Happy Together｜WKW x Jet Tone Films 30th Anniversary

Wong Kar Wai In the Mood for Love - film stills box set photographs (set of 12) printed after 2000 photographs (color, set of 8): 10 by 15 cm; 4 by 6 in. photographs (black and white, set of 4): 25.3 by 20.2 cm; 10 by 7 in. box: 27 by 21.8 by 3 cm; 10 ⅝ by 8 ⅝ by 1 ¼ in. This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Jet Tone Archive and signed by Wong Kar Wai ---------------------------------------------- 王家衛 《花樣年華》劇照組合 電影劇照（共12張） 二〇〇〇年後印刷 相片: 10 x 15 cm; 4 x 6 in. (共8張) 相片: 25.3 x 20.2 cm; 10 x 7 in. (共4張) 紙盒: 27 x 21.8 x 3 cm; 10 ⅝ x 8 ⅝ x 1 ¼ in. 附：澤東庫藏開立及王家衛親簽之作品保證書

View 1 of Lot 308: Wong Kar Wai 王家衛 | In the Mood for Love - film stills box set 《花樣年華》劇照組合

wong kar wai 王家衛 | in the mood for love - film stills box set 《花樣年華》劇照組合

Original Film Posters

Fa Yeung Nin Wa / In the Mood for Love (2000) Poster, Japanese, First Japanese release 2001

Fa Yeung Nin Wa / In the Mood for Love (2000) Poster, Japanese, First Japanese release 2001 Unframed: 28 1/2 x 20 1/2 in. (72.4 x 52 cm) This Hong Kong romantic drama was written, produced, and directed by Wong Kar-wai. The cast includes Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Maggie Cheung, and Ping Lam Siu. The film tells the story of two neighbours, a man and a woman, whose spouses have an affair with one another, and who themselves develop feelings for each other. However, unlike their spouses, they agree to keep their relationship strictly platonic.

View 1 of Lot 73:  Fa Yeung Nin Wa / In the Mood for Love (2000) Poster, Japanese, First Japanese release 2001

fa yeung nin wa / in the mood for love (2000) poster, japanese, first japanese release 2001

Wong Kar Wai In the Mood for Love - autographed poster poster signed in Chinese and dated 2000 printed in 2000 156.8 by 117 cm; 61 ¾ by 46 in. This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Jet Tone Archive and signed by Wong Kar Wai ---------------------------------------------- 王家衛 《花樣年華》— 導演簽名海報 海報 款識 王 2000（下方） 二〇〇〇年印刷 156.8 x 117 cm; 61 ¾ x 46 in. 附：澤東庫藏開立及王家衛親簽之作品保證書

View 1 of Lot 303: Wong Kar Wai 王家衛 | In the Mood for Love - autographed poster 《花樣年華》— 導演簽名海報

wong kar wai 王家衛 | in the mood for love - autographed poster 《花樣年華》— 導演簽名海報

Wong Kar Wai x Noritaka Tatehana In The Mood For Love - Rouge mixed media Mother-of-pearl Abalone shell Back-coloring: Black executed in 2021, this work is number 1 from an edition of 10 This artwork is a unique piece. It is the first in a collection of ten unique pieces, all inspired by "In The Mood For Love" and created for this series. bottle: 4.2 by 4.2 by 15 cm; 1 ⅝ by 1 ⅝ by 6 in. box: 11.8 by 11.8 by 18 cm; 4 ⅝ by 4 ⅝ by 7 in. This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Jet Tone Archive and signed by Wong Kar Wai ---------------------------------------------- 王家衛 x 舘鼻則孝 旗袍領口的餘香 — 紅 綜合媒材 版數 1/10 此作獨一無二，為本系列共十款設計中之第一款，設計之創作靈感來自 《花樣年華》。 二〇二一年作 瓶身: 4.2 by 4.2 by 15 cm; 1 ⅝ by 1 ⅝ by 6 in. 包裝: 11.8 by 11.8 by 18 cm; 4 ⅝ by 4 ⅝ by 7 in. 附：澤東庫藏開立及王家衛親簽之作品保證書

View 1 of Lot 301: Wong Kar Wai x Noritaka Tatehana 王家衛 x 舘鼻則孝 | In The Mood For Love - Rouge 旗袍領口的餘香 — 紅

wong kar wai x noritaka tatehana 王家衛 x 舘鼻則孝 | in the mood for love - rouge 旗袍領口的餘香 — 紅

Fa Yeung Nin Wah/ In The Mood for Love (2000), first Japanese poster (2001)

Fa Yeung Nin Wah/ In The Mood for Love (2000), first Japanese poster (2001) Unframed: 40 x 29 in. (101.5 x 73.7 cm) This image was used on two differently sized Japanese posters. This is the larger and rarer of the two. This Hong Kong romantic drama was written, produced, and directed by Wong Kar-wai. The cast includes Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Maggie Cheung and Ping Lam Siu. The film tells the story of two neighbours, a man and a woman, whose spouses have an affair with one another, and who themselves develop feelings for each other. However, unlike their spouses, they agree to keep their relationship strictly platonic.

View 1 of Lot 72: Fa Yeung Nin Wah/ In The Mood for Love (2000), first Japanese poster (2001)

fa yeung nin wah/ in the mood for love (2000), first japanese poster (2001)

Wong Kar Wai x Noritaka Tatehana In The Mood For Love - Noir mixed media Gold Hira-Makie Gold Powder #3 24K (99.9%) executed in 2021, this work is number 1 from an edition of 10 This artwork is a unique piece. It is the first in a collection of ten unique pieces, all inspired by "In The Mood For Love" and created for this series. bottle: 4.2 by 4.2 by 15 cm; 1 ⅝ by 1 ⅝ by 6 in. box: 11.8 by 11.8 by 18 cm; 4 ⅝ by 4 ⅝ by 7 in. This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Jet Tone Archive and signed by Wong Kar Wai ---------------------------------------------- 王家衛 x 舘鼻則孝 旗袍領口的餘香 — 黑 綜合媒材 版數 1/10 此作獨一無二，為本系列共十款設計中之第一款，設計之創作靈感來自 《花樣年華》。 二〇二一年作 瓶身: 4.2 x 4.2 x 15 cm; 1 ⅝ x 1 ⅝ x 6 in. 包裝: 11.8 x 11.8 x 18 cm; 4 ⅝ x 4 ⅝ x 7 in. 附：澤東庫藏開立及王家衛親簽之作品保證書

View 1 of Lot 302: Wong Kar Wai x Noritaka Tatehana 王家衛 x 舘鼻則孝 | In The Mood For Love - Noir 旗袍領口的餘香 — 黑

wong kar wai x noritaka tatehana 王家衛 x 舘鼻則孝 | in the mood for love - noir 旗袍領口的餘香 — 黑

Modern Art Evening Sale  

Property from the Collection of Jet Tone Archive

Property from the Collection of Jet Tone Archive Wong Kar Wai In the Mood for Love - Day One Non-fungible Token ERC-721 Token ID: 0 3 primary assets: 1. 92 seconds video footage (MP4) 2. Copyright provisions (text file) 3. Option for subtitles (text file) Minted on 09/14//2021, ed. 1/1 Smart Contract Address: 0x6c1c637EC31081Ea67Ca4c909e04c3273F88F640 This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Jet Tone Archive and signed by Wong Kar Wai ---------------------------------------------- 澤東庫藏 Wong Kar Wai 花樣年華 – 一剎那 非同質化代幣（NFT） 2021年作（片段摘自1999年電影拍攝） 版數1/1 1分鐘32秒 附：澤東庫藏開立及王家衛親簽之作品保證書

View 1 of Lot 1038: Wong Kar Wai 王家衛 | In the Mood for Love - Day One 花樣年華 – 一剎那

wong kar wai 王家衛 | in the mood for love - day one 花樣年華 – 一剎那

Property from the Collection of Jet Tone Archive Wong Kar Wai Heartbreak Tango - Yellow Jacket mixed media Costume of lead actor Leslie Cheung in the film "Happy Together" (1997), starring as Ho Po-Wing This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Jet Tone Archive and signed by Wong Kar Wai ---------------------------------------------- 澤東庫藏 Wong Kar Wai 傷心探戈 – 黃皮衣 綜合媒材 張國榮於電影《春光乍洩》(1997年) 飾演主角「何寶榮」所穿之經典戲服 附：澤東庫藏開立及王家衛親簽之作品保證書

View 1 of Lot 1037: Wong Kar Wai 王家衛 | Heartbreak Tango - Yellow Jacket  傷心探戈 – 黃皮衣

wong kar wai 王家衛 | heartbreak tango - yellow jacket 傷心探戈 – 黃皮衣

James Bond on Bond Street

Ian Fleming You Only Live Twice. London: Jonathan Cape, 1964 8vo, FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE, advance binding, DUST-JACKET, collector's black clamshell box, slight marginal wear ONE OF 750 COPIES. This advance binding was not bound for commercial use. It was bound for the Boots Book-Lovers' Library in black cloth blocked in gilt to the spine, with plain sides and publisher's patterned endpapers. You Only Live Twice was described by Raymond Benson as "one of the most successful books in the series, conjuring more mood and atmosphere than any Bond tale since Casino Royale (1953)". According to the publishers' records, it was their best-selling Fleming title.

