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Lot 236
movement circa 1730, (probably re-cased with fresh dial and hands circa 1790), the unsigned white dial, 40mm diameter, with black Arabic numerals, copper coloured arrowhead hands, outer minute track and winding aperture at 3 o’clock, front loading gilt full plate movement, signed GEO. GRAHAM LONDON 5409, the pierced and engraved winged balance cock with maidenhead embellishment at the neck and diamond end stone, cylinder escapement with chain fusée, silvered regulation and 4 pinned Egyptian pillars under a signed brass dust cover, inner case, 50mm diameter with convex bezel, verso with convex bezel around a central dark blue guilloché enamel panel, (outer case lacking)Footnote: Born in 1673, 'Honest' George Graham was one of the most eminent of English watchmakers. He was apprenticed to Thomas Tompion in 1688 and was free of the Clockmakers Company in 1695. After completing his apprenticeship, he became Tompion's assistant and then his partner, marrying his niece, Elizabeth, in 1704 and succeeding him after his death in 1713. He perfected the cylinder escapement - as in this example - originally designed and patented by Tompion in 1695. He went on to invent the dead-beat escapement in 1715 and the mercury pendulum in 1726.In 1721, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and was the author of 21 papers. In 1722, he was chosen as a member of their council, the same year as his election as Master of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers. Between 1730 and 1738, Graham's own apprentice was Thomas Mudge who went on to become an eminent watchmaker in his own right.Graham's style of living was distinguished by its simplicity, honesty and generosity. He died in 1751 and Tompion's grave in London's Westminster Abbey was opened to allow the two old friends to be buried together. This exceptional honour and the location of their interment is testament to the high esteem in which these eminent horologists were, and still are, held.It is one of the few original gravestones retained when the nave was repaved in 1835, and the inscription reads: 'Here lies the body of MR. THO TOMPION who departed this life on the 20th of November 1713 in the 75th year of his age. Also the body of George Graham of London watchmaker and F.R.S. whose curious inventions do honour to ye British genius whose accurate performances are ye standard of mechanic skill. He died ye XVI of November MDCCLI in the LXXVIII year of his age'Graham's watches are now much sought after and extremely collectible. This example is not listed in Jeremy Evans' reference 'Thomas Tompion at the Dial and Three Crowns', the nearest numbered examples being 5373 (1729) and 5438 (1732).Literature:Frederick James Britten - Britten's Old Clocks & Watches and their makers, Methuen, 9th edition 1982, pages 326-329With thanks to the Antiquarian Horological Society for their guidance. Condition report: Outer case: Lacking.Inner case: Cover opens and closes satisfactorily, and the hinge does not appear strained. Front and back bezel probably originally gilded but gilding now almost completely worn off. Verso: the enamel worn and heavily scratched with some minor chips and cracks visible.Crystal: Complete and secure with some minor scratches and chips as to be expected.Dial: In good condition. Some very minor chips to the very edge and some minor surface scratches all over. Hairline crack at 6 o'clock from the dial edge to just above the numeral. Minute hand a little out of shape.Movement: Catch opens and snaps shut satisfactorily and the hinge does not appear strained. Inner dust cover in good condition and engages and disengages as it should. Movement not currently in working order. Balance wheel moves freely and 'ticks' for one or two seconds before stopping. Hands move freely in both directions.
Lot 20
RAMÓN MARTÍ ALSINA, (Barcelona, 1826 - 1894). "Christ on the Cross". Oil on canvas. Presents signature and inscription "Inspiration of Rubens" in the lower right corner. It has slight repainting. Size: 48,5 x 25,5 cm; 58 x 34,5 cm (frame). This work follows the painting made by Rubens between 1610 and 1611, a monumental oil on canvas of 219 x 122 cm, currently preserved in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp. It is a dramatic crucifixion with the figure of Christ, large and occupying much of the canvas, standing out against an ominous dark background. Considered today as the most important figure of Spanish realism, Martí Alsina is framed within the European avant-garde of the time. He revolutionized the Spanish artistic panorama of the 19th century, was a pioneer of the study of life and the creator of the modern Catalan school, as well as the master of a whole generation, with disciples of the importance of Vayreda, Urgell and Torrescassana. He began his studies in Philosophy and Literature, alternating them with night classes at the School of Fine Arts in Barcelona until 1848. Once he finished this first apprenticeship and decided to take up painting, he took his first steps in the Maresme region, where he began to earn his living doing naturalistic portraits and landscapes in "plen air". In 1852 he became a teacher of line drawing at the Escuela de la Lonja in Barcelona, and two years later he began to teach figure drawing, a post he held until the accession to the throne of Amadeo de Saboya. In 1853 he traveled to Paris, where he visited the Louvre and became familiar with the work of Horace Vernet, Eugène Delacroix and French romanticism. Later he would become acquainted with the work of Gustave Courbet, the greatest exponent of realism. In 1859 he was appointed corresponding academician of the Academy of Fine Arts of Sant Jordi in Barcelona. His first important exhibition was the General Exhibition of Fine Arts in Barcelona in 1851. From that moment on he exhibited regularly in Barcelona, Madrid and Paris, and was invited to the Universal Exposition of the French capital in 1889. Among his prizes, the medals obtained in the National Exhibitions of Madrid stand out, third in 1858 with the work "Last day of Numancia" and second in 1860 with his landscape. In his last years he lived in seclusion, focusing his efforts on the search for new forms of expression, with a brushstroke close to impressionism. Among his themes we find numerous landscapes and seascapes, urban views (especially of Barcelona), portraits and human figures, genre scenes, temperamental female nudes, history painting and biblical scenes. On few occasions he dedicated himself to still life, although he also painted some of them. Works by Martí Alsina are preserved in the Prado Museum, the Thyssen-Bornemisza, the National Museum of Art of Catalonia, the MACBA, the Museum of the Abbey of Montserrat and the Museum of l'Empordà, in Figueras.
