Milbanke. The last lot of interest in this sale was Lot 378 – Carlo de Salvo's Lord Byron en Italie et en Grece (London, Paris & Strasbourg, 1825). An uncommon item and with a lovely provenance, it was inscribed on the front pastedown: 'W. F. Webb Newstead Abbey'. Mr Webb bought the Abbey from Colonel Wildman. This was estimated at £200-£300 and sold for £240.

Sotheby's sale on 15 July had three Byron lots: two Don Juans and one Childe Harold. The Childe Harold was unsold. All four cantos were first editions. Cantos I and II were Randolph's second variant and Canto IV was the second issue. They were bound in tan calf with gilt panels, the quarto volume (Cantos I and II) had a slipcase. An attractive set originally from the library of the 'Late Mrs J. Insley Blair', it was previously sold by Sotheby's New York in March 2004. In last year's sale it was estimated at £1500-£2000. Both copies of Don Juan sold. Lot 104 was made up of Cantos I and II, the first edition in quarto and a new edition in octavo, with the remaining cantos in their five original octavo volumes. These were all large paper copies and all in their original binding. The lot was estimated at £4000-£6000 and sold for £3500 plus the buyer's premium of 25%, making the total £4375. The second set of Don Juan volumes, Lot 106, also had the quarto and an octavo edition of Cantos I and II, plus the further cantos in their five volumes, all first editions but not large paper copies and all bound in tan calf, the spines of which were dry. These had also come from Mrs Insley Blair's library and had previously been sold by Sotheby's New York in 2004. Estimated at £2000-£3000, they sold for £1600 plus the 25% buyer's premium, taking the total cost to £2000.

The Edinburgh auction house of Lyon and Turnbull had an important copy of a common book by Byron and Samuel Rogers: Lara, a Tale. Jacqueline, a Tale. This was a first edition, published by Murray. What made this copy unique was that it was a presentation copy from Rogers to Robert Southey, inscribed on the half title: 'Robert Southey Esq from the Author of Jacqueline'. The book was bound in decorative cloth, and such cloth bindings were a feature of some of Southey's books, a bibliophile who called his library the 'Cottonian' library. The decorative work was done by his daughters and his wife Caroline. Estimated at £1000-£1500, this particular book sold for £2800 plus the buyer's premium of 17.5%. I would speculate that if the book had been a presentation copy from the author of Lara the price would have been considerably higher.

The high spot of the year was at the Dreweatts London sale, on 15 September, of the library of the fifth Marquis Camden. Lot 1050, estimated at £3000-£4000, was sold...