View 1 of Lot 132: Ian Fleming | You Only Live Twice, 1964, advance binding

ian fleming | you only live twice, 1964, advance binding

Indian & Southeast Asian Art 

The Sunder Shringar, a poem detailing the moods of love, was composed in the mid-seventeenth century by the poet Sunder Kavi, a contemporary of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. Illustrations from this series depict Radha and Krishna as the ideal lovers and their romance epitomizes the idealized notions of courtship which are celebrated in the poem.

The Sunder Shringar, a poem detailing the moods of love, was composed in the mid-seventeenth century by the poet Sunder Kavi, a contemporary of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. Illustrations from this series depict Radha and Krishna as the ideal lovers and their romance epitomizes the idealized notions of courtship which are celebrated in the poem. Here, Radha's attendant seems to be lost in a trance as she listens to Radha's vivid description of the beauty of her lover. For other illustrations from the same series see Sotheby's New York, April 1, 2005, lots 110-113; September 20, 2005, lots 106-109; March 29, 2006, lots 149-152; September 19, 2006, lots 1-5, March 19, 2008, lots 205-208 and September 19, 2008, lots 201-204. The delicate style and exquisite palette of the painting is closely related to the Tehri Garhwal Gita Govinda album, another epic poem on the divinity of love. The refinement of the present lot suggests that the artist was at least aware of the other series and may have even worked in that court atelier during the same period.

illustration from the sunder shringar: radha in conversation with her attendant

Fine Books and Manuscripts

Marx, Groucho. Two typed letters signed ("Groucho") to S. J. Perelman, together 2 pages, 4to, single-spaced, Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, 17 June 1948 and 30 August 1966. Perelman had collaborated on the scripts for two Marx Brothers movies in the early 1930s, Monkey Business and Horse Feathers. In his first letter Marx praises a Perelman piece in the New Yorker: "I, like most others, regard myself as a very tough audience and, for some unknown reason, take great pride in it. This is a hell of a thing to be proud of, but frankly there isn't much else. Your piece in the last New Yorker, about the dame with the platinum hair, floored me ... It's a shame that a man of your talent should have to accept miserly assignments from [Harold] Ross [the magazine's editor] ..."  Marx, in his second letter, advises Perelman, if he wants to increase the sales of his books, to "go on the Johnny Carson Show, the Merv Griffin Show, the Jack Douglas Show ... It's not very pleasant work, revealing yourself publicly, but with rare exceptions, this is what writing books has reduced itself to ... this advice hurts me more than it does you ..."

Marx, Groucho. Two typed letters signed ("Groucho") to S. J. Perelman, together 2 pages, 4to, single-spaced, Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, 17 June 1948 and 30 August 1966. Perelman had collaborated on the scripts for two Marx Brothers movies in the early 1930s, Monkey Business and Horse Feathers. In his first letter Marx praises a Perelman piece in the New Yorker: "I, like most others, regard myself as a very tough audience and, for some unknown reason, take great pride in it. This is a hell of a thing to be proud of, but frankly there isn't much else. Your piece in the last New Yorker, about the dame with the platinum hair, floored me ... It's a shame that a man of your talent should have to accept miserly assignments from [Harold] Ross [the magazine's editor] ..."  Marx, in his second letter, advises Perelman, if he wants to increase the sales of his books, to "go on the Johnny Carson Show, the Merv Griffin Show, the Jack Douglas Show ... It's not very pleasant work, revealing yourself publicly, but with rare exceptions, this is what writing books has reduced itself to ... this advice hurts me more than it does you ..." Allen, Fred. Typed letter signed ("F. Allen") to Perelman, 1 page, 8vo, single-spaced, n.p., 22 November [1948?]. The author of the mordant Treadmill to Oblivion praises a Perelman piece in Holiday magazine and encloses a news-clipping advertisement for "Wick's Adjustable Fancy Hat Bands." Wodehouse, P. G. Three typed letters signed ("P. G. Wodehouse") to Perelman, together 3 pages, 8vo and 4to, single-spaced, Remsenburg, Long Island, 16 August 1954 to 5 October 1958. 16 August 1954: "... I am a fervent admirer of your stuff and was very flattered when Somerset Maugham in his The Vagrant Mood bracketed us together. I love your current New Yorker series ... My private opinion is that nobody reads anything in the New Yorker these days except your contributions."  14 January 1957 (thanking him for a copy of the just-published The Road to Miltown): "... I don't think even you have ever done anything better than these, but I can't say for certain, as I still have half the book to read ..." 5 October 1958: "What heaven getting twenty-eight years of S.J.P. in one handy volume [The Most of S. J. Perelman] ... Thanks a thousand (1000) times for sending me this superb book. It has come, however, at rather a bad time, as I am trying to think out a plot for a new novel and was concentrating beautifully till it arrived. I now find myself sneaking off to the book shelf and hoiking down The Most of S. J. Perelman when I ought to be at my desk trying to figure out why the hell Bertie Wooster's Aunt Dahlia should have engaged Sir Roderick Glossop (incognito) as her butler, an absolutely essential item of my story ..."

humorists

Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich, 1874-1947

Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich, 1874-1947 evening, 1907 mixed media, gouache and oil on cotton canvas 160 by 285 cm., 63 by 112 in. Roerich's Evening of 1907 depicts an archaic group sitting in a circle, absorbed in some kind of communal activity - ritual chanting, storytelling or decision-making. The subject was central to the passionate archaeological and ethnographical studies that he pursued through most of his long career as an artist. The subject was first explored by Roerich in his early Slav paintings such as Meeting of the Elders (1898), and inspired his famous set and costume designs for Diaghilev's Ballet Russes Le Sacre de Printemps (1913). This influential ballet, subtitled Pictures of Pagan Russia, with its score by Igor Stravinsky and choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky was immensely popular in Western Europe. Evening dates from Roerich's period of monumental painting, when he had an atelier with students and apprentices at the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts in St.Petersburg (1901-1917). The work is the companion piece to his Morning, produced the previous year. Both Morning and Evening depict tribal customs of the Slavonic coast and originally belonged to Roerich's wife, Helena, who shared his love for Russian history and culture. Sergei Ernst, in his book N.K.Rerikh (Petrograd, 1918), included reproductions of the two works and identified the medium of Morning as tempera, and that of Evening as oil and subsequent books and catalogues have continued to describe them as such. Although Roerich liked the facility of working in oil, and appreciated its depth of colour and textual possibilities, he was aware of the deterioration in the condition of the oils painted by his teacher Arkhip Kuindzhi, and from 1904 moved away from its use, first working with pastel and watercolour, and then tempera. Evening may represent a traditional use of both oil and tempera. The composition of Evening - like the entr'acte for Le Sacre - presents a ritual circle, open at several points, drawing the onlooker into the centre. The fire defines the circle, lightning the faces of the people, and connecting them through colour to the golden dusk horizon. The extremely limited palette, with the pale-blue sky contrasting with grey clouds and the blue of mounds and trees, demonstrates the influence of post-impressionism, which the artist had recently encounted in Paris. Evening was chosen by the artist for exhibition in Sweden, where it was shown just before the Revolution. Its pendant was left behind in 1917 when Roerich and his family left Russia for Finland, and Morning was subsequently seized by the Bolsheviks, along with most of Roerich's other works, and is now in the Donetsk Art Museum in the Ukraine. Evening relates to Saintly Visions (1907) as well as Treasure of the Angels, through its rather contemplative mood. The heavily clad figures clustered around the fire, living with the severe northern climate, in harmony with their natural environment. Roerich assembled the works that he had in Scandinavia and organised the collection that he and his family were to travel with when exhibited in England and the United States. Evening is listed in the 1920 catalogue of the London exhibition at the Goupil Gallery, as well as Christian Brinton's catalogue for the show that toured in the United States from 1920 to 1922. According to Svetoslav Roerich, the artists son, Evening was among those paintings most cherished by his mother. In 1924 it was acquired by the Roerich Museum, which in 1935 was wrested from the Roerich's and the other trustees by the chairman Louis Horch. In 1971, the painting was included in the collection given by Horch in to the Rose Art Museum of Brandeis University in Massachusetts. Text by Kenneth Archer, an internationally renowned art historian and scenic consultant specialising in the work of Roerich.

