Rare Book Monthly
How much Green is there in the White Mountains?
Lot 155: Views of the Profile Mountain
Those who place a premium on the visual aspect of collecting will be interested in lot 66. It's a Currier & Ives print of "The Notch House, White Mountain, New Hampshire." NEBA dates it to the circa 1860s. It is small – 8 x 12.25" but quite attractive. It is estimated at $150 to $250.
Lot 113 is "Woods of the White Mountains" by Romeyn B. Hough. This is a set of wood samples housed together in a wooden box with sliding lid. It was created in the metropolis of Lowville, New York in the 1890s and is estimated $150 to $250.
All this is not to say that the balance of the sale is uninteresting. The Americana sales at New England Book are always worth a look but for me, the opportunity to see how the White Mountain materials fare should tell us something about the overall market.
Here is a link to the full contents of the sale: NEBA 350. AE members can also evaluate auction house performance by, while signed in, click on "2006 Auction Results" which is listed under free services. Here is a complex analysis by percentage of lots sold, median price, % sold below the low estimate and % sold above.
Note I'm familiar with lot 137 because I own a copy with the wrap-around boards. I bought it on eBay for $525 or thereabouts. When I researched it I found that only four libraries appear to have an example. I checked with various dealers, some of whom had sold it cheap 15 or 20 years earlier and thought it wasn't worth much. I disagree.