Lot 7
Circle of GIUSEPPE RECCO (Naples, 1634 - Alicante, 1695); Naples, 17th century."Vanitas".Oil on canvas. Re-coloured.Measurements: 63 x 48,5 cm.Very appreciated within the antiquarian market, as well as among collectors and art historians, the Neapolitan still life school of the Baroque enjoyed a spectacular development, leaving behind the splendours of the 16th century and progressing within a fully Baroque and clearly identifiable style. Artists such as Tommaso Realfonso, Nicola Casissa, Gaspare Lopez, Giacomo Nani and Baldassare de Caro continued the local tradition by specialising in the painting of flowers, fruit, fish and game, thus satisfying the demands of a vast clientele characterised by a new 17th-century taste. In addition to these artists, there are also the minor figures who are slowly emerging from an unjust oblivion, and some artists who worked between the 17th and 18th centuries, such as Francesco della Questa, Aniello Ascione, Nicola Malinconico, Gaetano Cusati, Onofrio Loth, Elena and Nicola Maria Recco, Giuseppe Ruoppolo and Andrea Belvedere. These Neapolitan still-life painters, who worked during the 17th and early 18th centuries, are known as "i generisti" and were important not only in their own environment but also, and especially, in Spain, where the development of the genre was clearly marked by Italian influence, particularly the contribution of the Neapolitan school. Today this school is considered one of the most outstanding within the Baroque still life genre. The distinguishing mark of Neapolitan Baroque painters was always their strong naturalistic character and their warm chromaticism, with a dominance of reddish and earthy tones.The style of the work belongs to an aesthetic defined within the artistic circle of the painter Giuseppe Recco, who was one of the most influential still-life painters in Naples. His training was linked to his family, who were also involved in painting, and it is thought that his artistic education began in Lombardy. His work is characterised by a naturalistic language linked to tenebrism and contrasts of colour, particularly centred on the subject of the still life, in which he explored a wide variety of elements. Throughout his artistic career he worked for numerous Spanish nobles and vicarages in Naples, which led him to be requested by Charles II, but he died on his arrival in Spain.
Lot 76
ABRAHAM BLOEMAERT (Gorcum, Netherlands, 1564- Utrecht, 1651)."Saint Paul", 1631.Oil on canvas.Signed and dated in the upper right corner.Size: 74.5 x 63 cm; 104 x 93 cm (frame).In this painting, masterfully worked with firm and material brushstrokes, Abraham Bloemaert presents us St. Paul in the foreground on a neutral background, with his gaze directed towards the front. He is dressed in a dark red tunic, accompanied by the book that identifies him from the beginning and the sword, the instrument of his martyrdom with which he is later recognised, of which only the hilt is visible. Bloemaert presents the saint with great naturalism. The face is the absolute protagonist of the work, magnificently modelled through a skilful use of light and shade, with appropriate contrasts that enhance the plasticity of the features and define the artist as a faithful follower of Caravaggio's aesthetic postulates. The gaze is the focus of our attention, and it is reflected with a veracity typical of a careful study of life, with great drama and a deep mysticism.A renowned painter and engraver, Bloemaert initially worked in the style of the "Haarlem Mannerists", but in the 16th century he modified his style in accordance with the new Baroque of Caravaggio, becoming an important master of the Utrecht Caravaggists. He was a pupil of Gerrit Splinter, himself a pupil of Frans Floris, and of Joos de Beer. In 1581 he spent three years in Paris, furthering his studies with Jean Cousin the Younger and the Master of Herry. He completed his training at the Ecole de Fontainebleau in an environment dominated by the elegant and sensual models of the French court. On his return to Utrecht in 1611, together with the two other leading painters (Joachim Wtewael and Paulus Moreelse), he was one of the founders of the Guild of Saint Luke in Utrecht, a new painters' guild of which he became dean in 1618. An eclectic and versatile painter, he cultivated all genres of painting, from historical and allegorical subjects to still lifes, portraits and animal paintings. Bloemaert is represented at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Michigan, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Louvre Museum in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in San Francisco, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the American Museum of Fine Arts in New York, the American Museum of Fine Arts in New York, the American Museum of Fine Arts in New York, the American Museum of Fine Arts in New York, and the American Museum of Fine Arts in New York. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Mauritshuis Royal Picture Gallery in The Hague, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in Minnesota, the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Rouen, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Museum of Fine Arts in Nancy, the Musée de Grenoble, the National Gallery of Canada and the Royal Academy of Arts in London, among many other art galleries.This work was requested by the Central Museum in Utrecht to be part of the largest retrospective on the artist to date, scheduled for 2001. The owner of the work has the museum's letter of request, sent in 1996 and signed by the curator of painting at the time, Liesbeth M. Helmus.