nicholas konstantinovich roerich, 1874-1947

South Asian Art

The present illustration from a Nayika series depicts a lady conversing with her attendant. This series relates the various moods and nuances of lovers, generally personified as Radha and Krishna. The ladies in the present illustration discuss the allure that a lady's honeyed lips hold for her lover.

an illustration from a nayika series: swadhina patika nayika

Fine Books & Manuscripts Online

ALBEE, EDWARD Group of 26 Letters, Cards and Photos Group of 11 autograph letters, 1 typed letter, 6 autograph postcards, 5 Christmas cards, an 8 x 10 portrait photograph, all signed ("Edward A", "Edward", "EA" and "E"), 26 pp., New York, London, Houston, v. p., 21 May 1969—9 January 2003, to Marlene Thorn Taber, 9 autograph envelopes; with 1 unsigned 8 x 10 portrait photograph A fine group of letters and postcards from Edward Albee to his assistant Marlene Thorn Taber. Many of these letters were written by Albee from abroad, giving Taber instructions for feeding the cats, getting the apartment ready for a visit from the playwright's mother, disposing of auction catalogues, etc. Along the way, Albee shares impressions of actors, observations on travel, and laments on aging. After Taber left Albee's employment, she lived in Ukraine, China, California, and other places distant from New York. The two managed to stay in touch by mail, usually around Albee's birthday and at Christmas. Writing from his bed at the Savoy Hotel in London, 13 January 1970, Albee complains, "I am sick in bed with the flu … Just great weakness, fuzzy-headedness, sweating and enthusiasm for nothing.I lie in bed, stare out my window at the Thames and Big Ben & Parliament and realize that Tiny Alice is opening in two days, and that I wish I had the strength to get over to the theatre to supervise rehearsals. Ah me!" Albee goes on from this to discuss the results of an autograph auction: "The autograph information is puzzling. How can Tom Mix get more than M. Dietrich? And who is this Mrs. Nixon?" Writing again from London, on 17 November 1972, Albee comments on the casting for the film version of A Delicate Balance: "The rehearsals are fun, and it stands a chance of being quite a film. It was a pit to lose Kim Stanley, but Kate Reid is a splendid replacement. [Katherine] Hepburn is beautifully old and none could play the role better." In a somber mood, Albee writes on 31 March 1989, "My mother died last week — high time & a relief to both her & all who loved her. It's a time of dying — so many of my friends: Louise Nevelson, Richard Barr, Howard Moss, Lee Krasner & all the younger ones struck down by AIDS." In the last years of his life, Albee retained close ties with the University of Houston and the Alley Theater in that city. He writes on 19 March 2000, "I'm in Houston again this spring — teaching at the U. of Houston for the 12th year! — and directing my newest play (The Play about the Baby) at the Alley Theater here, with Marion Seldes and Earl Hyman. Splendid people to work with! Perhaps this production will move to NY in the fall, as might Tiny Alice." The group also includes a letter to Dr. Taber from Elaine Steinbeck and another from Bosley Crowther.

albee, edward | group of 26 letters, cards and photos

L12402

the first in the famous series of begging letters, an urgent, highly frank and revealing appeal for financial assistance to his friend, chief creditor and fellow freemason, and referring to the subscription of the great string quintets in C (K.515), G minor (516) and C minor (K.406/516b), and to the composition of the Piano Trio in E major, K.542, commencing with a heartfelt statement of his conviction that he is indeed his friend and a man of honour, then stating his bold financial plan, asking him straight out for a loan of one or two thousand gulden for one or two years at a reasonable rate of interest, describing the rationale behind this substantial request, admitting that without a minimum of capital, and reliant on various odd sums, it is impossible to live and to regulate one's affairs, observing that with nothing one can do nothing, stating that if he will do him this kindness, he can, firstly, meet necessary expenses as and when they occur, whereas he now has to postpone payments and spend all he receives at one go, and, secondly, work with a more carefree state of mind and with a lighter heart, thus earning more, supposing that he will not have any doubts as to security since he knows his intentions and how matters stand with him, reassuring him about the subscription [of the string quintets K.515, 516 and 406/516b], the period for which he is extending by a few months, adding that he has hopes of finding more music lovers abroad than in Vienna, admitting that he (Mozart) has acted as a true brother [freemason] by opening his whole heart to him in this matter which is of the greatest importance to him, and noting that it is only with a true brother that one can unburden oneself fully, begging him, however, should he be unable immediately to spare such a sum, to lend him till the next day a few hundred gulden, since he has had to pay his landlord in the Landstrasse on the spot to avoid an unpleasant scene, something which has made life very awkward for him; in the closing part of the letter Mozart informs Puchberg that he will be sleeping tonight for the first time in his new quarters, Währingergasse, bei den Drei Sternen, No. 135, which are cheaper and more pleasant during summer to autumn as he has a garden too, states that he will remain there for the summer and winter, observes rather unconvincingly that he prefers the change as he does not have a great deal in town to do and will have more time for composing, not being exposed to so many visitors, and notes that any fiacre will take him in to town for ten kreuzer; he closes with a postscript in which he attempts to lighten the mood by asking when they are to have a little musical party at his house again, tempting him with the information that he has composed a new trio [the Piano Trio in E, K. 542]    

