Page 40 – Sydney Rare Book Auctions

One of our highlights in our next auction (10am Friday 14th July )

Sketch for a bird sculpture by Brett Whiteley. Ink on paper. Featuring Stamp: BW inside a circle on bottom right. (Lot 14)

Undated, but likely from the late 1970s or early 1980s. The forms in the drawing can be traced to a series of bird sculptures in his 1988 bird show.(SLNSW) This playful sketch is a predatory study for what were to be a series of Brett Whitely’s last sculptural works; an intimate fragment of the creative process of Australia’s most revered artist.

Brett Whiteley (1939-1992) Sydney artist. Winner of the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes. (DAAO) Not only known for his large colourful and lyrical artworks but his popstar persona and his substance addiction. This sketch was given friend with a similar affliction. It was later acquired by current

In our next auction we have philosophical books from the Enlightenment Period.

The Enlightenment or the Age of Reason is said to be a turning point in Western Civilisation which “emphasized science and reason over faith and superstition, strongly influenced the American colonies in the eighteenth century.” (Khan Academy)

Including a first edition of Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes, Humane Understanding by John Locke, Essays by David Hume, Works of Voltaire, Saint Augustine’s City of God. Some of these titles were in the Printing and the Mind of Man catalogue which illustrates “the impact of print on the evolution of Western civilization” (Wiki).

4.1

Printed Mind of Man

Printing and the Mind of Man is a book first published in 1967 and based on an exhibition in 1963.

PMM, as it is usually abbreviated, is regarded as a standard bibliographical reference, and offers a survey of the impact of printed books on the development of western civilization. (Wikipedia)

This first book edition was entitled Printing and the Mind of Man, a descriptive catalogue illustrating the impact of print on the evolution of Western civilization during five centuries. It was edited by John Carter and Percy H. Muir and expanded upon the theme of the impact of printing on human thought.(Wikipedia)

Interestingly Ian Fleming lent over 40 books from his collection from the exhibition. (Wikipedia from – Hayward, John (1964).”Commentary: Ian Fleming and ‘Printing and the Mind of Man’) We have a number of books written by Ian Fleming in this auction.