Lot 86
Attributed to the Obrador of FRANCISCO ZURBARAN (Fuente de Cantos, Badajoz, 1598 - Madrid, 1664)."Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata", ca 1630-1650Oil on canvas. Relined.Attached is a report on the work issued by Ismael Gutierrez Pastor.It has slight repainting.Measurements: 145 x 105 cm; 156 x 116 cm (frame).In this work of devotional character the episode is represented in which St. Francis, being retired in the mountain, had a vision in which Christ appeared to him, from whose wounds rays emerged that caused the saint stigmata in his hands and feet. The scene is set in the foreground, with the saint three-quarter length, dressed in the Franciscan sackcloth, with the Holy Scriptures in front of him, and a skull on a rock, the objects of his meditation.Saint Francis (Assisi, Italy, 1182 - 1226) was the son of a wealthy Italian merchant. Baptised John, he soon became known as "Francesco" (the little Frenchman), because his mother came from that country. His youth was joyful and carefree until the age of twenty-five, when he changed completely and began to dedicate himself to the service of God, practising the Gospel ideal: purity, detachment and joy in peace. Francesco renounced the great inheritance he had received from his parents and decided to live poorly, setting an example of an authentic Christian. He soon had several young disciples, called by the saint "order of the Friars Minor". In 1210, Pope Innocent III granted them the foundation of the new order and encouraged them in their evangelical work. He was a legendary figure during his lifetime, considered a living relic. Likewise, his exquisite poetry and his familiarity with nature add the most human accent known in a saint, as can be seen in his "Canticle to the Sun".Francisco de Zurbarán trained in Seville, where he was a disciple of Pedro Díaz de Villanueva between 1614 and 1617. During this period he had the opportunity to meet Pachecho and Herrera, and to establish contacts with his contemporaries Velázquez and Cano, apprentices like himself in Seville at the time. After several years of diverse apprenticeship, Zurbarán returned to Badajoz without undergoing the Sevillian guild examination. He settled in Llerena between 1617 and 1628, where he received commissions both from the municipality and from various convents and churches in Extremadura. In 1629, at the unusual suggestion of the Municipal Council, Zurbarán settled permanently in Seville, marking the beginning of the most prestigious decade of his career. He received commissions from all the religious orders present in Andalusia and Extremadura, and was finally invited to the court in 1934, perhaps at Velázquez's suggestion, to take part in the decoration of the great hall of the Buen Retiro. On returning to Seville, Zurbarán continued to work for the court and for various monastic orders. In 1958, probably prompted by the difficulties of the Sevillian market, he moved to Madrid. During this last period of his output he produced small-format private devotional canvases of refined execution. Zurbarán was a painter of simple realism, excluding grandiloquence and theatricality from his work, and we can even find a certain clumsiness when solving the technical problems of geometric perspective, despite the perfection of his drawing of anatomies, faces and objects. Nor is he interested in foreshortening or in suggesting illusionistic Italian-style spaces. His severe, rigorously ordered compositions reach an exceptional level of pious emotion. With regard to tenebrism, the painter practised it above all in his early Sevillian period, both in his well-known monastic works and in pieces for private devotion. No one surpasses him in his way of expressing the tenderness and candour of children, young virgins and adolescent saints. His exceptional technique also enabled him to depict the tactile values of canvases and objects, making him an exceptional still life painter. His sobriety, his expressive power
Lot 1051
WARLIMONT WALTER: (1894-1976) German staff officer of World War II, Deputy Chief of Operations Staff of the Armed Forces High Command 1939-44. Warlimont was wounded in the 20 July plot to assassinate Hitler and was later convicted in the High Command Trial at Nuremberg and sentenced to life imprisonment as a war criminal. A.L., unsigned (concluding 'entirely yours'), two pages, 4to, n.p. (Nuremberg), 12th August 1945, to his wife, Anita Warlimont ('Dearest, and inmost of my heart'), in German. Warlimont writes an affectionate letter, in part, 'Today too, being once again Sunday, there is the happy opportunity to write to you. I do not need to begin by telling you what it means to me, how it stirs my deepest feelings, to be united with you at least in this way…..There have been several important changes in my situation in the last few days - that much I think I am allowed to say. We travelled for some hours through German territory, and so saw German people, but also came across many pitiable sights. But I was filled by the move with happy feelings, which were confirmed by the new place where we have been put, and I hope only that no reaction follows, and that I am not deceiving myself. The nerves can make use of a boost of this kind but have to take a grip on themselves, in order not to tempt fate, or just as little to challenge the surrounding circumstances - which are always there……But to sit in a garden, as I am doing now, writing to you, oh you, is yet so wonderful - to be alone with you in the cool hours of the afternoon. My connection with the realities of ordinary life is becoming steadily weaker. My mind is filled, pretty equally, with the huge, painful past and the unknown, but certainly as painful, future. To the clarification of the earlier period I still hope to be able to contribute some important points, even if everything is proceeding very slowly……Are you starting to accustom our children to the idea that they will certainly have to work more than we thought earlier - perhaps also in other ways? Whether they should not both be trained, additionally, in shorthand and typing, and also learn more about household matters than you can pass on to them (use of a sewing machine, for example, and dress-making?) But very likely you are so busy just getting your daily bread that no time remains for anything else. May I soon be able to help you again! More than before, better than before, more loving - and more tender - than before!.....What I said in days gone by in irritable arguments with you was not worth saying, and in the highest degree unworthily said to you. But, my own, one thing - hold on to your health in all circumstances, that is more valuable than anything else……May the rest of the summer - even though we are still parted - still bring much sunshine and some joys to you and our children. Your laughter is happiness to me, with you only I can be happy forever'. Accompanied by the original envelope hand addressed by Warlimont. VG
