Sotheby's (New York)

(27 cm), 478 pp., illustrations (many in colour). Lots numbered 1-569. List of prices realised loosely inserted. Publisher’s cloth binding. - A substantial library of scientific books collected in less than ten years by the jewellery manufacturer, Joseph Freilich, sold “after a series of mishaps” concurrently with his mineral collection (about 500 specimens, Sotheby’s, 11-12 January 2001), on unusual terms (the sale catalogues state that Sotheby’s has a financial interest in all the property). “There are other instances of collections quickly made and soon dispersed, such as the Slater sale in 1982 or Richard Manney’s in 1991, neither of which could be described as a failure, but there were plenty who believed that in this case, without the collector’s own intervention, the 1998 levels for the same books could not be sustained. They could not have been more wrong. In the event, the sale made a total of just over $9.4m [$10,675,080 including premium] with very little bought in. Most of the books sold above the high estimates, the higher priced lots particularly, and the net result suggests that Mr Freilich just about broke even on his investment. Considering the circumstances, this was nothing short of extraordinary” (quotations from a saleroom report in The Book Collector, Summer 2001, pp.240-242). ¶ Unmarked copy.