Books, Manuscripts & Objects from Three Important Collections

Chess memorabilia from the personal collection of Lothar Maximilian Schmid (1928–2013), comprising:

Chess memorabilia from the personal collection of Lothar Maximilian Schmid (1928–2013), comprising: (i) Caricature portrait of Bobby Fischer playing chess at the 14th Chess Olympiad, black ink with coloured washes on paper, captioned "Fischer USA Leipzig 1960", 560 x 395 mm (ii) Caricature portrait of Bobby Fischer, his body as a chess piece, black ink with blue and red highlights on paper, A4 (297 x 210 mm), mounted on card (iii) Sveti Stefan, caricature portrait of Bobby Fischer bearded and wearing a cap, head and shoulders, blue ink on blue paper, signed and dated, captioned "Fur Lotar Smidt", 1992, 645 x 500 mm (iv) a gilt decorated plastic drinking horn labelled "Skaksamband Islands", produced by the Icelandic Chess Federation for the Spassky-Fischer World Championship, Reykjavík, 1972, height 135 mm (v) a tooled leather sun visor for the World Chess Championship between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi in Baguio, Philippines, 1978 (vi) commemorative montage photograph celebrating the 100 year jubilee tournament of the Bamberg 1868 Chess Club, 1968, framed (frame size 255 x 315 mm) These items all relate to Schmid's life in chess. A native of Bamberg, he came second in the 1968 tournament celebrating his home club's centenary, in which eight international grandmasters (including Keres, Petrosyan, and Ivkov) and eight Germans competed. He was also part of the West German team at the 1960 Olympiad in Leipzig. Schmid was famously arbiter at the 1972 Championship but also at the controversial 1978 World Championship won by Karpov, and at the 1992 Spassky-Fischer rematch.

View 1 of Lot 70: Lothar Schmid | A group of six pieces of memorabilia from his personal collection, 1960s-90s

lothar schmid | a group of six pieces of memorabilia from his personal collection, 1960s-90s

Jacobus de Cessolis Libro di Givocho di scacchi intitolato de costumi deglhuomini & degli offitii de nobili. Florence: Antonio Miscomini, 1 March 1493 FIRST EDITION, 4to (197 x 130 mm), 66 leaves (only, of 68), large woodcut of a king and courtiers playing chess on i4v, 13 half-page woodcuts of the anthropomorphised chess pieces and pawns, 2 five-line and 23 three-line white-on-black floriated woodcut initials (some repeated), faded early modern marginal inscriptions and page numbers added in manuscript, late-nineteenth-century red morocco gilt by L. Broge, gilt edges, inner dentelles, lacking title (with large woodcut) and b8 both supplied in facsimile, i2-3 with neatly repaired worming at lower margin, i4 a trifle shaved at outer margin and neatly repaired at lower margin (with a couple of letters supplied in facsimile), washed The only fifteenth-century Italian edition of Cessolis' overwhelmingly popular work on chess, which had fifteen other incunable editions in Latin, Dutch, German, and English (as the second book printed, in his own translation, by William Caxton). NO COPY OF THIS EDITION HAS APPEARED AT AUCTION IN OVER THIRTY YEARS: the last being the Schäfer copy (sale in our New York rooms, 8 December 1994, lot 57). Cessolis was a thirteenth-century Dominican monk who wrote his treatise on "The Game of Chess" not as instruction on the rules and strategy of the game itself, but as a didactic allegory of the human condition. He does, however, describe the moves allowed each piece and the pawns, and his work is recognized as the first printed book on the greatest and most universal of all board games. Cessolis interprets the pieces of a single side as representing the stations of society: the five major pieces embody their actual roles — king, queen, knight, judge (the modern bishop), and king's deputy (the modern rook) — while the eight pawns are represented as a woodsman, a blacksmith, a wool merchant, a moneychanger, a doctor, an innkeeper, a watchman, and a water-carrier. The thirteen fine woodcuts presenting these personifications are in the manner of the title- block and are cut within similar decorative frames, but they are evidently the work of different block-cutters as well as a different designer. Although they lack the fluidity and distinction of the first illustration, which both Hind and Sander had compared to Botticelli's atelier, their quality is high enough to justify Sander's ranking of Miscomini's edition as "un des plus beaux livres illustres de la Renaissance." For other early editions of this work, see lots 10 and 12–15. PROVENANCE: William Mitchell, British collector (d.1908), bookplate; C.W. Dyson Perrins, British collector (1864–1958), bookplate and shelf-label (item 67); sale, Sotheby’s, 17 June 1946, lot 82, £200, Anton Zwemmer; purchased privately by Lothar Schmid LITERATURE: Alfred W. Pollard, Italian book-illustrations and early printing; a catalogue of early Italian books in the library of C. W. Dyson Perrins (Oxford: OUP, 1914), pp. 63-4 (this copy); USTC 996066; ISTC ic00419000; GW 06534; Goff C-419; HC 4900 = H4899; GW 6534; BMC VI642 (IA.27205); Kristeller, Early Florentine Woodcuts, 101; Sander 1918; Pollard/Perrins 67; Berlin Kat. 2895; Hind 11 537; 5 Jh. Buchill. 48. Arnim 99

