Category: Rare Manuscript

October 24, 2018

What is my Historical Document Worth? – Vellum Manuscript

Sometimes, given the name of the site – “Rare Book Buyer”- I am asked if I only buy rare books.
While that is a focus of course, I also buy historical manuscripts, early autographs, and other documents. Except at the highest end of the market for the flashiest names, interesting  historical documents can often fall below the radar and are not as appreciated as they should be. Recently, I bought a small collection from a fine gentleman collector in Florida – the type of old school erudite man who bought for the love of research and learning and not to profit.

It is easy to sell Alexander Hamilton and George Washington letters. There are a many fine auction houses who will happily evaluate them and take them on favorable selling terms.  However, it is the low to the middle range of the market that is really struggling. The manuscripts can be hard to read and many, written on vellum, can be cumbersome to display. Their market is often small and the joy of deciphering and studying them is not rewarded financially when they are sold.

When I evaluate manuscript these days, I have to keep that in mind.  It is amazing how affordable interesting documents are that give great insight into history.

One of the manuscripts in the aforementioned collection was the handsome specimen below.   Just look at the superb minuscule hand and imagine how much time it took a scribe  to write out in 1603.  The manuscript is addressed to to King Phillip III of Spain, who historians have called  a ‘undistinguished and insignificant man,’ a ‘miserable monarch,’ whose ‘only virtue appeared to reside in a total absence of vice.”  Nevertheless, Philip’s reign remains a critical period in Spanish history.

So what is a manuscript by Francisco Ruiz de Castro, a Spanish nobleman, to the King worth?  Generally, these type of documents might get $200 or but perhaps, as an unusually  fine specimen of penmanship,  this one might  get more appropriately in the $300-350 range.

 

 

The manuscript:

KING PHILIP III and DON FRANCISCO RUIZ DE CASTRO. Vellum manuscript in Latin, approx 15×25.5 inches, 15 lines of beautiful calligraphy.  Very good condition with minor holes on the folds not affecting the text. Had a seal attached at one time with a silk ribbon of red and yellow, the colors of the Spanish flag, which is still attached. Document signed in good faith by Don Francisco Ruiz, Viceroy of Naples for the great King and Catholic Mjeesty in the King’s Palace, Naples, 12 March 1603. Although untranslated it is evident that this is a political and historical document. In the text there is a “Count of Lemos” identified with the date 12 April 1601. Don Francisco Ruis de Castro was the 8th Count of Lemos and became Viceroy of Naples in 1601. (12 April?). He left Naples 12 April 1603, no longer Viceroy, exactly one month after this manuscript was written. Numerous people are mentioned in the manuscript including many members of the Pignatelli family, a noble Renaisance family from Calabria, near Naples. Especially Giulio Pignatelli, 1587-1658, Marquis of Cerchiana, a town near Naples and the Marquis of Briatico, Zenobio Pignatelli another town in Calibria.

 

posted in: Appraisal Manuscript, Handwritten Document Value, Rare Manuscript

September 5, 2015

Value of a 14th Century Medieval Manuscript

Medieval Manuscript Appraisal

I was recently selling a NYC coop, feeling overwhelmed at the amount of paperwork and due diligence necessary to transfer ownership of shares, when I was offered a medieval deed.   It is a relatively small and simple document, when a man could transfer his earthly possessions- or in this case half his landholdings- on a mere document only 7 x 3″ inches in size.  It opens simply in Latin: To all [men] present and future…

So, what is the value of a document like this from the 14th century?  Surprisingly, they can be collected for rather modest sums.  Here are a couple records for other similar documents pulled from the ABPC manuscript database – a subscriber database that is an essential tool for examining past auction records of comparable books and documents and substantiating a fair market value.

England – _ KENT. – Document. Deed of Gift. [23 Feb 1411]. No size or length given. William George conveys a house in the village of Shynglewelle [sic]. Parchment. In Latin. Stained. – Winter, Apr 12, 2006, lot 294, £140 ($248)

England – _ KENT. – Document. Deed of Gift. [12 Mar 1398]. No size or length given. John Spernor de Cobham & John Topleche convey to Simon Lepy a plot of land in Shyngled Well [sic] .Parchment. In Latin. Stained. – Illus in cat – Winter, Apr 12, 2006, lot 293, £240 ($424)

True, this one is perhaps a bit earlier than some of the examples listed above (and dates to the early part of the 14th century).  However, at auction it would at most reasonably fall into the $400-500 range and perhaps a bit less as it is missing its original hanging seal.

To me that is rather remarkable:  this small and ephemeral document has escaped the ravages of time for 700 years and is only worth approx. $500?   Thankfully, it is written on vellum, a strong and utilitarian material which aided its survival.   Still, the manuscript provides insight into paleography (the study of ancient and historical handwriting), English medieval history, early legal history, and when framed is a rather remarkable and impactful object for the pleasure of both the eye and mind. Perhaps old Latin documents are bit too erudite for most and that has kept the prices low, but for the keen collector they are a bargain that will not last in the years ahead.  And certainly, I should send one to my real estate lawyer to show him how simple a document could be 😉

[ENGLISH MEDIEVAL DEED] Early 14th century.  [Incipit] Sciant p[re]sentes & fut[ur]i q[uo]d ego Robert de edui? dedi concessi & hac p[re]senti carta mea confirmaui Simoni filio… A fine medieval example of a deed of gift bequeathing half of his lands to his son Simon..  7 x 3 inches on vellum, evidence of attached seal at lower center.  With scarce 14th-15th century English explanatory text to verso. Small holes but generally very good.

posted in: Handwritten Document Value, NYC Rare Book Dealer, NYC Rare Books, Old Manuscript Value, RARE BOOK APPRAISAL, Rare Manuscript, sell rare books, We Buy Manuscripts