Christie, Manson & Woods Ltd (London)

(27 cm), 605 (1) pp., illustrations. 787 lots. Publisher’s pictorial wrappers. - Included among royal memorabilia, silver, furniture, works of art and household objects was Prince Henry’s magnificent sporting library (lots 501-787), largely gathered in the dispersals of the F.E. Dixon (1936) and C.F.G.R. Schwerdt (1946) libraries. Preceding the sporting library was a small collection (seventeen lots) of children’s books, including presentation copies to Alice Liddell of the first English and first French edition of Lewis Carroll Through the Looking-Glass. “An attractive combination of some extremely rare books, with excellent provenance, the majority in fine condition, coupled with enticing estimates, ensured that prices spiralled well beyond the expected or possibly even hoped for” (from a saleroom report in The Book Collector, Summer 2006, pp.238-239). Two jewels of the collection, the Kerdeston Hawking Book (Phillipps Ms 9437) and the related Kerdeston Hunting Book (ex-Schwerdt, his sale by Sotheby’s, 11 March 1946, lot 2255), were accepted by HM Treasury in lieu of inheritance tax, and allocated to the British Library in February 2007 (now Add Mss 82949 and 82948). ¶ Copiously annotated copy, partly priced