The Library of Stephen J. Farber Achieves $1M+ White-Glove Sale at Freeman’s
Christopher Brink, Assistant Vice President, Head of Sale, Senior Specialist, Books & Manuscripts, leading two-day Books & Manuscripts sale
Freeman’s Books and Manuscripts attracted inspired collectors from around the world across a two-day series of sales that achieved a combined total of $1,681,784.
Leading the results was The Library of Stephen J. Farber, a single-owner white-glove sale representing nearly seven decades of dedicated collecting and featuring some of the most important works in literary history by authors including William Shakespeare, George Orwell, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Edgar Allan Poe. The Farber Collection achieved $1,052,544 and was 199% sold by value, while welcoming 19% new buyers to the firm.
“White-glove results from The Library of Stephen J. Farber speaks not only to the extraordinary quality of the collection, but to the continued strength and sophistication of today’s Books & Manuscripts market,” said Christopher Brink, Assistant Vice President, Head of Sale, Senior Specialist, Books & Manuscripts. “Collectors competed aggressively for material distinguished by rarity, provenance, condition, and importance, reaffirming the demand for exceptional literary works.”
Lot 194 | Shakespeare, William (1564-1616). As You Like It. -- The Taming of the Shrew. [Two complete plays extracted from: The First Folio]. [London: Isaac laggard and Ed. Blount, 1623].
Sold for $70,400 (left)
Lot 162 | Orwell, George (1903-1950). Nineteen Eighty-Four. London: Secker & Warburg, 1949.
Sold for $48,000 (right)
Literary Highlights
Leading the sale was As You Like It and The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare (1564–1616), two complete plays extracted from The First Folio ([London: Isaac Jaggard and Ed. Blount, 1623], (lot 194). The 46-page folio achieved $70,400, doubling its low estimate.
Also among the sale’s top performers was George Orwell’s (1903–1950) Nineteen Eighty-Four (London: Secker & Warburg, 1949), (lot 162), a first edition of the author’s landmark dystopian novel published just one year before his death. The copy realized $48,000 — six times its low estimate — reflecting continued demand for exceptional examples of 20th-century literary first editions.
Lot 208 | Tolkien, J.R.R. (1892-1973). [The Lord of the Rings trilogy:] The Fellowship of the Ring. 1954. -- The Two Towers. 1954. -- The Return of the King. 1955. All London: Allen & Unwin Ltd.
Sold for $48,000
Rounding out the top three lots was J.R.R. Tolkien’s (1892–1973) The Lord of the Rings trilogy — The Fellowship of the Ring (1954), The Two Towers (1954), and The Return of the King (1955) — all published in London by Allen & Unwin Ltd. (lot 208). The complete set, featuring folding maps tipped into each volume and printed in red and black by Christopher Tolkien, sold for $48,000, more than doubling its low estimate.
Additional Top Lots from the Farber Collection:
- Lot 173 | Poe, Edgar Allan (1809-1849). "The Raven" in The American Review. Volume I, number II. New York: Edward O. Jenkins for Wiley and Putnam, February 1845.
Sold for $35,200 - Lot 55 | Dickens, Charles (1812-1870). A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas. London: [Bradbury and Evans for] Chapman & Hall, 1843.
Sold for $25,600 - Lot 201 | Stoker, Bram (1847-1912). Dracula. Westminster: Archibald Constable & Company, 1897.
Sold for $25,600
Lot 63 | Shakespeare, William (1564-1616). Mr. William Shakespear's Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies. Published according to the true Original Copies. Unto which is added, SEVEN PLAYS, Never before Printed in Folio. London: Printed [by Robert Roberts, Robert Everingham, and John Macock] for H[enry]. Herringman, and are to be sold by Joseph Knight and Francis Saunders, at the Anchor in the Lower Walk of the New Exchange, 1685.
Sold for $140,800
Books & Manuscripts, Including Americana
Day Two of our Books & Manuscripts auctions brought together a dynamic selection of notable collections. The top lot of the Books & Manuscripts, including Americana sale was an unrecorded Fourth Folio by William Shakespeare that achieved $140,800, (lot 63), more than double its low estimate. In addition, the sale featured compelling groups of photography and ephemera documenting the Great Chicago Fire. The sale further included two important archives in the fields of Game Theory and Communication Theory. Rounding out the offering is a strong selection of Americana, including Native American photography, works by John James Audubon, and material relating to the founding of the United States.
Lot 114 | McKenney, Thomas L. (1785-1859) and James Hall (1793-1868). History of the Indian Tribes of North America. Philadelphia: [Edward C. Biddle, 1836]; Frederick W. Greenough, 1838; Daniel Rice and James G. Clark, 1844.
Sold for $44,800
Top Lots Include:
- Lot 114 | McKenney, Thomas L. (1785-1859) and James Hall (1793-1868). History of the Indian Tribes of North America. Philadelphia:[Edward C. Biddle, 1836]; Frederick W. Greenough, 1838; Daniel Rice and James G. Clark, 1844.
Sold for $44,800 - Lot 25 | [Communications Theory]. A significant archive of works on communications theory, comprising foundational texts by leading mathematicians.
Sold for $25,600 - Lot 26 | [Game Theory]. A significant archive of works on game theory, comprising foundational texts by leading mathematicians.
Sold for $25,600 - Lot 35 | Einstein, Albert (1879-1955). Autograph letter signed ("A. Einstein"), to President Herbert Hoover, Berlin, 6 May 1929.
Sold for $25,600