An important sale of rare books and incunabula is now open for bidding on www.igavelauctions.com through March 30th. Ranging from extremely rare 15th century texts to signed first editions of Ayn Rand's most popular titles Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead, this sale encompasses six centuries of man's drive to record and share information. The 200 lots are expected to exceed their initial estimates of $83,000 to $162,500.

“We are delighted to offer such an important and diverse range of rare books,” says Lark Mason III. “Works like these can be found in the greatest libraries throughout the world and others sparked the minds of readers throughout the centuries.⁠⁠”

The topics are varied and include religious and historic texts some with important provenance such as St. Bonaventure’s Pauper’s Bible by Nicklaus S. Hanapis, 1477 estimated at $2000-4000. This text bears the Bookplate of Syston Park, home of Sir John Thorold 9th Baronet (1734 - 1815), a British Member of Parliament from Lincolnshire 1779-1796. His main claim to fame was the magnificent collection of ancient books amassed by him and his son John Hayford Thorold. It also is signed and inscribed by the bibliographer and publisher William Herbert (1718-1795), "Wm. Herbert. Neither of these treatises mention'd by Maittaire." inscribed beneath, "collated perfect 1797".

Another incunabula of note-with a very conservative estimate of $1,000 to $2,000- is Ausmo, Nicolaus de. Supplementum Summae Pisanellae, published in Venice: 1482.

Two important but equally decorative texts are a mixed set of Edward Gibbons The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 6 Vols. London: 1776-1781 estimated at $1000-2000. As well as, an extra-large folio edition of The Dramatic Works of Shakespeare, revised by George Steevens, 9v. London, 1802 (Estimate $1500-2500). This text was previously in the library of Daniel B. Fearing (1859-1918) the mayor of Newport Rhode Island and was donated to the Grolier Club in New York.

Some of the more generally popular texts include The Original Works of William Hogarth, John and Josiah Boydell, London: 1790 (estimate $2000-3000); Kircher, Athanasius. Jesu China Monumentis qua sacris qua profanis, Amsterdam, 1667 (Estimate $1000-2000); John Dryden’s translation of The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Aeneis, London: 1697; Sir Walter Raleigh’s The History of the World, London: 1614, published in 1621; and Adam Smith’s An Inquiry into the Nature & Causes of the Wealth of Nations, 2 vol., Dublin: 1793. Many more of the texts are very desirable first editions, and all fit seamlessly into the classic western literary canon.⁠⁠

All the books are on view at Lark Mason Associations, at 210 West Mill Street, New Braunfels, TX. The exhibition is open Tuesday-Saturday 10am-4pm, now until March 30, 2021.⁠⁠