Shrewsbury auction sees 17th century bible sell for £4,600
Auctioneers had their prayers answered when a 17th century bible topped the prices at a successful books auction held in Shrewsbury.
Having sold a 1551 Matthew Bible – sometimes known as the ‘Bug’ Bible – for £6,500 in March, auctioneers Halls Fine Art followed up with a folio 1613 King James version of the Holy Bible by Robert Barker which made £4,600.
Another success in the books section of the £100,000 books, coins and stamps auction, held at the Battlefield saleroom, included an ‘Architect’s Archive’ which raced away from its pre-sale estimate to sell for £2,100.
The archive contained material from renowned architect John Douglas (1830-1911) of Walmoor Castle, Cheshire. He designed more than 500 buildings in Cheshire, North Wales, North West England and, in particular, at Eaton Hall, home of the Duke of Westminster.
Douglas also designed many new churches and renovated old ones, often incorporating elements of the Gothic Revival.
The archive included sepia photographs of buildings, including on the Eaton and Oakmere estates, Cheshire, folders of watercolours and loose plates, a Douglas family Bible, a sketch book and an extensive file of research material.
A very large book containing 81 superb drawings of birds by Edward Lear for John Gould, collected and introduced by David Attenborough, sold for £1,450. The book was published by the Folio Society in 2012 in a limited edition of 800 copies, selling at £895, and has become very sought-after.
An 1894 first edition of Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’, illustrated by Hugh Thomson, in a spectacular ‘Peacock’ binding, sold for £950.
A set of 14 Inspector Morse novels, all inscribed by author Colin Dexter with warm messages to his secretary, Daphne Woodhouse, found a buyer at £900. Dexter died in 2017 but the Inspector Morse TV series, starring John Thaw, is still popular and broadcast worldwide. Woodhouse (1931-2004) lived at Witney in Oxfordshire and was Dexter's secretary from about 1975-1990.
One of the most admired items during pre-sale viewing was a poster for the Shrewsbury Flower Show in 1911. Printed in full colour and nearly seven feet long, it sold for £800 to a local collector, after keen competition.
Chris Moore, Halls Fine Art’s books specialist, is now accepting books, manuscripts and maps for the company’s next books, coins and stamps auction on November 6, with entries closing on October 4.
Contact Halls Fine Art on 01743 450700 or email fineart@hallsgb.com for further information.