![[SAUDI ARABIA]: TALAL BIN ABDULAZIZ AL SAUD (1931-2018) Saudi Arabian Prince, politician, dissident, businessman and philanth](https://cdn.globalauctionplatform.com/ce7d8d81-6c8c-4c2c-99d1-ae5800fe9415/e9b60696-7f0d-4205-b1fa-ae5b01334107/468x382.jpg)
Lot 1199
[SAUDI ARABIA]: TALAL BIN ABDULAZIZ AL SAUD (1931-2018) Saudi Arabian Prince, politician, dissident, businessman and philanthropist, who strived for a national Constitution and was leader of the Free Princes Movement in the 1960s. A good archive of six A.Ls.S. and seven T.Ls.S., Talal, (one of the T.Ls. unsigned), thirty-four pages (total), 8vo and 4to, Ryiadh, April 1951 - May 1956, all to Maria Marras, in English (occasional grammatical and spelling errors retained in the transcripts). The letters, largely social in content, chart the romantic love affair between the Prince and his Italian girlfriend, which appears to have began with contact through amateur radio, in part, 'Really I was very surprised and buzzled when I heard your sweet voice as I was looking for you long time ago, and was trying to catch you on the air for several times……I was very pleased and happy to have this enjoyedable QSO with you. I am very glad for my being able to catch you. I am 22 years of age, unmarried and my name is Talal. I think you will be more interested to know that I am living here very happy with my father and mother in the Royal Palace in Ryiadh…..I have enclosed my QSL Card (still present) herewith together with my Photo (also still present) with which I hope you will be contented…..At last, as I have promised you through the Micraphone that I will pay another visit to Italy especially for you….' (14th April 1951), 'Although I have met you very frequently on the air, and although your manner has been kind and friendly towards me, I do not flatter myself that you are aware of the sincere affection I entertain for you, an affection which now emboldens me to write to you and to tell you that the hope of the gaining your love has been for the last two days in my mind. Should I be so fortunate as to win your regard and love, your happiness should be my one thought and care and you should not regret having entrusted it to my keeping. I shall await your answer with the greatest impatience. If you can give me hope, hasten to put an end to my doubts, and make me the happiest of men…..I was always looking for you and was trying to catch you on the air…..On that day when I heard your sweet voice, my heart jumps from its place and flew with your voice on the air, and I am sure that you are now holding my heart with both of your hands….you are the most lovely and beautiful girl I have ever seen in my life, although I hav'nt yet seen you; be sure that I fell in deep love with you from the first moment I got you on the air……the temperature of my love is increasing terribly, as when I heard your sweet voice, I was about to get mad especially when you began to give some Arabic words as you have a very sweet and excellent pronunciation….' (16th April 1951), 'I am in receipt of your precious letter….and if you were with me when I fixed my eyes on your photos you would consider me as a mad man…..I was not able at all to collect my thoughts….as I began to give cries and shouts and was unable to control myself. Very nice and wanderful photos. Yes, I imagined you are a beautiful and wanderful girl….You have a chin that is small in size if resolute in form, and a mouth that is not noticeably soft and week because it is conspicuously soft and pretty. Your nose is delicately aquiline and very subtly and finely modeled, and you look out upon the world with steady grey-blue eyes. Your abundance of gold-red hair flowed back very prettily from your broad forehead and over your delicate ears and you have that warm-tinted clear skin that goes so well with reddish hair. You have a very dainty neck and from these conditions I imagine that the long slender lines of your body are full of the promise of riper beauty…..Regarding my visit to you, believe me I am waiting for the permission from my father H. Majesty the King, and as soon as I get this permission….be sure that I will fly to you….' (8th May 1951), in the next letter recounting a passionate dream, with dialogue between himself and his lover, and further adding 'We gone to my garden. While we are passing by some beautiful blossoming flowers, a green rose jumps up and speaks in a musical tone, "What a beautiful lovely girl you have, black blue eyes with half sleep looks, curly hair, charming libs and well built body. Congratulations that you knew how to choose your lady". (Pauss) I replied, "Yes, she is my lady and for me alone". The rose, "Kiss her, yes kiss her and do not let anyone to take her from you". (Kisses). Then back to my shack room….' (13th June 1951), 'Love is not an easy word to express. When somebody loves, it is not on his own wish but it is an inside feeling concerning only the heart and no body has got a control on his heart. Therefore when I say I love you, it means that I do and it comes out from the bottom of my heart….Believe me that you are the first one who has wounded this heart with the black arrow of your lovely eyes. My heart was closed with a very strong lock, but when I heard your sweet voice, I felt something else that changed my life…..' (22nd July 1951), 'I am still considering our love as a blossoming rose, and that I have much time to enjoy this rose…..Darling, the only thing I want from you is not to think and consider that it is a beautiful flower indeed but very frail. Excuse me to say that you are mistaken in all what you have said. It is a beautiful dream our meeting together in somewhere, but I am satisfied to wait and see if dreams ever do come true…..' (25th March 1952), 