Kepler’s Scientific Manuscript and a Winnie the Pooh Illustration Appear in Bonhams’ Fine Books and Manuscripts Auction

This December, Bonhams will offer a scientific manuscript, in Latin, autographed by Johannes Kepler. It contains calculations and notes on the relative velocity of the Moon and the Sun referring to Tycho Brahe’s Tabulae, which Kepler helped compile, noting the work of Copernicus. In the words of Einstein, “Kepler’s marvelous life’s work shows us… the comparison of what is imagined, with what is observed.” Copernicus had shown the Sun to be the center of the universe around which the Earth and planets revolve. It wasn’t until Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Movement came along that things changed. In that work, Johannes Kepler described the orbits of planets around the Sun more accurately than any of his predecessors in astronomy.

Bonhams’ Fine Books and Manuscripts Auction will also offer Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake) by Antoine Verard. In this story, Queen Guinevere falls in love with Lancelot when he saves her from abduction by King Arthur’s enemy, Maleagant. Printed in 1504, this is the second Verard edition of Lancelot and Guinevere’s strange and magical romance, reprinted from the first edition of 1494. The rarity of the book is verified by the American Book Prices Current. Also available in the auction are the final illustration of Pooh and Piglet in The Hundred Acre Wood; the first edition of the account of the short-lived Dutch colonial empire in Brazil by Caspar Barlaeus; and many historical books and manuscripts. Visit Bonhams to view the catalog and register to bid online.