Exceptional Book Sale Draws Strong Collector Interest...
7th September 2026
We were delighted with the results achieved in our recent Books, Maps, Manuscripts and Photography auction, which attracted keen interest from collectors and enthusiasts throughout the sale. The auction offered a fascinating range of material spanning centuries of history.
Among the highlights was King Faisal II of Iraq's Ways to Defend Yourself, a first edition privately printed in Iraq in 1951. The book, by Faisal II, Youssef Al-Naip and Majid Abdul-Sattar, was particularly remarkable for its provenance and rarity. Presented to Mrs Jolliffe, the matron of Harrow School during Faisal's time there, the title page bears the inscription: "To Mrs Jolliffe, with my best regards, Faisal, 30.4.51."
Illustrated with diagrams by Khalid Al-Rahal and bound in contemporary cloth-backed boards by Tawfiq-al-Shaykhli, the volume was one of just 50 copies, each personally signed and gifted by the young king to foreign dignitaries, fellow Arab monarchs and close acquaintances.
Its combination of rarity, royal provenance and personal association generated considerable interest, with the book achieving a final price of *£6,000 at auction.
Another notable result came from the photography section of the auction with Herbert George Ponting's magnificent carbon print of the Great Wall of China, dating from circa 1907.
The impressive photograph captures Ponting's celebrated ability to convey both the scale and atmosphere of the landscapes he encountered during his travels. Although perhaps best known today for his extraordinary photographs of the Antarctic and the Terra Nova Expedition, Ponting had established his reputation through extensive travels in Japan and the Far East.
For this particular image, Ponting travelled to the Nankow Pass, where he stayed at a local hostel frequented by Mongolian traders and drivers. His photographs from this period formed an important part of his wider body of travel photography, documenting not only remarkable monuments and landscapes but also the people and cultures he encountered. The photograph attracted strong collector interest and was bought for a final price of*£2,625.
The auction also featured an intriguing group of 18th and 19th century manuscripts, military records and correspondence, among which was an officer's commission bearing the signature of Napoleon Bonaparte.
The circa 1793 commission was signed "Bonaparte" and additionally bears the signatures of Louis Alexandre Berthier, Marshal and Minister of War of France, and Hugues-Bernard Maret, Secretary of State and later Prime Minister. The document was accompanied by further military material, including an 1811 memoire de proposition for the appointment of a lieutenant in the 11th Regiment of Dragoons, written at bivouac and signed by Pierre Francois Marie Auguste Dejean and countersigned by Louis-Pierre, Comte Montbrun.
Together, these documents offered a compelling insight into the administration and military structure of Napoleonic France, bringing together signatures and records connected with some of the most significant figures of the period. The group was bought for *£1,750.
We were extremely proud of the strong results achieved throughout the sale and encouraged by the enthusiasm shown by collectors and keen-eyed followers of the auction.
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(Prices in article include *Buyers Premium)