the first in the famous series of begging letters, an urgent, highly frank and revealing appeal for financial assistance to his friend, chief creditor and fellow freemason, and referring to the subscription of the great string quintets in C (K.515), G minor (516) and C minor (K.406/516b), and to the composition of the Piano Trio in E major, K.542, commencing with a heartfelt statement of his conviction that he is indeed his friend and a man of honour, then stating his bold financial plan, asking him straight out for a loan of one or two thousand gulden for one or two years at a reasonable rate of interest, describing the rationale behind this substantial request, admitting that without a minimum of capital, and reliant on various odd sums, it is impossible to live and to regulate one's affairs, observing that with nothing one can do nothing, stating that if he will do him this kindness, he can, firstly, meet necessary expenses as and when they occur, whereas he now has to postpone payments and spend all he receives at one go, and, secondly, work with a more carefree state of mind and with a lighter heart, thus earning more, supposing that he will not have any doubts as to security since he knows his intentions and how matters stand with him, reassuring him about the subscription [of the string quintets K.515, 516 and 406/516b], the period for which he is extending by a few months, adding that he has hopes of finding more music lovers abroad than in Vienna, admitting that he (Mozart) has acted as a true brother [freemason] by opening his whole heart to him in this matter which is of the greatest importance to him, and noting that it is only with a true brother that one can unburden oneself fully, begging him, however, should he be unable immediately to spare such a sum, to lend him till the next day a few hundred gulden, since he has had to pay his landlord in the Landstrasse on the spot to avoid an unpleasant scene, something which has made life very awkward for him; in the closing part of the letter Mozart informs Puchberg that he will be sleeping tonight for the first time in his new quarters, Währingergasse, bei den Drei Sternen, No. 135, which are cheaper and more pleasant during summer to autumn as he has a garden too, states that he will remain there for the summer and winter, observes rather unconvincingly that he prefers the change as he does not have a great deal in town to do and will have more time for composing, not being exposed to so many visitors, and notes that any fiacre will take him in to town for ten kreuzer; he closes with a postscript in which he attempts to lighten the mood by asking when they are to have a little musical party at his house again, tempting him with the information that he has composed a new trio [the Piano Trio in E, K. 542]     2 pages, 4to (23.3 x 18.3cm), modern integral blank, annotated at the foot of the second page by Puchberg ("d[en] 17 Juny 788. f200 gesendet."), the number "4" in an unidentified hand at the lower right-hand corner of the second page, no place or date [Vienna, on or before 17 June 1788], horizontal and vertical fold, some light creasing ...Wenn Sie die liebe und freundschaft für mich haben wollten, mich auf 1 oder  2 Jahre, mit 1 oder 2 tausend gulden gegen gebührenden Intereßen zu unterstützen, so würden sie mir auf acker und Pflug helfen! - Sie werden gewis selbst sicher und wahr finden, daß es übel, Ja ohnmöglich zu leben sey, wenn man von Einahme zu Einahme warten muß! - wenn man nicht einen gewissen, wenigstens den nöthigen vorath hat, so ist es nicht möglich in ordnung zu kommen. - mit nichts macht man nichts; - wenn Sie mir diese freundschaft thun, so kann ich 1:mo /: da ich versehen bin :/ die nöthigen ausgaben zur gehörigen zeit, folglich leichter entrichten, wo ich izt die bezahlungen verschieben, und dann eben zur unbequemsten zeit meine ganze Einahme oft auf einmal hinausgeben muß. 2:do kann ich mit sorgenlosern gemüth und freyern herzen arbeiten, folglich mehr verdienen. - wegen sicherheit glaube ich nicht daß sie einigen zweifel haben werden! - Sie wissen so ohngefähr wie ich stehe - und kennen meine Denkungsart! - wegen der Souscription därfen sie keine Sorge haben; ich setze nun die zeit um einige Monathe mehr hinaus; - ich habe hofnung auswärtig mehrere liebhaber zu finden als hier. -Nun habe ich ihnen, in einer angelegenheit die mir sehr wichtig ist, mein herz ganz sehen lassen, folglich als ein ächter br:. gehandelt...wenn Sie vieleicht so bald nicht eine Solche Summa entbehren könnten, so bitte ich sie mir wenigstens bis Morgen ein paar hundert gulden zu lehnen, weil mein hausherr auf der Landstrasse so indiskret war, daß ich ihn gleich auf der stelle /: um ungelegenheit zu vermeiden :/ auszahlen musste, welches mich sehr in unordnung gebracht hat! - wir schlafen heute daß erstemal in unserem neuen quartier, alwo wir Sommer und winter bleiben; - ich finde es im grunde einerley wo nicht besser; ich habe ohnehin nicht viel in der stadt zu thun, und kann, da ich den vielen besuchen nicht ausgesezt bin, mit mehrerer Musse arbeiten; - und muß ich geschäfte halber in die stadt, welches ohnehin selten genug geschehen wird, so führt mich Jeder fiacre um 10 X: hinein, um das ist auch das logis wohlfeiler, und wegen frühJahr, Sommer, und Herbst, angenehmer - da ich auch einen garten habe. - das Logis ist in der Waringergasse, bey den 3 Sternen N:o 135.... P: S: Wenn werden wir denn wieder bey ihnen eine kleine Musique machen? - -   Ich habe ein Neues Trio geschrieben! -

autograph letter signed ("w: a: mozart[paraph]"), to his fellow freemason michael puchberg ("verehrungs=würdiger o[rdens]:. b[ruder]:. liebster, bester freund!")

Original Film Posters Online

VERTIGO (1958) POSTER, US Re-release 1960 Unframed: 104 x 69 cm (41 x 27 in.) This is the fourth and final time that James Stewart would work with Alfred Hitchcock, in one of his best loved thrillers. The mood of the film was greatly enhanced by the score, which was written by Bernard Herrmann. The artwork on this poster was created solely for the limited re-release of the film in 1960. Please see Shipping Calculator Link: Click here

vertigo (1958) poster, us

VERTIGO / ZAWRÓT GŁOWY (1958) FIRST POLISH RELEASE POSTER, 1963

VERTIGO / ZAWRÓT GŁOWY (1958) FIRST POLISH RELEASE POSTER, 1963 Art by Roman Cieslewicz (1930-1996) 33 x 23 in. (84 x 58 cm) This is the fourth and final time that James Stewart would work with Alfred Hitchcock, in one of his best loved thrillers. The mood of the film was greatly enhanced by the score, which was written by Bernard Herrmann. Eastern European posters are renowned for being avant garde, and in many cases one has to question how much the artist would have know about the films. This piece is no exception, as it is a fantastic, but bizarre interpretation of the film. To view shipping calculator, please click here

vertigo / zawrót głowy (1958) first polish release poster, 1963

Vertigo (1958) poster, US Artist: Saul Bass (1920-1996) Trade advertisement Framed Dimensions: 18 3/4 x 15 3/4 in. (47.6 x 50 cm) Unframed Dimensions: 14 x 10 in. (36 x 25 cm) This is the fourth and final time that James Stewart would work with Alfred Hitchcock, in one of his best loved thrillers. The mood of the film was greatly enhanced by the score, which was written by Bernard Herrmann. Saul Bass's classic spiral design was used for the American poster campaign. This blue image, featuring the identical artwork, was not used on any of the posters, and only on this trade advertisement to promote the film. Please see shipping calculator here.

Vertigo (1958), re-release poster (1960), US

Vertigo (1958), re-release poster (1960), US Unframed: 41 x 27 in. (104 x 69 cm) The artwork for this poster is unique to the 1960 re-release of the film. This is the fourth and final time that James Stewart would work with Alfred Hitchcock, in one of his best loved thrillers. The mood of the film was greatly enhanced by the score, which was written by Bernard Herrmann.

