Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - August - 2008 Issue
Fifty Favourites from Bernard J. Shapero Rare Books
Redoute's flower; Wolf's bird of paradise.
For those who like their classics not quite so old, item 22 is J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. This first edition, first issue has become enormously valuable overnight, overnight by antiquarian book standards anyway. Shapero describes this book as "a truly stunning copy." Published in 1997. £27,500 (US $54,017).
Here are a couple of books for those who appreciate truly stunning illustrations. Item 7 is an 1803 first edition of Pierre-Joseph Redoute's Jardin de La Malmaison (Garden of Malmaison). Redoute is certainly a strong contender for the greatest of botanical artists, and his drawings from the gardens at the estate of the Empress Josephine (Mrs. Napoleon) illustrate why. £60,000 (US $117,879). Item 8 is A monograph of the paradiseidae, or birds of paradise. The hand-colored plates from drawings by Joseph Wolf, in this 1873 book by Daniel Giraud Elliot, do justice to these beautiful birds. £37,500 (US $73,644).
Bernard J. Shapero Rare Books may be reached at +44 (0)20 7493 0876 or rarebooks@shapero.com.Their website is www.shapero.com.