View 1 of Lot 11: Jacobus de Cessolis | Libro di Givocho di Scacchi, [Florence,] 1493, the Dyson Perrins copy

jacobus de cessolis | libro di givocho di scacchi, [florence,] 1493, the dyson perrins copy

Chess World Championship, 1972—Halldór Pétursson

Chess World Championship, 1972—Halldór Pétursson Scenes from the Chess World Championship, Reykjavik, a complete set of 19 prints, printed in black on card (255 x 330 mm), each signed by the artist and numbered in blue ink, the first with an additional presentation inscription to Lothar Schmid, with an accompanying letter by the artist presenting the set to Schmid "as a small token of my sincere admiration for the way you handled the very difficult and delicate job as Chief Arbitrator" (1 page, Reykjavik, 30 October 1972), with original envelope, mounted in an album [with:] Two prints after Halldór Pétursson, depicting caricature scenes from the 1972 Chess World Championship, coloured and with captions in Icelandic and English, titled "Scene one: Bobby's Arrival", and "The last scene: Coronation and Banquet of the Century", each framed and glazed (380 x 455 mm) [also with:] Two posters after Halldór Pétursson, depicting caricature scenes from the 1972 Chess World Championship, coloured and with captions in Icelandic and English, titled "Scene one: Bobby's Arrival", and "The last scene: Coronation and Banquet of the Century", (570 x 670 mm), slight staining to "scene one" Halldór Pétursson (1916–1977) was a prolific book illustrator and cartoonist whose work was extremely popular in his native Iceland.

View 1 of Lot 69: World Championship, 1972—Halldor Peterson | A series of caricatures of the famed match between Spassky and Fischer

world championship, 1972—halldor peterson | a series of caricatures of the famed match between spassky and fischer

Thomas Murner and Johannes Adelphus Prophetia mirabilis ad annu domini Millesimu quingentesimum Credecimu prime futuru. [Strassburg: Johann Prüß (II), 1512] 4to (189 x 134 mm). Collation: A4, large woodcut to title-page (repeated at end), modern patterned boards, inner margins reinforced, with some splitting along backstrip, light spotting and soiling An exceedingly rare work by the Alsatian satirist, poet, and translator Thomas Murner (1475–c. 1537): Rare Book Hub records no copies at auction since 1921. The woodcut on the title depicts players at a board game with counters. PROVENANCE: Acquired by Lothar Schmid from Helmuth Domizlaff Antiquariat, Munich in 1964: invoice loosely inserted LITERATURE: USTC 687695 (no institutional copies recorded); VD16 M 7050

View 1 of Lot 53: Thomas Murner | Prophetia mirabilis ad annu domini Millesimu quingentesimum Credecimu prime futuru, 1512

thomas murner | prophetia mirabilis ad annu domini millesimu quingentesimum credecimu prime futuru, 1512

The World Chess Championship Match, Iceland, 1972

The World Chess Championship Match, Iceland, 1972 Partially printed scoresheets, used in round 17 of the competition, completed by Boris Spassky (2 pages, signed at foot), Bobby Fischer (2 pages, signed at foot by Fischer and Spassky), and arbiter Lothar Schmid (3 pages, including one blank), altogether 7 pages, A4 (294 x 204mm), 22-23 August 1972 with original envelope summarising the game UNIQUE RELICS OF THE MOST FAMOUS CHESS MATCH OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. Round seventeen (of 21) was played on 22–23 August 1972 and ended in a draw. By this point in the championship Fischer had pulled ahead, having won six games to Spassky's three.

View 1 of Lot 67: World Championship, 1972 | Scoresheets, round 17, 22-23 August 1972

world championship, 1972 | scoresheets, round 17, 22-23 august 1972

Carlo Cozio, Count of Montiglio and Salabue.

Carlo Cozio, Count of Montiglio and Salabue. Autograph working manuscript entitled "Nuova Idea per lo Il Giuoco degli Scacchi", in four books, with revisions throughout, with more extensive textual additions on loosely inserted gatherings and paper slips, 410 numbered pages (not including insertions), small 4to (190 x 130mm), contemporary vellum boards with manuscript title to spine ("Gioco de Scachi del' Conte Cozio. Originale 1747"), green silk ties, binding stained, some fraying to outer edges of text block [with, loosely inserted:] typed letter signed by Robert Blass to Lothar Schmid, comparing the current manuscript with the printed edition of Cozio's work, 2 pages, 7 June 1961 Carlo Cozio, Count of Montiglio and Salabue (c.1715–1780), was a noted chess theorist. This work was later printed as Il giuoco degli scacchi (1766). The printed text is extensively augmented with additional material written after the completion of this manuscript, and has a dedication to the Duke of Savoy that is also not found in the manuscript. It was one of the most substantial and wide-ranging treatises on the game to have appeared hitherto. The first two books contain 228 opening variations and more than 200 sub-variations, covering a wide range of lines of play; the third book deals with the distinct laws of the game as played in Calabria; the fourth book contains 201 middle-game and end-game positions. A RARE AND IMPORTANT WORKING MANUSCRIPT OF A KEY EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY WORK.