View 1 of Lot 81: Vertigo (1958), re-release poster (1960), US

vertigo (1958), re-release poster (1960), us

The John Golden Library: Book Illustration in the Age of Scientific Discovery

Thornton, Robert John New Illustrations of the Sexual System of Carolus Von Linnaeus … The Temple of Flora, or Garden of Nature. London: for the Publisher, by T.Bensley [1799-] 1807-[1812] Folio (575 x 460mm). 31 finely colored aquatint, mezzotint and etched botanical plates sumptuously depicting flowers and 5 colored portraits of: Linnaeus, "Linnaeus in his Lapland Dress," "Flora dispensing Her Favours on the Earth," "Aescapulius, Flora, Ceres and Cupid honouring the Bust of Linnaeus" and "Cupid inspiring Plants with Love" and with 12 engraved calligraphic titles, half-titles, dedications, contents leaves, etc., 6 engraved plates and tables, 9 uncolored engraved portraits of Thornton, Linnaeus, Queen Charlotte, etc.; but for some offsetting most noticeably to text, the colors fresh and vibrant. Contemporary English light green straight-grained morocco, ornately gilt, plum endpapers; scuffing, wear to edges. The magnificent Doheny Copy of the greatest English Flower Book and a defining work of the period. One of the grandest and most sumptuous of English botanical books, couched in the Romantic idiom. A lovely copy apparently bound from the original parts, with first or early issues of many of the plates and one in proof state. Conceived on a grandiose scale, New Illustration was to comprise three parts: a dissertation on the sexual reproductive cycle of plants; an explanation of Linnæus's plant system, lavishly illustrated with botanical plates and portraits of botanists; and "The Temple of Flora," which was to have no less than 70 large plates of exotic plant species arranged according to the classification system of Linnæus. Each species was to appear in its native environment. The production of the plates for "The Temple of Flora" involved a variety of techniques—aquatint, mezzotint, stipple engraving, and stippling with line engraving, or etching, which required the participation of a large number of artists. Among those commissioned by Thornton were Philip Reinagle, who executed most of the preparatory drawings; Abraham Pether, known for his moody quasi-Gothic landscapes; Sydenham Edwards and Peter Henderson; and the engravers Richard Earlom, James Caldwall, and Thomas Burke. Only the plate of the Rose was drawn by Thornton and executed by Earlom. In spite of using a host of artists and engravers, Thornton managed to "maintain a remarkable homogeneity of style throughout" (Oak Spring Flora), but production was a protracted stop-and-go affair, causing the text and plates to appear irregularly, and to bring Thornton ultimately to the brink of personal bankruptcy. For his contribution to English botanical illustration, Thornton has been compared to Redouté by Alan Thomas: "[M]ore or less coeval with Redouté in France came the production of the greatest English colour-plate flower book. … What Redouté produced under the patronage of L'Héritier, Marie Antionette, the Empress Josephine, Charles X and the Duchesse de Berry, Thornton set out to do alone. … The result was almost total failure. … His fortune was engulfed and his family reduced to penury. … It is easy to raise one's eyebrows at Thornton's unworldly and injudicious approach to publishing … but he produced … the most strikingly beautiful set of flower plates ever to be printed in England [and] one of the loveliest books in the world" (Great Books and Book Collectors, pp. 142–144). Yet, as its enduring appeal proves, Thornton's vision transcends the genre. That a book of botanical illustration could come to summarize the Age of Romanticism is a tribute to imaginative genius in aesthetic crossed with scientific inquiry. "To arrive at Thornton is to boil down all the diversities of the time in architecture, poetry, painting, fiction, music, from Walpole and Sir William Chambers to Shelley and the music of Weber, by way of Chatterton writing in Gothic or African mood of Medieval Bristol or reeking tigers, by way of the wild imaginings of Turner, or Martin or Francis Danby, by way of elements even in Blake, in Coleridge, in Wordsworth. An age is packed into these folio plates which Thornton directed" (Geoffrey Grigson in Thornton's Temple of Flora, p. 12). REFERENCE: Dunthorne 301; Grigson and Buchanan, Thornton's Temple of Flora (1951); Nissen 1955; Stafleu TL2 14.283. PROVENANCE: Estelle Doheny (leather book label; her sale Christie's New York, 21 February 1989, lot 2196)

View 1 of Lot 46: Thornton, Robert John | The Age of Romanticism fully blooms

thornton, robert john | the age of romanticism fully blooms

The Sundar Shringar, a poetic text dealing with the moods of love and the classification of heroines or nayika bheda was composed by the poet Sundar Kavi, a contemporary of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the mid-seventeenth century. In this instance the artist has chosen the characters of Radha and Krishna to depict the idealized notions of courtship and romance between the hero and heroine, which are celebrated in the poem.

The Sundar Shringar, a poetic text dealing with the moods of love and the classification of heroines or nayika bheda was composed by the poet Sundar Kavi, a contemporary of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the mid-seventeenth century. In this instance the artist has chosen the characters of Radha and Krishna to depict the idealized notions of courtship and romance between the hero and heroine, which are celebrated in the poem. There is a striking similiarity between the present series and the famous Gita Govinda series, which in the words of Randhawa,  "... are the finest Kangra paintings in existence... They have a strange dreamlike quality, and have an air of tenderness and refinement." Indeed the finesse of color, line and form in the present lot suggests that the artist was aware of the other series and may have possibly worked in the court atelier at the same period. Compare with similar works illustrated in Dye, 2001, no. 151, p. 350; Mason, 2001, no. 82, p. 192; Archer, 1973, vol. II, pl. 33 (i)-33(vii); Ehnbom, 1985, no. 119, p. 321, and Pal, 1978, no. 66. For other illustrations from the same series, see Sotheby's, New York, April 1, 2005, lots 110-113.

an illustration from a sundar shringar series: krishna attempts to pacify radha by playing music on his flute for her

Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern

[Giacomo Puccini] Paolo Tosti and Giovacchino Forzano.

[Giacomo Puccini] Paolo Tosti and Giovacchino Forzano. Collection of autograph letters signed by Tosti and Forzano to Puccini’s confidante Sybil Seligman Paolo Tosti. Series of c.73 autograph letters signed (“Pipinos”; “Paolo Tosti”), in Italian and French expressing his affection for her, discussing some of his songs and her veiled and suggestive voice, describing his intense desolation at her departure, explaining that every day after lunch he wanders the streets of London like a lost soul, MENTIONING PUCCINI (“…E tormentato in casa, e non ha l’energia di prendere una forte decisione…”), his triumphs in Liverpool, and Madama Butterfly, complementing her on her Italian, which she writes with the same ease and correctness with which she flirts, making arrangements for her lessons, informing her that he saw Sullivan in Nice looking very flabby, one letter with two bars of music, several letters with drawings of penises (one also with drawings of people and animals, labelled “Extase”), indulging in flirtatious banter, asking her forgiveness, apologizing for speaking too frankly, hoping that his beautiful drawings do not offend her ‘almost virginal modesty’, and noting that he has the character of a dog and can’t change that …Enfin , ma chère, que voulez vous, j’ai un caractère de chien – et je ne puis pas changer!! Et même si je voudrais changer, vous ne voudriez pas!!...Je t’aime… over 140 pages, mostly large 8vo, many on printed stationery (“12, Mandeville Place, W.”; “Claridge’s Hotel, Brook Street. W.” etc.), with two autograph letters by Tosti to Sybil’s husband David, five autograph letters to Sybil and David, in English and French, by Tosti’s wife Berthe (one written as a postscript to a letter of Tosti’s), and one other, the letters in plastic sleeves in a lever arch file, London, Rome, Paris, Nice and elsewhere, 1896-1916, where indicated Giovacchino Forzano. Series of fourteen autograph letters signed ("Forzano"), in Italian ABOUT PUCCINI AND HIS 3-ACT PLAY SLY, reporting that he had hoped "Il Maestro" would be interested in setting it as an opera, but he fears that he is working on Turandot instead, begging her to translate his play for the London stage and later asking her to be frank about its success there and expressing his wish that, if not Sly, then other plots might appeal to Puccini; Forzano gives regular reports on Puccini's visits and travels, his holiday at Bagni di Lucca (where he worked on Turandot), describing his moods and his dissatisfaction with Torre del Lago, relates a long gossipy story about Mascagni in Naples, reports his exhaustion from working as the stage director for the premiere of Boito's Nerone (1924) at La Scala, and discusses his own plays Madonna Oretta (1918), Lorenzino, Fior di cielo ("dramma cinese") and Pietro il grande 53 pages, 4to and 8vo, Viareggio, Montecatini, Milan etc., 29 June 1920 to 16 June 1924 and others undated; together with letters to Sybil by Carlo Zangarini (1874-1943), Gaetano Bavagnoli, Martin Holman, Gladys de Guy (6), Carlo Nasi (2), D’Annunzio (2, and a postcard), Elvira Puccini (mentioning Madama Butterfly) and others (c.45 items in all); and also: 16 letters (1921-1938) by various correspondents, including Franca Leonardi, to Sybil’s son Vincent; and some miscellaneous correspondence (mostly carbon typescripts) relating to Vincent Seligman’s book Puccini among Friends The addressee of these apparently unpublished letters was one of Puccini’s most intimate friends, Sybil Seligman (1868-1936), who had been introduced to the composer in 1904 at the home of his old friend Paolo Tosti (1846-1916), a composer of light-hearted songs and singing master to the Royal Family. Sybil’s relationship with Puccini had begun as a passionate love affair, later developing into a deep and genuine friendship. She was, Puccini himself noted, ‘the person who had come nearest to understanding my nature’. Giovacchino Forzano (1884-1970) wrote the librettos for Puccini's Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi (1918). He was adept at devising his own plots rather than adapting pre-existing ones, his play Cristoforo Sly being devised from just a few lines in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. Puccini toyed with the idea of setting the libretto for some time, and did not commit publicly to composing Turandot until January 1921. Although Puccini decided against Sly, it was very successful as a stage play in Italy and (not least through Sybil's efforts) reached London when Matheson Lang performed the title role at the New Theatre on 31 August 1921. PROVENANCE: From Sybil Seligman by descent to the present owner LITERATURE: Mosco Carner, Puccini. A critical biography (second edition, 1974), pp.148ff.