'When we left you we took the boat to Cairo. There we spent one month during which period we saw all the Italian magazines which have been translated and what was advertised about me and you was shameful according to my being. It was foolish of them to write such things which proved that the newspapers men are impolite and interfearers in other affairs. Don't you think so dear love? No body in the world can do what he likes or can enjoy himself without meeting any troubles. I never had an idea of the Italian press being so worst and always writing nonsence. What we can do is to keep scilent and say nothing towards this matter. It was very nice and beautiful to be able to see you…..I cannot express my feelings towards our wanderful meeting at your place. Our dreams were fulfilled, but in a cruel way which we don't like. The only important matter is, I saw you…..I have changed my name on the air for private sole reasons which I cannot say to anyone….' (16th October 1952), 'Your question about my feelings after our short meeting has got a wanderful effect on my heart…..I was thinking before our meeting and in Rome, of what our meeting would be. Is it a meeting of between two lovers or is it just between two Radio Hams and nothing more or less. Alas, it was as I said in the second belief…..what you were doing was forcing me to follow the family formalities. Sweety, I was not expecting that from you, I was expecting that Maria will meet me in the airport alone, take our dinner in one of the restaurant there and you should have made a program for my stay with you in order to spend beautiful time alone without the interferance of others. But as I didn't find anything of the sort, I urged my getting back to Rome, being truthful I must have to do that…..As to what was written about me in the newspaper, I beg you to forget it as it is something passed which needs no more discussion. I was not surprised of their being aware of my visit to you, because there were many curious paper men in the hotel where I was staying, so they knew my arrival in Sardinia…..' (6th November 1952), OWING TO LIMITATIONS IMPOSED BY THE SALEROOM THE COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THIS LOT CAN NOT BE DISPLAYED HERE. Please contact us directly for further information.
![[MOROCCO]: MATRA JAMES: (1746-1806) American Sailor and Diplomat who had accompanied James Cook on his voyage to Botany Bay i](https://cdn.globalauctionplatform.com/ce7d8d81-6c8c-4c2c-99d1-ae5800fe9415/4c38f89a-8248-4ee7-ae90-ae5b0134d42d/468x382.jpg)
Lot 1253
[MOROCCO]: MATRA JAMES: (1746-1806) American Sailor and Diplomat who had accompanied James Cook on his voyage to Botany Bay in 1770. Matra served as His Majesty's Consul General at Tangier from 1786-1806. Small archive of nine contemporary manuscript drafts of letters from Matra, unsigned, thirty five pages (total), folio, n.p. (Tangier), June - December 1804, to Earl Camden. Matra writes a series of diplomatic letters in which he makes references to Napoleon, French espionage and other matters, stating, in part, 'I believe it will appear Sir that the restless ambition of Buonaparte is not content with disturbing of Europe, but that he seriously means in his leisure moments to attempt something in this country. Towards the close of last summer a Passenger landed here from…..Spain; about 30 years of age, he was in the Turkish dress & called himself Ali Bey, a Syrian, but he spoke not a word of Arabick. His story was that when he was an infant his Father & Family took refuge in England…..since he grew up his time has been employed in travelling through England, France & Spain. I have always observed here that the more absurd the Tale the more readily it was believed by Moors……yet this man had not been twenty four hours in the Country before he was suspected to be a Brother of the Corsicans, & still all over the Country he goes by no other name than Bonaparte…….he was asked if he wanted anything from the Emperor; he answered no, he was very rich & only desired to return to, and spend his days, in the religion of his ancestors…..About the middle of September he received from Cadiz forty cases, two of which were filled with mathematical instruments, the others contained such articles as are usually given at this Court as Presents…..The whole was consigned to the Spanish Arsenal. About this time he solicited my acquaintance considering him as an adventurer……The Emperor arrived shortly after with whom he went to Mequinez & we never met, which at that time I did not much regret, as we had here…..a man decorated with the Order of the White Eagle…..by the late Ali Bey of Egypt, who had been sent young as a Hostage to St. Petersburgh, & by an Empress of the Greek Church, brought up in the Catholick Religion. I believed him to be a Polish Jew…..who had taken up a trade he was no means qualified for & I concluded that this second Ali Bey was one of the same cast……On his arrival Mr. Goblot the Spanish Vice Consul & Secretary visited him & generally was with him every evening at what time all the Servants & Interpreters were put out & the Room shut……Goblot is a French man, but he has been near thirty years in the Spanish Service……In his [the Syrian's] journey to Mequinez under the very eye of the Emperor, he sounded all the Rivers, measured their breadth & examined the roads & mountains with the accuracy of a Quarter Master General…..The Moors are petrified…..The Emperor seems blinded by his piety & charities…..& by the very valuable Present he made him……yet I believe that H.I.M. is not altogether without his suspicions…..I conclude…..he can surely be no common traveller……that he is immediately an Agent for Spain I cannot readily believe because there is scarce any temporal advantage which……would induce the Court of Madrid to send a Christian here……Much is not easily to be done against a man who has such a command of money, & parts with it so readily as he does, but I will lose something on him. His principal Servants & Interpreters are Jews & I know that I can command the Services of the Jewish Priesthood in Morocco…..