[Rarebooks] FS: The Fabulous 1886 Peachblow Vase /Mary Morgan Auction-Deluxe Edition

[Joslin Hall Rare Books]

The Deluxe Edition of the Catalog to
The Landmark Mary Morgan Auction,
Featuring the Famous & Controversial Chinese Peachblow Vase-

TITLE: "Catalogue of the Art Collection formed by the late Mrs. Mary J.
Morgan..."

The catalog published in New York by the American Art Galleries for an
auction held from March 3rd to March 15th, 1886. Subscriber’s Edition,
limited to 500 numbered copies.

DISCUSSION: The very scarce Deluxe, illustrated edition of the catalog to
one of America’s earliest blockbuster auctions and what was, for a time,
the most famous art auction in America. The contents of the collection
included modern paintings, Chinese porcelains, jades & crystal objects,
“cabinet objects”, Sevres and other European porcelains, Minton
porcelains, Webb cameo glass, other fine glass, silver, wood carvings,
bronzes, and etchings.


Mary Morgan was the widow of a shipping tycoon, and collected a vast array
of paintings and other art in her New York mansion. Upon her death Thomas
Kirby of the American Art Association, the forerunner of Parke-Bernet,
decided to make the Morgan sale a “can’t-miss” event.

The collection was controversial –Mrs. Morgan had simply walked in and
bought her pictures from leading dealers instead of ingratiating herself
personally with the artists as was the tradition of the day. Further, Lot
341 was an 8-inch Peachblow vase which Mrs. Morgan had bought from the
American Art Association’s own retail galleries for $12,000 a few years
previously. A print war broke out between the New York Times, which
claimed Mrs. Morgan had paid a zero or two too much for the vase, and that
in any case, there was no such thing as “Peachblow”, and Charles Henry
Dana and the New York Sun, who stoughtly defended the AAA and the vase.

During the 3 week exhibition at the galleries prior to the auction 100,000
people viewed the paintings and Oriental art. The sale itself was
standing-room only, and when they got to the vase, Baltimore connoisseur
William T. Walters won it for $18,000 (which in no way stopped the
controversy over its actual worth). The sale finally totaled $1,205,000
–with the exception of the 1882 Hamilton Palace sale in England, this was
the highest total for any art collection at auction anywhere in the world.

The catalog itself was a groundbreaking achievement- “[Kirby’s] most
striking innovation was the Mary Jane Morgan catalogue, a 305-page quarto
volume that so far surpassed any cynosure of art collecting previously
published in the United States that it not only launched the business at
hand but synthesized Kirby’s whole new concept of the elite auction.
Printed on heavy rag paper, with twenty-nine etchings, bound in pristine
white boards with rich gold lettering, this weighty tome cost $40,000 to
produce. It was a book to rest in splendor on the tables of the proudest
salons. There was, of course, an ordinary catalog, without illustrations,
for ordinary customers, the deluxe edition being limited to 500 numbered
copies. The price was $10, but if mere money could have bought such a
book, its propaganda value would have been lost. Except for a few copies
sent to other cities, the entire edition was delivered by hand, with the
compliments of the American Art Association, to the front doors of the
most exclusive mansions in New York”.

For those wanting a more in-depth account, Wesley Towner devotes an entire
chapter to Mrs. Morgan, her collection, this auction, the catalog, and the
Peachblow vase in his book, “The Elegant Auctioneers”, from which we
quoted above.

DESCRIPTION: Limp covers. 9”x12”, 305 pages, plus 29 etchings and 24
photogravure plates. A real-photo plate of the peachblow vase. 2,628 lots.
Original limp boards with a parchment-covered cover with gilt lettering.

CONDITION NOTES: Front cover soiled, spine and rear cover perished and
recently replaced with sympathetic limp boards and parchment. Some soil
and offsetting on the endpapers, but else clean internally. Housed in a
new custom, quarter-leather clamshell case, with raised bands and fancy
giltwork on the spine and a black leather title label. The front of the
case features an inset collage made with black, crimson and peach leathers
showing the famous peachblow vase on its stand.

A lovely and elegant case, containing one of American art history's most
important catalogs, one of only 500 copies delivered by hand "to the front
doors of the most exclusive mansions in New York”.

PRICE: $1,500-

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Fine books of the 16th-20th centuries
on the decorative and fine arts & design

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