PBA Platinum Rare Books & Manuscripts Auction
September 8 at 11 am PT
605 Addison Street Berkeley, CA 94710
www.pbagalleries.com
pba@pbagalleries.com
415.989.2665

BERKELEY, CALIF. — On September 8, PBA Galleries will host a sale with 107 lots of rare, valuable, important and profoundly interesting material in all fields. These range from a first edition of the King James Bible to the foundation of game theory, with classics from Homer, Aristotle, Virgil and the pre-Socratic philosophers. Landmarks of science by Kepler, Darwin and Einstein are also available, as well as travels through the interiors of North and South America, rare manuscripts and ephemeral printings from Mexico, finely bound sets, high spots of literature and much more.

A highlight of the auction is the Great “She” Bible, a first edition, second issue of the King James Bible from 1613-1611. It is a rare, complete copy, including the elaborate woodcut historiated title pages for both the Old and New Testaments, woodcut initials headpieces and genealogical tables, and a double-page engraved map by John Speed ($60/90,000).

Another notable offering is Edward Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire in six volumes from 1776 to 1788. It was the most celebrated historical work in English literature covering the Roman Empire from the Second Century CE to its collapse in the west in the Fifth Century and in the east in the Fifteenth Century. The set is bound in period tree calf, with all volumes in the first edition ($30/50,000).

A featured lot is a rare official contemporary copy of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender signed aboard the USS Missouri in 1945. This period copy is printed on the rectos of eight leaves of US Army watermarked “parchment” paper. This document marked the end of the seminal armed conflict of the Twentieth Century ($20/30,000).

A first edition of the groundbreaking and supremely influential Theory of Games and Economic Behavior by John Von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern from 1944 also graces the auction. It is a presentation copy inscribed and signed by Morgenstern with the often-lacking Corrigenda slip tipped in at the end of the table of contents ($20/30,000).

A copy of Darwin’s Origin of Species in the second edition and second issue is also being offered. It is in the original green cloth ($20/30,000).

A first edition of the first English language translation of Tao te Ching by Lao Tzu, published in 1868, inscribed by the translator John Chalmers, is a foundational Chinese classic. Chalmers was a missionary who saw his translation as part of his evangelical strategy. His notes and translation choices provide unique insight into the cultural encounters between western and eastern philosophies ($12/18,000)

Other featured lots include Alexander Wilson’s American Ornithology with 76 hand-colored engraved plates ($12/18,000); Lyrical Ballads, with Other Poems by William Wordsworth, two volumes in a full morocco Doves binding, the first complete edition, with the first issue of the second volume ($10/15,000); Oscar Wilde’s The Happy Prince, first edition, one of 75 copies signed by Wilde and with plates by Walter Crane in two states ($10/15,000).

PBA is open by appointment only. Live auction participation is available via online or phone bidding. For information about upcoming sales, to schedule a Zoom preview or phone bidding, 415-989-2665, www.pbagalleries.com or pba@pbagalleries.com.

Rare, valuable, important, and profoundly interesting material in all fields, from a first edition of the King James Bible to the foundation of Game Theory, with classics from Homer, Aristotle, Virgil and the pre-Socratic philosophers; landmarks of science by Kepler, Darwin and Einstein; travels through the interiors of North and South America; rare manuscripts and ephemeral printings from Mexico; finely bound sets; high spots of literature; and much more.
Second issue of King James Bible, the great “She” Bible
First edition of Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire in 6 volumes
Rare copy of Japanese Instrument of Surrender Document 1945
Selections from Marcus Aurelius illuminated by Sangorski
Chromolithograph from Victoria Regia; or The Great Water Lily of America by William Sharp
Wordsworth’s Lyrical Ballads in Doves binding
Alexander Wilson’s Americana Ornithology, 9 volumes