Name: Auction: Bruce, James Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile
Brand: Lyon & Turnbull
Price: 1500 GBP
Availability: InStock

Other Properties | Wed 25 February from 10am | Lots 63 to 255

The Library of General Sir James Alexander | Wed 25 February from 10am | Lots 31 to 62

Africa and the Source of the Nile - Selections from the Library of a Scottish Gentleman | Wed 25 February from 10am | Lots 1 to 30

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The Library of a Victorian Adventurer: Sir James Edward Alexander (1803–1885)

Important manuscripts and artefacts from the renowned Victorian soldier-scholar who brought Cleopatra's Needle to London.  

How to Know if You Have a First Edition Harry Potter Book

Since its quiet debut in 1997, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone has become one of the most sought-after modern first editions in the world of book collecting. 

Presenting our first Books &amp; Manuscripts auction of 2026, which will take place on Wednesday 25 February in our historic saleroom in Edinburgh and online. &nbsp;The auction will feature a number of private collections including The Library of General Sir James Alexander (1803-1885), containing his archive of sketchbooks documenting his travels in India, New Zealand and Canada, and his personal copies of his published travel accounts (lots 31 to 62). Later in life Alexander was the prime mover in the campaign to bring Cleopatra’s Needle to Britain, and his library is offered by Lyon &amp; Turnbull on behalf of Alexander’s direct descendants.Another single-owner collection will open the sale, Africa and the Source of the Nile - Selections from the Library of a Scottish Gentleman, focusing on the European exploration of Egypt, the Sudan and Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in the 19th and early 20th centuries and including key works by Richard F. Burton, James Bruce and others (lots 1 to 30).The sale is also strong in private press material, modern first editions, children’s books, and important historical documents, with highlights including a first edition of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, letters signed by the 15th-century monarch Edward IV and the privy council of the ill-fated Lady Jane Grey, and a collection of rare signed broadsides by the infamous Scottish poet William McGonagall.

Alan

Specialists' Selection

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ft. The Library of General Sir James Alexander

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Lyon & Turnbull | Online Auction Specialists  

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in the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773. Edinburgh: printed by J. Ruthven for G.G.J. and J. Robinson, 1790. First edition, 5 volumes, 4to (29 x 23.3cm), contemporary mottled calf, neatly rebacked with original spines laid down, spines richly gilt in compartments with black calf labels, with half-titles but lacking plate list found in some copies, 3 large engraved folding maps, 58 engraved plates (including 43 natural history specimens in Vol. V), very occasional spotting, corner tips slightly worn [Blackmer 221; ESTC T51608] (5)

Bruce, James

Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile

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