View 1 of Lot 19: Carlo Cozio | Nuova Idea per lo Il Giuoco degli Scacchi, manuscript, 1766

carlo cozio | nuova idea per lo il giuoco degli scacchi, manuscript, 1766

Spassky vs. Fischer--The Chess World Championship, Reykjavik, 1972

Spassky vs. Fischer--The Chess World Championship, Reykjavik, 1972 A collection of 84 press photographs, of the "match of the century", various size (c.116 x 180 mm to 240 x 300 mm), a small number with photographer credit, image number, date, or other notes on the reverse, July–August 1972 This group of photographs includes images of chess play, as well as public announcements and press conferences, images of the principals in Reykjavik during the series of matches, and images of the board set up for play. Lothar Schmid, who was chief arbiter for the 1972 World Championship, appears in many of the photographs.

View 1 of Lot 68: World Championship, 1972 | A collection of 84 press photographs of the famed match between Spassky and Fischer  

world championship, 1972 | a collection of 84 press photographs of the famed match between spassky and fischer

Emanuel Lasker Three autograph manuscripts (i) Autograph manuscript of "Die Elemente des Schachs [The elements of chess]" beginning with an assessment of the value of games (“Der Wert des Spiels”), and including a description of the rules of the game (“Die Spielgesetze des Schach”), the opening position, the notation of games, the rules for moving each piece (“De Regeln der Beweglichkeit”), pawn promotion, capturing en passant, illegal moves, fundamental facts of the game (“Grundlegende Tatsachen”), the values of the pieces (“Die Werte der Figuren”), tactics, strategy, and many other matters, concluding with an extended series of reflections on chess and life (“Schach und Leben”), 2 volumes, 4to (203 x 170 mm), c. 82 pages, plus blanks, written mostly on rectos, autograph manuscript labels to each volume (“die Elemente des Schachs”, “Elemente des Schachs II.”), signed on the label to the first volume (“Em. Lasker / Lützowstr. 85B”), later pencil annotation by Lothar Schmid to blank first leaf of first volume, cloth-backed marbled boards, no place [Berlin?] or date, browning to edges, extremities worn (ii) Autograph notebook containing observations on chess and notes for a lecture at the Lessing-Hochschule, Berlin, on conflict beginning with two pages of pencil notes on the game of chess, entitled “Das Schachspiel”, followed by eighteen pages of notes for a lecture on conflict, entitled “Streit. Vortrag Lessing Hsch. 10ten Feb.”, 20 pages, 4to (260 x 170 mm), autograph inscription on first page (“Von Malchen zum Geburtstag 1912. Angefangen den 13ten Januar 1914 im Zuge nach Krummhübel [Karpacz]”), later pencil annotation to front free endpaper, diced roan gilt, gilt edges, Berlin and elsewhere, 1912-1914?, first gathering splitting at hinge, covers worn (iii) Autograph notebook containing drafts for a 1921 lecture at the Lessing-Hochschule, Berlin, on happiness (“Das Glück”) A substantial, multi-layered manuscript, in six numbered sections (“I. Alte Theorien vom Glück…II. Was ist das Glück? Es wohnt in der Phantasie…III. Gesetze im Reich der Phantasie. IV. Wie erringe ich Glück?...V. Neue Leitsätze über Genuss, Arbeit, Glückzüchtung. VI. Der glücklichste Mensch: Der sittliche Kämpfer, der an das Walten überragender Kräfte, an Wahrheit und Gerechtigkeit unerschütterlich glaubt.”), with autograph title page (“Das Glück. / Vortrag Okt 1921 Lessing Hochschule”), containing extensive cancellations and revisions, c. 106 pages, plus blanks, including an inserted loose bifolium, 4to (250 x 163 mm), original wrappers, later pencil annotations to title and lower pastedown, [Berlin?,] October 1921, covers chipped and worn, old repairs to covers and spine with translucent adhesive tape, browning Lasker was the author of a number of books on chess, including the classic 1925 Lehrbuch des Schachspiels (Manual of chess), one of the greatest guides to the game ever written. The exact relationship of the first manuscript to Lasker’s other publications cannot be determined here (the initial chapter of the Lehrbuch is also entitled ‘The elements of chess’). That the final section of the first manuscript is a series of observations on ‘chess and life’ is entirely characteristic of Lasker the supreme philosopher-chess master. The third manuscript here illustrates his deep interest in purely philosophical matters, and dates from the year (1921) which saw him relinquish his title of World Chess Champion to the Cuban Capablanca.

View 1 of Lot 39: Emanuel Lasker | Three autograph manuscripts, including "Die Elemente des Schachs [The Elements of Chess]"

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