& I hope in the course of the summer to have him completely surrounded' (6th June 1804), 'Until about a week past there was every reason to expect a civil war of the most serious consequences. H.I.M., who was in Mequinez, for reasons not distinctly understood here had a dispute with the Udaya, a most powerful tribe who cover a great extent of Territory' (18th July 1804), 'I have the honour to inform Your Lordship that for a month past an attack by this country on the commerce of America was considered as certain. The Emperor had loaded one of his Frigates…..in the Pass given by the American Consul there was a prohibition for the ships entering any Port blockaded by the United States…….I believe My Lord there has been for a long time past very considerable intrigues here on the part of Spain to procure a revolution, as under the present Emperor there is no probability that they will obtain any corn from this country….' (25th August 1804), 'I have this morning received official notice from the Emperor that it is his intention to send a Person to London with a considerable sum of Money to purchase certain articles and I am requested to assist him…..to procure good Bills of Exchange……the sum I believe will be nearly two hundred thousand Mexicos' (18th September 1804), 'The danger I most apprehend arises from the disposition of the Emperor, which is a secret to none of the Parties. It is impossible to detest anything more than Mulay Suleiman does the Jewish Butchers of Gibraltar, whom he has described to myself as a set of Rascals enriched at his expense. He certainly has not much more love for us……we are the only nation who get anything from him, & he would be glad……to be rid of us…..The state of Health in Gibraltar and the main parts of Spain has caused a most rigorous Quarantine to be established here; but I have after a little struggle obtained a continuance of the supply for the Garrison…..all subject to the usual laws of Quarantine' (29th September 1804), 'I had a long conversation……I then learnt for the first time that the Emperor expected we would make him a Present of two Ships. I did not lose one moment to employ the strongest, but most decent language I could, utterly to destroy every hope of that nature……A very long experience has taught me the full value of such promises, yet when the state of Gibraltar became so deplorable….I wrote directly & solely to himself…..I told him plainly that if our Army was reduced the Spaniards who were in force at the lines were not such blockheads as to let the Peace stand in the way of such an acquisition as Gibraltar…..The opposition I meet with in this business is astonishing. Of course nothing is…..openly…..said, but every street & alley in the place is filled with whispers of the danger I am leading the country into' (20th October 1804), 'Of Bin Tab I know nothing personally……but I have a sufficient knowledge of his character from many who have associated with him in Portugal, Spain & Italy; he is a merchant & man of pleasure, and having lived much with the Christians, his manners are more polished than those of any other man of this country, As to other points I suppose he is a complete Moor as I have never known a change of life make any real change in the national character of these People……he generally keeps an open table where ever he is, & is reckoned a good judge of wine, of which he is very fond……of the English he knows much more than he is willing people should suppose' (21st October 1804)OWING TO LIMITATIONS IMPOSED BY THE SALEROOM THE COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THIS LOT CAN NOT BE DISPLAYED HERE. Please contact us directly for further information.
Lot 448
JOACHIM JOSEPH: (1831-1907) Hungarian violinist, conductor and composer. A.L.S., Joseph Joachim, two pages, 8vo, n.p., n.d. (annotated 1872 in another hand), to Mrs. Benzon, in German. Joachim politely declines an invitation, writing 'On Sunday, to celebrate the 200th (!) Monday Popular Concert, there is a dinner I can't miss. I had suggested another day but unfortunately Sunday is the only day that suits everyone involved and so I respond to your kind message as to whether I will come to your dinner with 'no', much as I would appreciate the opportunity to correct my lack of dependability and punctuality!', however further adding that he still hopes to be able to come 'since Chappell's dinner is at 6 o'clock; I can make my evening visit to you afterwards' and concluding by mentioning that he has been back to Edinburgh and is now going to Brighton. A couple of very minor, small traces of former mounting, VG The Monday Popular Concerts, which were begun in 1858 and held at St. James's Hall, London, were among the most influential 19th century musical events and attracted the finest British and international musicians, among these Joachim, who was an annual visitor to England from 1862 onwards. His appearance at the Monday 'Pops' and other concerts in London and the main provincial towns was a regular feature of British musical life. Provenance: From the Pencarrow Collection previously sold at Sotheby's, 8th December 1999 (lot 193) where acquired by Dr. Chonon Elkan Lewis (1931-2020) English physician, violinist and composer, appointed Honorary Physician to the musicians of the Philharmonic Orchestra.
Lot 502
RENOIR PIERRE-AUGUSTE: (1841-1919) French Impressionist artist. A good vintage signed 8.5 x 6.5 photograph, being a reproduction of one of the artist's still life studies featuring a fish and entitled Nature Morte au Poisson. Signed ('Renoir') in black ink with his name alone to the lower white border. Also signed by the Mayor of Cagnes beneath a short statement confirming the authenticity of Renoir's signature, dated 10th January 1911. The lower border also features the Mayor's official purple rubber stamp. Neatly mounted to a 9 x 9.5 page removed from a contemporary album. Some very light, extremely minor age wear, VG In the later years of his life Renoir suffered from the crippling effects of arthritis which impacted on his work and he turned to subjects which could be executed in the studio, including still-lifes. Such paintings could be finished quickly, illustrated by the sureness of the long, gestural strokes which define the fish in the present image. Nature Morte au Poisson, an oil on canvas, was originally owned by Renoir's cataloguer, the French art dealer Ambroise Vollard (1866-1939). Vollard, in order to avoid any future disputes regarding the authenticity of works by Renoir, had all the original paintings photographed and then asked Renoir to sign each photograph whilst being witnessed by the Mayor of Cagnes.