View 1 of Lot 161: [Giacomo Puccini] | Paolo Tosti and Giovacchino Forzano. Collection of autograph letters to Puccini’s confidante Sybil Seligman, 1896-1924

[giacomo puccini] | paolo tosti and giovacchino forzano. collection of autograph letters to puccini’s confidante sybil seligman, 1896-1924

James Bond: A Collection of Books and Manuscripts, The Property of a Gentleman 

IAN FLEMING CASINO ROYALE. NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, 1954 8vo, first American edition, first printing, second issue, THE CBS FILE COPY stamped “Property CBS - TV Story Department Hollywood” on front free endpaper, original green cloth, lettered in red, design to upper cover in red, DUST-JACKET, collector’s red cloth folding case THE COPY THAT FIRST PUT JAMES BOND ON SCREEN. CBS paid Ian Fleming $1,000 to adapt Casino Royale into a one-hour TV adventure. The episode, adapted for an American audience, was broadcast on 21 October 1954 and starred Barry Nelson as “Card Sense” James “Jimmy” Bond, and Peter Lorre as Le Chiffre. Above the CBS stamp in this copy is a green biro note in a studio editor’s hand reading, “Page 46 description of Bond and ‘Luck’”. The passage noted concludes “...luck in all its moods had to be loved and not feared. Bond saw luck as a woman, to be softly wooed or brutally ravaged, never pandered to or pursued. But he was honest enough to admit that he had never yet been made to suffer by cards or by women. One day, and he accepted the fact, he would be brought to his knees by love or by luck. When that happened he knew that he too would be branded with the deadly question-mark he recognized so often in others, the promise to pay before you have lost: the acceptance of fallibility.” LITERATURE: Gilbert A1b (1.2) PROVENANCE: From the library of CBS-TV Story Department, Hollywood

View 1 of Lot 9: FLEMING | Casino Royale, 1954, first American edition, second issue, the copy that first put James Bond on screen

fleming | casino royale, 1954, first american edition, second issue, the copy that first put james bond on screen

Un cabinet de curiosités bibliophiliques : de Dürer à Alechinsky 

Livres illustrés modernes HOCKNEY, DAVID ─ CONSTANTIN CAVAFY Fourteen Poems. Londres, Editions Alecto Limited, 1966. In-folio (466 x 332 mm). Cartonnage toilé violet, étui toilé noir (Reliure de l'éditeur). Poèmes de Constantin Cavafy, traduits du grec par Nikos Stangos et Stephen Spender. 12 eaux-fortes de David Hockney. Un des 250 exemplaires numérotés sur papier Crisbrook, avec les 12 estampes (n° 231/500, de l'édition dite A, sans la planche supplémentaire non reliée). Signé et justifié par David Hockney à la justification. "This was Hockney's first major statement inspired by the poet. Although he originally intended to illustrate a far more ambitious range of poems, this proved impractical and he therefore decided only to include those on the subject of homosexual love. A new translation was produced by the poets Stephen Spender and Nikos Stangos, and published with the etchings in 1967. In early 1966 Hockney went to Beirut, which he saw as the contemporary equivalent of Cavafy's Alexandria, to research imagery for the prints. While taking inspiration from Cavafy's poetry, Hockney also drew upon his own experiences and environment. For instance, his ink drawing Boys in Bed, Beirut (1966) (in fact drawn in London using two of his friends as models) was adapted for one of the prints, According to Prescriptions of Ancient Magicians. Photographs were also used as reference material, especially for such prints as In an Old Book and The Beginning, and the portraits of Cavafy - images he describes as 'very posed' (Livingstone, p.86). Hockney was not entirely pleased with the results, however: 'Things like weight and volume are very hard to get from a photograph. You don't get the information you need to be able to do the line' (Livingstone, pp.87-8). Hockney conceived the images, like the English texts, as an updated translation of Cavafy's imagery. [...] Hockney did not work with the poems at his side, nor did he intend each image to be an illustration of a particular poem. Rather, he and Stangos assigned poems to the etchings only after the prints were done. Intended as visual equivalents to the mood and theme of all Cavafy's homoerotic poetry, Hockney's etchings depict variations on the theme of two men engaged in endless, anonymous pick-ups. Certain themes are found in the work of both Hockney and Cavafy: fleeting experiences, a nostalgia for the erotic, and a desire to be deeply involved in the lives of others while remaining a detached spectator." (Terry Riggs, catalogue online de la Tate Gallery, november 1997). "Hockney creates scenes of touching intimacy in these simple etchings depicting gay love. They were made to illustrate a series of erotic poems by the Greek-Egyptian writer C. P. Cavafy. Hockney greatly admired Cavafy’s ability to write openly and unapologetically about gay relationships. Many of Hockney’s illustrations are based on intimate sketches of his friends. Others were drawn from photographs. The backgrounds are based on a trip Hockney took to Beirut, Lebanon in 1966. He felt that Beirut’s cosmopolitan atmosphere made it the contemporary equivalent of Cavafy’s native Alexandria, Egypt." (Gallery label, juillet 2021, cité dans le catalogue de la tate Gallery, supra).

View 1 of Lot 221: Fourteen Poems. 1966 12 eaux-fortes de David Hockney. Exemplaire signé.

fourteen poems. 1966 12 eaux-fortes de david hockney. exemplaire signé.

Contemporary Art Day Auction

John MacGregor states that “for a considerable period, Darger seems to have taken on the task of painting small portraits of all the leading generals who fought in the Glandco-Angelinian wars -both the good and evil participants. Usually several of these small images are placed on a single piece of cardboard, like pages in a family album, with the name of the general printed below. Frequently they appear on both sides of the heavy cardboard, which raises the possibility that initially they may not have been intended for the walls of his room. Occasionally lengthy texts are hand-printed below the figures, and these provide detailed explanations concerning their achievements in the wars. The consistent size and format of these portraits, as well as the extreme age of the cardboard they are mounted on, suggest that this body of work was produced more or less at one time. Over seventy individual portraits survive. In a sense the painted portraits of generals represent the commencement of Darger's own work, as well as the beginning of his involvement with an extremely important technique. In creating these portraits, he abandoned the use of overpainted photographs, relying instead on various methods of tracing photographs or drawings as a means of transferring them onto blank paper. The resulting drawing preserves the basic contours of the original image, as well as the pose and the character of the underlying photograph. The simple tine drawing, which is often in the purple ink of old carbon paper, is then filled in with color. Darger seems to have felt more independent of his model, free to invent his own uniforms and decorations, as well as hair, beards, and mustaches, with which he adorns the underlying faces. Working in dense black ink and watercolor, he filled in the simplified shapes and the flat backgrounds. Given his love of coloring books, it is evident that he had found a way to make his own coloring book of The Realms, which he then completed by filling in the blanks. Almost invariably, one can detect a more “sophisticated" prototype behind the drawing, and traces of distinct personalities. But the uniqueness of these naive portraits lies in Henry's wonderfully awkward and simplified copies. It was through the supposedly mechanical act of tracing that an insignificant photograph could be transformed into an original Darger drawing and fitted perfectly into the naive narrative style of The Realms. The drawings evoke something of the mood and character types which we associate with the American Civil War. The names Henry invented for his characters, and particularly his generals, also seem to recall the heroes of that war, who he could only have known as dark photographs or engravings in military histories. Boldly painted in intense colors, these images hold their own, even when looked at from across a room. ... These drawings, one of which is dated 1918 on the back represent the very beginning of what was to be a vast project, the illustration of In the Realms of the Unreal. They reflect Darger's nascent skill at an early stage. He was twenty-six years old, and nowhere near being the sophisticated artist he would become.” See John M. MacGregor, Henry Darger: In the Realms of the Unreal, (New York: Delano Greenridge Editions, 2002), p. 127.

general thomas phelan tamerlene, general black brooks, and general estrabrook starring

