Some highlights from today's sales:
At Sotheby's Paris sale of the collection of Christope d'Astier, the high spot was a first edition of Vercour's Le silence de la mer (1942), which made 17,500 Euros. A Jacques Vaché letter made 15,625 Euros, and three items each made 15,000 Euros (first editions of Proust, Joseph Kessel's Le Lion and Charles de Gaulle's Mémoires de guerre, signed).
Across the Channel to Christie's London for the Travel, Science and Natural History sale. Not surprisingly the Leeuwonhoek silver microscope won the day, fetching a grand £313,250. The top-selling book was James Baillie Fraser's Views in the Himala Mountains (c. 1820), which made £30,000. John Webber's Views in the South Seas from drawings taken on Board the Resolution, 1776 to 1780 (1788-92), sold for £28,750.
Also, Sotheby's has a fascinating video up of the Valmadonna Trust Library, currently being offered for private sale.