![[WARHOL ANDY]: (1928-1987) American artist, a leading figure in the pop art movement. Warhol's personal 14K gold open face po](https://cdn.globalauctionplatform.com/ce7d8d81-6c8c-4c2c-99d1-ae5800fe9415/a21b2322-51f3-4000-ab3c-ae5c00d23ea5/468x382.jpg)
Lot 553
[WARHOL ANDY]: (1928-1987) American artist, a leading figure in the pop art movement. Warhol's personal 14K gold open face pocket watch by E. Howard & Co., Boston, measuring 1.75" in diameter, with an opening hinged glass cover to the front, the watch face on a second hinge to reveal the inner working mechanism and the inside of the back casing engraved with the makers name, serial number (148873) and 14K mark. The back of the outer casing is attractively engraved with a monogram. Contained in a modern black watch case. VG Provenance: The pocket watch was acquired by our vendor at The Andy Warhol Collection auction held by Sotheby's, New York, 23rd April - 3rd May 1988 (Collectibles, Jewelry, Furniture, Decorations and Paintings, 24th - 26th April 1988, lot 619) and their lot label tag is still adjoined to the watch with string. The complete set of auction catalogues (6 vols) for The Andy Warhol Collection is also included in the present lot. E. Howard & Co. was a clock and watch company formed by Edward Howard and Charles Rice in 1858, after the demise of the Boston Watch Company. Howard was to buy out Rice's interest and thereafter sought to make high quality watches based on his own unique designs and eccentric production methods (a factor which, perhaps, Warhol appreciated). 'After his death in 1987 from complications following gallbladder surgery, 313 watches were found at Warhol's East 66th Street townhouse and sold at Sotheby's the following year in a landmark 10-day auction, along with over 10,000 other objects. It was the first time such a sizable cache of fine watches belonging to the same owner had come to market, and it captured the imagination of collectors worldwide. Value was no longer attached solely to the build of a timepiece; price could now be magnified by the object's journey. It sure helped that Warhol had an astute eye as well as an adventure-packed life. Markedly different from the pop aesthetic he had championed, the watches were classic and refined. And unlike the to-and-fro of his iconic silk screens at auction, the watches seldom reappear to feed an ever-hungrier market' (from 'Oh, Yeah. I have Some of Those': How Andy Warhol Amassed One of the World's Most Formidable Watch Collections', by Mark C. O'Flaherty, published in the RobbReport, 14th November 2020)
Lot 658
On Sharon Tate and her attempted assassination of Gerald R. Ford – ‘If I had wanted to kill the man, he’d be dead’ FROMME LYNETTE: (1948- ) American Criminal, a member of the infamous Manson Family who was imprisoned for her attempted assassination of American President Gerald R. Ford in 1975. An extraordinary, lengthy A.L., unsigned (although 'signed' L. Squeaky F. within the text), eight pages, 4to, n.p., 13th October n.y., to Charles Manson ('Dear Charlie'). Fromme writes to her friend following her appearance in a two-part television interview and states, in part, 'It wasn't bad at all. It was good. The next one of course may be. But this one I just talked about little life things and said well life & death merge in the universe when he asked about death - and after it was over they called me a scary little girl. And she seems so right & how could her values be distorted so much. I said where's Jerry Rubin after he told all the kids to kill their parents? Everyone shouted for Revolution - I made a fist (& this is what I was scared about) & said “Revolution was in the Tate house. Revolution is dead babies everywhere”. That could easily be misunderstood as we wanted that even tho if any one had eyes, I was starting to cry. The last thing I said in this part (he cut it) was: I want Manson heard. I was shot up from below. I look pale & a little fat around the cheeks & tired eyes - but not all that bad. Another thing I was wondering - I was still wearing my red hat. I do now not as often because I need a pin for it but is that alright? I don't know why I said the fist was in the Tate house & everybody ran from it. One finger was in the Tate house. I sure am relieved…..I guess you & Blue were right…..On the change of colors - I've still been red. I didn't want to give up green…..The news commentators, by the way, after interview said “Well it's surely something to make you question”. Tomorrow's will be all the bad stuff - the stuff about family show killing an old movie & us being like predators and that the Tate murder was “perfect”. That really upset the guy & rather than telling about the killing of earth I just said it needs to be explained by the whole family and I threw it back on family again because I felt it was too much at the time…..Today I was answering his questions about the past & he wanted to know how I feel now about what I've done. And I could've said all kinds of good things but I laughed & said “What have I done?” And he said about Pres[ident Ford] & I said I'll tell you this - If I had wanted to kill the man, he'd be dead. Then he asked if I regretted anything in my life & if I'd do the same if I had it to do over. I said that I'd be on the corner of Temple & Broadway. Does that tell people/kids to go there? I wasn't on top of my thoughts……And the worst part is when my mind was spinning to find some words to say much in a short time & he asked - do you ever doubt - and w/o a thought I answered “Oh I've had doubts all my life but….” & suddenly I snapped…..