123. BLAEU, EXTRACT WITH 9 MAPS FROM THE NORDIC COUNTRIES, from Geographiae Blavianae, 1662.

The Rare Books, Maps & Manuscripts Collection

Welcome to the well-stocked Spring Book Auction, taking place on June 10!

The Rare Book, Maps & Manuscripts Collection spans nearly 600 years and includes everything from medieval manuscripts and early Swedish mass orders from 1487 to personal letters written by our most dazzling film star, Greta Garbo.
The catalogue features no fewer than 10 incunabula, all originating from the fine library of Malmö resident Sven Borgström. His collection also includes various editions of the entertaining Historia by the brothers Olaus and Johannes Magnus, alongside the Revelations of Saint Bridget, works by the astronomer Tycho Brahe, and an herbal book by Lonitzer.

One of the true highlights is, of course, Dutchman Theodor De Bry’s magnificent collection of voyages to the New World—primarily to America and Asia—published between 1590 and 1634. The work, known as The Great & Small Voyages, is rarely found complete and includes important travel narratives by well-known explorers such as Hariot, Linschoten, Drake, Vespucci, Barents, and many more.

We also offer Axel Stake’s unpublished manuscript on a famous balloon journey, and the legendary polar expedition of S. A. Andrée—which, as history tells us, didn’t quite go as planned.

The catalogue also features maps from near and far. A standout is a fragment of a Blaeu atlas with nine maps of the Nordic region, bound in a beautiful red volume. There’s also the still-politically-relevant satirical map Angling in Troubled Waters from 1899.
Speaking of fishing, two unusually fine works deserve mention: The Fishes of Finland by Sundman, and Bloch’s impressive work on German fish, featuring 108 hand-colored engraved plates from the late 18th century.

Also included are early, fascinating photographs—for example, a daguerreotype of Oscar I from around 1844, and a carte de visite of Dostoevsky. In addition, we present the rare original edition of The Brothers Karamazov, published in St. Petersburg in 1881.
Collectors of historical finance may also find interest in old share certificates and a check from Kreuger & Toll for the staggering sum of 20 million kronor.
For military history enthusiasts, several fascinating and often richly illustrated manuscripts written by—and once owned by—Count and Master of the Horse Adam Horn will also be up for auction on June 10.