Your Own Sylvia: Sylvia Plath’s letters to Ted Hughes and other items, property of Frieda Hughes

Sylvia Plath Autograph letter signed, to Edith and William Hughes ("Hello There!") taking advantage of an unexpected day off spent reading Henry James's The Bostonians in bed, with news of their writing ("...I am hoping to finish a book of poems & start a novel by next fall...") and describing spring in New England, 1 page, folio (253 x 204mm), blue airmail stationery, [337 Elm Street, Northampton, MA,] 28 April [1958], torn along left edge with loss of c.7 letters "...We have borrowed the lovely green park next door as our private garden for daily walks. It is made up of grassy stretches, pink flowering trees, a little wood of elms & a tall wood of pines, and a formal garden. The red, pink & yellow tulips are up, and daffodils, bluets, grape hyacinths & phlox. We found a pheasant lives in the wood, & the grass is covered in big red robins & the trees full of squirrels..." SYLVIA PLATH EVOKES NEW ENGLAND SPRING. Her second semester at Smith had, in some ways, been easier than the first. She took more pleasure in her teaching and greater recognition of her poetry; ten days before writing this letter she had recorded an interview and a selection of poems for the Library of Congress. Nevertheless, she was struggling with depression. Plath's moods were often closely attuned to the weather and the coming of spring was a vital symbol for her in life as well as in her art (although she found the cold of New England easier than the darkness of an English winter). Plath's own arrangement of the Ariel poems ended with 'Wintering', so the sequence as a whole concluded on the line: "The bees are flying. They taste the spring."

View 1 of Lot 30: Sylvia Plath | Autograph letter signed, to Edith and William Hughes, "hoping to finish a book of poems", 28 April 1958

sylvia plath | autograph letter signed, to edith and william hughes, "hoping to finish a book of poems", 28 april 1958

English Literature, History, Children’s Books and Illustrations

Sold to Benefit the Ernest Hecht Charitable Foundation

Sold to Benefit the Ernest Hecht Charitable Foundation THE BEATLES Typescript management contract between Brian Epstein "(hereinafter called 'the Manager')" on the one part, and John Winston Lennon, George Harrison, James Paul McCartney, and Peter Randolph Best "(hereinafter called 'the Artists')" on the other part, SIGNED BY ALL FOUR BEATLES, comprising six clauses, numbers two and three with multiple sub-clauses, each member of the group signing over a 6 d. postage revenue stamp, and each signature witnessed by Epstein’s personal assistant Alistair Taylor (“J.A. Taylor”), 7 pages, folio (281 x 227 mm), 24 January 1962, stab-stitched with green ribbon in original blue paper wrappers docketed on the lower cover by the solicitor’s office (“Dated this 24th day of January 1962 | Brian Epstein | and | ‘The Beatles’ | Agreement | Silverman, Livermore & Co., | Solicitors, | Liverpool.”), scattered later pencil markings, punch-holes, light staining to wrappers [with:] translation of The Beatles 12-month production agreement with Bert Kaempfert Produktion of Hamburg of 1 July 1961, carbon copy typescript, 8 numbered pages, large post quarto (250 x 205mm), the translation dated "HCR 5.12.1961", punch holes, spotting “...The Artists are desirous of performing as a group of musicians to be known as “THE BEATLES”...” THE BEATLES ORIGINAL MANAGEMENT CONTRACT WITH BRIAN EPSTEIN. It is inconceivable that The Beatles could have achieved all that they did without Brian Epstein: it took more than inspired musicianship and song-writing to remake popular music, and the presentation, direction, and internal harmony of the Beatles all owed a huge amount to their manager. He was, as Paul McCartney has acknowledged, the Fifth Beatle. “We loved him”, said John, “and he was one of us”; his sudden death in 1967 was a huge loss and without him the band began to disintegrate. This key relationship began some two and a half months before the current contract was signed, on 9 November 1961, when a smartly-dressed businessman “arrived at the greasy steps leading to the vast cellar and descended gingerly past a surging crowd of beat fans” into the Cavern Club on Liverpool’s Mathew Street, “as black as a deep grave, dank and damp and smelly” (Epstein, A Cellarful of Noise (1964), p.46). Brian Epstein came to hear a local band and to ask about their solitary recording, ‘My Bonnie’ (recorded in Hamburg with The Beatles as backing to the singer Tony Sheridan), which had begun to be requested in his record shop. He was immediately caught by the powerful thrill that had buzzing fans queuing outside the Cavern for The Beatles lunchtime gigs: the energy of their music, the sexual charisma, and the charm and wit with which they engaged with their audience. He had no experience of music management, but from the very first time he heard their sound Epstein was determined to be the manager of The Beatles. For Epstein, managing The Beatles was a passion not a calculated business decision. Epstein always believed that their extraordinary combination of musical talent and charisma could lead the Beatles to be “Bigger than Elvis”, but there were deep personal reasons behind his desire to involve himself with the group: he saw an opportunity to be part of something new, to do something more creative than manage a record shop, and he quickly developed a crush on John. Epstein entered their lives when The Beatles were in danger of losing momentum. The band had returned from their second stint in Hamburg in July 1961 having lost one of their members, Stuart Sutcliffe, but having made their first recording. They were pre-eminent in the Liverpool music scene and drew crowds in Hamburg’s Reeperbahn, but they were unknown elsewhere, struggled to find gigs at new venues, and were gaining a reputation for bad behaviour: when Epstein spoke to Allan Williams, the band’s previous manager, his advice was “Brian, don’t touch them with a fucking bargepole” (Mark Lewisohn, All These Years: Tune In: Extended Special Edition (2013), p.1005). Nevertheless, Epstein pitched his services to the band less than three weeks after he first heard them play, and in that short period he had already begun talking to record industry contacts to arrange auditions. The Beatles rolled into Epstein’s shop, NEMS, late for their meeting with Epstein on 29 November. The shop was only a couple of hundred yards from the Cavern but they had stopped at a pub on the way. He quickly impressed the band with his obvious passion for their music and belief in their talent; his combination of honesty, class, and wealth; and his experience in running Liverpool’s best record shop, which gave him industry contacts that he was prepared to use in their favour. A few days later the band made their unanimous decision and John gave Epstein his answer: “Right then, Brian. Manage us, now. Where’s the contract? I’ll sign it.” (Epstein, p.51) There was a problem: “I had no idea what a contract even looked like and I didn’t think it would be sensible to take the signatures of four teenagers on any old piece of paper” (Epstein, pp.51-53). He believed in “the boys” and took a great deal of attention to ensuring that his contract with them was professionally drafted and that its terms were fair. A preliminary Heads of Agreement was sketched in a meeting with Keith Smith, the Beatles’s accountant, on 6 December 1961, and Epstein also obtained a sample contract from one of his record industry contacts. The contract was then drafted by David Harris of the local legal firm Silverman, Livermore & Co., who later recalled how Epstein was “very keen indeed to ensure that the contract was a fair one” - it was certainly much more generous to the artists than the industry sample on which it was based. It took several weeks before Epstein was happy with the wording. When the group gathered on 24 January, by some accounts in Pete’s mum’s front room, the contract that was placed before them was in its third draft. The contract gave Epstein responsibility not only for finding the band work, and managing their schedule, but also for publicity and “all matters concerning clothes, make-up and the presentation and construction of the Artists’ acts and also on all music to be performed” (not that Epstein, or anyone else for that matter, ever had much success in telling The Beatles what they should play). In return, his fee was to be 10% rising to 15% if their earnings should exceed £120/week (Paul negotiated the upper percentage down from 20%). Whilst this contract bound Epstein to the Beatles, it did not bind The Beatles to Epstein. He chose not to sign the contract, and Taylor, Epstein’s PA who witnessed the contract, later wrote that “The mood in the room changed suddenly, from mounting excitement and glee to confusion and anxiety”, when it became clear that the space for Epstein’s signature would remain blank (quoted Lewisohn p.1066). Epstein explained himself in his autobiography: “It was because even though I knew I would keep the contract in every clause, I had not 100 per cent faith in myself to help the Beatles adequately. In other words, I wanted to free the Beatles of their obligations if I felt they would be better off.” (Epstein, p.59) He need not have worried. In 1962, under Epstein’s management, The Beatles were transformed into the band that would conquer the world. He encouraged them to take a more professional attitude to their work. He emphasised that if they wanted promoters to rebook them, they had to be punctual; he stopped them from eating and drinking on stage; he encouraged them to bow to the audience. The distinctive early Beatles haircut pre-dated Epstein, but he got them regular appointments with his hairdresser to ensure their mops were properly styled. He also got them out of leathers and into sharp, Italian-style tailored suits. John in particular would later complain that the suits were a sell-out, but they simply weren’t going to get bigger bookings unless they smartened up. Anyway, as John himself admitted: “Everybody wanted a good suit – a nice, sharp, black suit … We allowed Epstein to package us, it wasn’t the other way around” (Lewisohn, p.1082). Epstein struggled for several months to get The Beatles a recording contract. He not only faced metropolitan condescension towards a Northern provincial act, but also incomprehension about the group set-up and especially its alternating lead singers. The translation of The Beatles recording contract with German bandleader and producer Bert Kaempfert, which forms part of the current lot, was the first outcome of Epstein’s work on signing The Beatles to a label. If Epstein was going to sell his band to a record company he needed to know the exact terms of their existing contractual arrangements, so he took the German contract with him when he met his friendly contact Ron White, marketing manager at EMI, on 1 December 1961 (this was the meeting that Epstein had promised the band when he pitched his services to them on 29 November). White agreed to help Epstein (NEMS was a good client and White had respect for its manager) and within days the contract was translated by EMI and posted back up to Epstein along with a letter from White assuring Epstein that its terms need not impede a new contract with a British label and promising to bring The Beatles to the attention of EMI’s A&R division (see Lewisohn pp.1006 and 1034). However this initial approach to EMI soon stalled, and then The Beatles were rejected by Decca, who opined to Epstein that “we don’t like your boys’ sound. Groups of guitarists are on their way out” (Epstein, p.55). Decca would thereafter be saddled with being the label that turned down The Beatles, but the band had got a test recording out of the encounter and this proved to be a considerable help to Epstein in the following months. Eventually, on 9 May, Epstein met George Martin of EMI’s Parlophone label at their recording studio on Abbey Road and was told that The Beatles would be offered a recording contract. Epstein always pushed the fact that the band wrote some of their own material, and it was the potential publishing income from these songs that whetted the appetite of EMI more than the band’s likely record sales. The recording contract was a huge breakthrough, of course – and in signing with George Martin The Beatles proved to be as fortunate with their producer as they were with their manager – but the subsequent recording session on 6 June brought into focus another problem: Pete Best’s technical limitations as a drummer. George Martin’s damning verdict on the percussion in their first Parlophone recordings confirmed what they already knew, indeed George Harrison had been manoeuvring to replace Pete with the more experienced (and more extrovert) Ringo Starr for some months, but it forced them to act. Or, to be precise, it pushed John, Paul and George to force Brian Epstein to act. It was Epstein who rang Ringo at Butlins in Skegness, where he was playing for the summer, to invite him to join The Beatles; and it was Epstein who met with Pete to tell him he was out. The January contract did not cater for any change in personnel, so with Pete’s replacement by Ringo it became void. Also, according to the contract, Epstein was still obliged to find employment for Best, so he duly found a place for him in another band (Epstein had, by now, begun to manage other Liverpool acts). On 16 August he wrote to the lawyer David Harris and instructed him to draw up a new contract, with Ringo replacing Best. The current contract contains scattered pencil markings where Harris used it to prepare the new contract. Harris and Epstein also took the opportunity to rectify a flaw in the earlier contract, which was that since Paul and George were under 21 they should have signed alongside a parent, and to increase Epstein's fees to a maximum of 25% on earnings above £200/week. This second contract, which was to remain in force until Epstein’s death, was signed by Epstein and the band on 1 October 1962. It was sold in these rooms in 2015 (29 September 2015, lot 42, £365,000). PROVENANCE: Brian Epstein; his publisher Ernest Hecht Please see shipping calculator link: click here.

