Davenport, WA, USA, Sep 3, 2024 -- The 1790-1795 ship’s log kept by British Royal Navy officer Peter Rainier – after whom Mount Rainier in Washington state was named – is the centerpiece lot in a Books & Manuscripts: 1st Editions + More auction slated for Thursday, September 19th, by Grant Zahajko Auctions, online and live in the gallery located at 510 Morgan Street in Davenport.
Admiral Peter Rainier (1741-1808) served in the Royal Navy during the Seven Years’ War, the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars from 1794 to 1805. He was commander-in-chief of the Navy’s East Indies Station, covering all seas between the Cape of Good Hope and the South China Sea. Mount Rainier was named after him by British explorer George Vancouver.
Rainier’s ship’s log begins on June 30, 1790, with, “Proceedings on board His Majesty’s Ship Monarch….” That year, he became commander of the HMS Monarch. The ship’s log contains 473 handwritten pages measuring 10 ¾ inches by 8 ¼ inches. It reads like a diary and includes Rainier’s autograph on page 159. The pages are in excellent condition (est. $5,000-$10,000).
The rest of the multi-owner auction includes signed editions by Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, Wallace Stegner and hundreds of other authors; signed First Editions, including Sci-Fi, Pulitzer Prize winning and nominated books, Americana, sports, entertainment and more.
Several Northwest estates have consigned vintage and antique books, including Native American, Pacific and Inland Northwest history; some children’s books; Western Americana, hunting and fishing, and more. If a lot is absent a condition report one can be requested by email.
Returning briefly to the auction’s expected top lot, George Vancouver (1757-1798) was a British Royal Navy officer best known for his 1791-1795 expedition, which explored and charted North America’s northwest Pacific Coast regions, to include the coasts of what are now the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California. He named Mount Rainer in modern-day Washington after Peter Rainier on May 8, 1792, writing:
"The weather was serene and pleasant, and the country continued to exhibit between us and the eastern snowy range the same luxuriant appearance. Mount Baker bore by compass N. 22E.; the round snowy mountain, now forming its southern extremity, and which, after my friend, Rear Admiral Rainier, I distinguish by the name of Mount Rainier, bore N(S) 42 E.”
Some other items in the auction bidders may find of interest include the following:
A first American edition copy of Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen in very good condition, rust-colored cloth with a flamingo on the front and back spine, carries an estimate of $800-$1,200.
A first edition 1947 copy of Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer-Prize-winning classic A Streetcar Named Desire with an owner bookplate on the inside front cover should reach $500-$1,000.
A typed letter signed by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865-1957), dated April 4, 1952, addressed to Nathan Van Patten, Professor of Bibliography at Stanford University, unframed and in excellent condition, neither glued nor mounted, is expected to finish at $200-$300.
An autograph letter signed by John B. Butler, a Major who fought in the Mexican-American War, to his daughter, from New Orleans dated Jan. 17, 1847, with mention of Vera Cruz and troops coming to assist, three pages, unframed, 10 inches by 8 inches, should hit $200-$300.
An 1876 diary from the Marches Big Horn & Yellowstone Expedition, containing 25 hand-written pages with daily log entries from June-Sept. 1876, is estimated to sell for $100-$200.
A stated first edition copy of Wise Blood from 1952 by Flannery O’Connor with an unclipped dust jacket, 232 pages, published by Harcourt, Brace & Co. (N.Y.) should reach $250-$350.
A signed 1983 first edition copy of Truman Capote’s One Christmas, with a photo illustration on the red slipcase cover, 41 pages, numbered (333 of 500) carries an estimate of $300-$500.
A rare copy of Pictorial Review Vaad Hatzala (Committee for Rescuing European Jews from the Holocaust), published in Germany in 1948, 248 pages, with reproduction photographs from the War Department, the Navy Department and others, is expected to make $300-$500.
A first printing copy of David Foster Wallace’s book Girl with Curious Hair, inscribed by Wallace on the title page, in the original dust jacket with price intact, should bring $300-$500.
A first edition copy of The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolf, inscribed by Wolf on the title page, “For Joe Collins, Gene Wolf”, in like-new condition, has an estimate of $300-$400.
A first edition copy from 2005 of Octavia E. Butler’s book Fledgling, signed on the title page, with unclipped dust jacket, maroon boards with silver lettering, should command $150-$250.
A copy of Osbert B. Loomis’s Studies of Anatomy & Proportion, presented to St. Luke’s Club, signed by Mr. Loomis and dated New York 1885, is expected to settle at $200-$300.
A preview will be held live at the Davenport gallery on Tuesday, September 17th, from 1pm to 5pm Pacific time, or online via appointment on Zoom. To schedule an appointment, call 509-725-5600; or, you can send an email to info@gzauctions.com.
Internet bidding is available on the popular platforms LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com, Auctionzip.com, Connect.Invaluable.com (Grant Zahajko’s branded version of Invaluable) and Auction Mobility (Grant Zahajko’s branded platform). Phone and absentee bids will be accepted.
To learn more about Grant Zahajko Auctions and the auction scheduled for Thursday, September 19th, please visit https://bid.gzauctions.com.
