Polar and Mississippi Exploration Star at Hindman

An engraving with hand-coloring and etching by William H. Lizars (1788-1859), ca 1827, on J. Whatman paper dated 1826. This is Variant 1, engraved by Lizars, issued before Havell took over the project. Only the first part, of Audubon’s Birds of America, comprising the first ten plates, exists in variants engraved by Lizars. After the first part was issued, Lizars’s colorists went on strike, and Havell was brought on to complete the project. (Lot 363 | Estimate: $18,000 – 25,000)

Robert McClure was given command of the Investigator in 1850 as part of the second Franklin search expedition, with Samuel Gurney Cresswell second-in-command. The Investigator entered the North-West Passage via the Bering Strait and sailed eastward, becoming trapped in pack ice at Mercy Bay in the autumn of 1851. McClure and his crew abandoned the ship on 3 June 1853. Unlike the loss of the Erebus and Terror, the events surrounding Investigator's abandonment are well-documented, although the exact location of the wreckage was unknown for over 150 years until July 2010, when the remains of the ship were discovered in the Beaufort Sea, still sitting upright. (Lot 27 | Estimate: $15,000-25,000)

This first edition, first impression of the first novel in the iconic James Bond series is inscribed by Fleming and is still in its first state dust jacket without the Sunday Times review printed on the front flap. Hindman’s May auction contains first editions of all of the novels written by Fleming in the Bond series. (Lot 218 | Estimate: $15,000-20,000)

Dobbs never saw the bay himself but derived considerable information from French and Canadian sources. Dobbs gives accounts of the fur trade and of early exploration of the area and the opportunities for further discoveries. He attacks Captain Christopher Middleton for his leadership of the 1741-1742 expedition searching for a passage, initiating a public attack and counter-attack that lasted more than 3 years. In 1745, Parliament announced a reward of 20,000 pounds to the discoverer of the passage and Dobbs financed a second expedition in 1746-1747 to search for the route via Hudson's Bay. (Lot 30 | Estimate: $6,000-8,000)

Originally published anonymously, this account is now known to have been authored by Captain William Moor's second-in-command, Theodore Swain Drage (thought to have lived for a time under the name Charles Swaine). Arthur Dobbs was not satisfied with the results of the Admiralty expedition led by Christopher Middleton (1741-42) and sent this expedition to prove his theory that the northwest passage could be found originating from Hudson Bay. (Lot 33 | Estimate: $6,000-8,000)

This large-format lithograph with hand-coloring heightened in gum arabic on wove paper depicts one of the most infamous events in Chicago’s history. Adding to the piece’s allure, the lithograph features a label on the back indicating it was sold at The Old Print Shop. (Lot 392 | Estimate: $5,000-7,000)

The second complete edition of the 'Opera' and the first edition published by Grüninger. This is the complete edition of Johannes Gerson's main work with all four parts and inventory in four volumes. Gerson's work in this completeness is extremely rare. The fourth part was not published until 1502. The inserted title-pages in vols. I & II are apparently from 16th-century editions of Gerson’s works. Both inserted titles include a large woodcut depicting Gerson as a pilgrim on verso. (Lot 234 | Estimate: 5,000-7,000)

A third English edition of the first-hand account of the famed expedition to the find the Northwest Passage which features an important map as frontispiece. The map, widely considered to be one of the most important maps of the United States, is a close copy of the map which appeared in both the first English and first American editions. (Lot 319 | Estimate: $4,000-6,000)

A presentation copy inscribed by Audubon to a “Miss Lydia E. E. Greene with the affectionate good wishes of her friend and servant, John J. Audubon.” Though little is known of her association with Audubon, Lydia E. E. Greene became a Proprietor of the Boston Athenaeum in 1854. Audubon’s double-elephant folio edition of The Birds of America established his reputation as the greatest ornithological artist of his time. Though that edition was published in London to ensure the quality of the plates, he employed the Philadelphia firm of J. T. Bowen to produce this more commercially viable edition under the close supervision of his sons. (Lot 362 | Estimate: $40,000 – 60,000)