& I said oh no - & then he asked me the question again & I said “I know blab la bla”……Also I had big photos of you on my locker beside redwood trees and whales……And later he asked if I thought I was crazy & I said what kind of insane mind would create a giraffe & he didn't understand. And he asked if others here thought I was crazy and I could've said good things but I said no. And I said I don't care what they think. I was just told that Rolling Stone magazine has a hold of a manuscript I wrote about ranch and is asking my approval to publish…..I have had thoughts of both Rolling Stone & someone trying to sell portions of my book - just this week. And since I've been working on Ranch portion - especially - I may just go that way w/ stipulation I can make a book…..I got a letter from you today and I'm so happy to get this motion picture. The ones we had I don't have here. This is beautiful……I saw the second part of interview today, it wasn't bad. I forget the last thing they showed but when I said I respected respect & my family they showed film of us on the corner and with bald heads. Some not so good shots of you. But also the picture of you on locker with long hair & beard. I think the last thing I said today was people judge themselves. They mentioned the people's court today too. And showed film pictures of Blue…..I told B to get her tapes out - the ones she got 15 years for. They're good. The T.V. guy said for people to look & see if they can see what's going on in the unpredictable illogical mind of L. Squeaky F - I tried to change the name but didn't succeed…..The guy said - I can't see how all the life you're talking about has anything to do w/ murder - I don't understand…and I said - well let's find out. (I could've said - That's you if you don't - or that's how far my family could go - one way or the other). Anyway - I just got new letter from you…..Does it take me away from myself to be a spot in your thinking. I've wanted you to be free of me whoever me is - any b.s. competition etc. and I had a thought you could have a me & bee & all of us w/o the rest of the ego b.s. because you have what you want coming. The rest of us have made what we've made & have that coming but on the other side will we not know no end to the thought we once lived in? Oh - now you say that you do have us - like I thought. And you love your lonely. And I live with the fact that I let you be taken away…..You know I want you to stay and also to do as you want. I wonder how much we have to do with your feelings and if my will to stay changes anything. I don't want to play hopes - I see the ranch story can say a lot that is in each of us…..I hoped that you could have the earth at peace - and that no matter what happened to us you would have the kids & they'd have themselves. I have laughed sometimes because I know that you have so much good coming……It just doesn't keep me from knowing how rotten we've been as humans - & I think of what you said years ago - if ever there was a devil on the face of the earth, I am he/she it - something like that. I've got a lot to do now and trying to hook up with Blue. I wonder if you got gold letter and Indian letter. I'll tell him you can't write. You seen Nixon's man John Dean telling all their secrets for rolling stone magazine. He wrote & said Earl Butts said there's only 3 things black people want “tight pussy, loose shoes and a warm place to shit” Dean said Pat Boone was there too. Crazy huh - HUH I think you're angry when you say HUH to me. Always here's red & blue in the spectrum. I love and see to be the drawing in reflection. P.S. What if I call my book Charles Manson Died in Reform School. Or what about “I lived 3 years with a Dead Man”. Sounds familiar doesn't it - sure took me a long space in time to come to it. PS Can I call us all by our names…..My answer is yes.' A letter of interesting content and association. VG
Lot 761
GREENE GRAHAM: (1904-1991) English Novelist. T.L.S., Graham Greene, one page, 8vo, Antibes, 9th September 1975, to Michael Rubinstein. Greene writes, in full, 'I am so sorry I had not heard of your father's death. I had not seen an obituary as I have been out of England. I am very happy to hear that he died peacefully while still carrying on his usual life'. One small area of paper loss to the upper right corner, professionally restored to a high standard, otherwise VG
Lot 796
‘it’s an illustration of the way that so many American impressions…. fade away & dissolve’ JAMES HENRY: (1843-1916) American-born British author. A.L.S., Henry James, six pages, 8vo, Pall Mall, London, 13th November 1911, to Doctor [Joseph] Collins, on the blind embossed stationery of The Athenaeum. James announces 'Your most kind note from the ship does me a world of good, & your guarantee of my appearance of being so well contributes immensely to establish the reality - is in fact quite life-giving' and continues 'The great thing is that I have made so much my own way to it - giving me the sense that I can therefore myself work out what remains (for there still remains something) of the job. And I have a faint hope & faith that I shall see you here again…..I liked so your presence & our talk of the other evening, with things so many, into which I should have liked to go with you deeper. But that will come'. In a two page postscript, signed ('H.J.') by James with his initials, the author informs Collins 'I shall have to send this to the Joneses to pass on to you - it's an illustration of the way that so many American impressions & facts (local & national) fade away & dissolve (from the “European mind”) that I have managed to forget all the numerals in both your addresses - so colourless are American addresses “anyway”! I have yours inscribed, but my little book is not at hand'. VGDuring an extended visit to the United States in 1910 & 1911, James had sought the advice of physician Joseph Collins for methods of losing weight and also the treatment of his 'evil times' (what would now probably diagnosed as depression) following the death of his brother, William.
Lot 995
‘I am indeed a…..member of the Magic Circle’ MOUNTBATTEN LOUIS: (1900-1979) British Admiral of World War II, later serving as the last Viceroy of India of British India (1947) and as the first Governor-General of the Dominion of India (1947-48). T.L.S., Mountbatten of Burma, with holograph salutation and subscription, one page, 8vo, Broadlands, Romsey, Hampshire, 13th November 1975, to Dr. Braude. Mountbatten thanks his correspondent for their letter and kind remarks and continues 'I have not written any book myself although the script of the television series of my life and times was issued by John Terraine with my authority and can still be got in paper back form, “The Life and Times of Lord Mountbatten”, also adding 'A book I am sure you would enjoy is called Freedom at Midnight by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, published by Simon Schuster. This gives an account of my time in India during the Transfer of Power', before concluding 'I am indeed a fellow member of the Magic Circle and always enjoy the evenings there, particularly this time with the Prince of Wales'. EX
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