the beatles, signed management contract with brian epstein, 24 january 1962

Books and Manuscripts: 19th and 20th Century

John Ruskin Three autograph letters signed i) to Dean Stanley, thanking him for permission to make casts of some funerary monuments in Westminster Abbey, “defaced as they are, the pieces of foliage above the shields will be among the loveliest models I can use in the Oxford schools”, sighing “if there were but a few more heads” on another set of figures (“but the bodies alone are a school of art”), 1 page, 8vo, Denmark Hill, 15 November 1871 ii) to Dean Stanley, seeking permission for his assistant, Arthur Burgess, to make some drawings and measurements in the Abbey, 1 page, 8vo, Denmark Hill, 26 March 1872, mounted on a sheet with item i) above iii) to Rhoda Malleson, saying that her letter “does look interesting - I wait for my womankind to read it to me (they're at Church)”, referring to a publication, which “doesn't amuse me they all alike make me both angry and sick”, and to his variable moods, “I was in high glory on Wednesday - but have been black-sulking ever since”, 2 pages, 8vo, stamped envelope postmarked 28 January 1881, Ambleside, Brantwood, Coniston, Lancashire, [no date], traces of mounting

View 1 of Lot 118: John Ruskin | Three autograph letters signed

john ruskin | three autograph letters signed

Max Klinger German, 1857-1920 galatea silver and mottled grey marble (2) 111cm., 43 3/4 in. Literature: P. Kuhn, Max Klinger, Leipzig, 1907, p.443; Exhibition: H. Guratzch, Max Klinger. Bestandskatalog der Bildwerke, Gemalde und Zeichnungen im Museum der bildenden Kunste, exhib.cat., Leipzig, 1995, p.74, nos.A32 & A32a (for full bibliography and exhibition history); Max Klinger 1857-1920, exhib.cat., Stadtische Galerie im Stadelschen Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main, 1992, no.286 This is a unique cast in silver. Produced by the Noack & Bruckner foundry in Leipzig, the thinness of the cast apparently prevented the addition of a foundry mark. The plaster model survives in the Museum der bildenden Kunste, Leipzig (no.P413). Klinger's choice of silver may have been determined in part by his work around 1905 on a silver table-centre for the Neue Rathaus in Leipzig. He was clearly fascinated by the colourist potential offered by the contrast between the cool reflective silver and the original dark polished marble throne, carved with primordial looking dolphins. This was a natural evolution of his innovative approach to sculpture, formulated around the time of his first trip to Paris in 1883. In his large painting of The Judgement of Paris (Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum) Klinger incorporates major sculptural elements within the frame. His ideas on the synthesis of the arts were further developed in his decorative scheme for the vestibule of the Villa Albers in Berlin. Polychromy was an essential part of his Wagnerian-inspired theories that he called Raumkunst and is the dominant feature of his sculptural oeuvre. His use of colour is determined by a symbolist rather than a strictly descriptive representation of his subject. Klinger uses colour to evoke a mood rather than mimic reality. Klinger's most famous polychrome sculptures are certainly his Beethoven Monument (Leipzig, Museum der bildenden Kunste) installed in the Vienna Secession of 1902, but completed in model form by 1886, his New Salome (Dresden) of 1893, and Cassandra (also Leipzig) of 1895. The theme of Galatea also explores the sensuous symbolism which he developed in his sea-gods in the vestibule of the Villa Albers around 1884. Several paintings of the 1890s, such as Die Quelle or Am Strande, which deal with the notion of water as a symbol of womanhood are equally relevant to Klinger's choice of subject matter. Galatea was a nereid or sea-nymph. She loved a handsome youth, Acis, but was herself loved by Polyphemus, a one-eyed giant. Polyphemus discovered the lovers together and killed Acis with a massive boulder as the lovers fled. The story was favoured by many symbolist artists. Klinger's choice of subject may have been further inspired both by Gustave Dore's painting, exhibited at the 1880 Salon and by Huysmans' influential novel A Rebours. The model for Galatea appears to be Helene Donath, who modelled for Klinger's painting Reue and for the his Badende (see lot 263).

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