[Rarebooks] FS: Rare 1886 Deluxe Morgan Collection Catalog - First American Blockbuster Auction

[Joslin Hall Rare Books, Ephemera & Photographs]

Rare 1886 Deluxe Morgan Collection Catalog -the First American 
Blockbuster Auction

“Catalogue of the Art Collection formed by the late Mrs. Mary J. 
Morgan...”

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

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.

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.

Limp covers. 9"x12", 305 pages, plus 29 etchings and 24 photogravure 
plates. 2,628 lots. Original limp boards with a parchment-covered cover 
with gilt lettering (see below for 2 pictures of the covers). 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.

Front cover somewhat soiled, spine and rear cover perished and replaced 
with sympathetic limp boards and parchment. Some soil and offsetting on 
the endpapers, but else clean internally. [31290]  $750

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