PBA Galleries held a sale of Americana, Travel & Exploration, Cartography and Natural History books on 17 April (last Thursday). I paid more attention to this sale than I do to most since I actually had a bid in on something (the first time I've ever bid in a live auction, and successfully too!), but I've neglected to report back on the results. Better late than never, right?
The sale's high spot was an 1877 photographic panorama of San Francisco published by Edward Muybridge; it made $51,000 with premiums. A copy of the government-printed report of Zebulon Pike's expedition to the southwest (181) fetched $21,600. A first edition of William Bligh's Voyage to the South Sea (1792) and an 1846 Mitchell map of Texas and the West sold for $11,400 apiece.
Beyond these, there were some impressive bargains to be had at this sale, with many items selling well below expected prices or in the lower range of their estimates.
