Gutenberg Bible Leaf, Katherine Dunham Correspondence, J.P. Morgan's Jewels: Auction Preview

Here are the sales I'll be keeping an eye on in the coming weeks:

On Monday and Tuesday, May 5–6, Heritage Auctions sells 892 lots of Comic Books, including copies of The Incredible Hulk #1 (1962); Showcase #4 (1956), featuring the first appearance of the Silver Age iteration of The Flash; and The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (1963), the first standalone Spider-Man comic.

Forum Auctions sells 244 lots of Books and Works on Paper in an online sale on Thursday, May 8 with a first edition of Dickens's Sketches by Boz (1836) expected to lead the way at £1,500–2,000.

At Swann on May 8, Fine Photographs, in 311 lots, with Portfolio entitled Roy DeCarava (printed 1991) rating the top estimate of $50,000–75,000 (eleven of the twelve photogravures are present). Hans Bellmer's La Poupée (1936), one of 80 copies with the text printed on rose paper, is estimated at $30,000–45,000.

Freeman's | Hindman sells Fine Printed Books & Manuscripts, Including Americana in Chicago on May 8, in 259 lots. Gould's Birds of Great Britain (1862–73) shares the top estimate at $30,000–40,000 with Louis Hennepin's 1683 Description de la Louisiane (with the first state map) and McKenney and Hall's History of the Indian Tribes of North America (1836–44), in inlayed pictorial bindings.

On Thursday and Friday, May 8–9, Heritage Auctions holds a Rare Books Signature Auction, in 366 lots. A leaf from the Gutenberg Bible (volume II, folio 114, containing verses from Ezekiel) is expected to lead the way, starting at $65,000. This sale will also include a complete set of the folded imposed sheets for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997).

At Dominic Winter Auctioneers on Wednesday, May 14, 529 lots of Printed Books & Maps, Travel, Atlases & Exploration. A second edition of Johann Jacob Scheuchzer's Ouresiphoites Helveticus (1723) rates the top estimate at £3,000–4,000, while a presentation copy of Ernest Shackelton's The Heart of the Antarctic (1907–09) inscribed to the author's sister Helen is estimated at £2,000–3,000.

Forum Auctions sells 198 lots from the Fables Collection of the late Eric Sweet on Thursday, May 15, with copies of the Kelmscott Press History of Reynard the Foxe (1892) and the Gregynog Press Fables of Esope (1931) sharing the top estimate of £3,000–4,000.

At Swann Galleries on May 15, Focus on Women, in 158 lots. A collection of material related to the work of dancer and activist Katherine Dunham, including a significant quantity of retained copies of correspondence, is expected to sell for $20,000–30,000. A presentation copy of Gertrude Stein's Portrait of Mabel Dodge at the VIlla Curonia (1912) inscribed to Kate Buss with a mounted photo of Stein laid in could sell for $8,000–12,000.

PBA Galleries sells 318 lots of Rare & Antiquarian Books and Manuscripts: Selections from the Professor George Starr Collection (with additions) – Children's Illustration & Literature on Thursday, May 15, with an inscribed Jessie Wilcox Smith watercolor rating the top estimate at $40,000–60,000. A copy of the 1910 Chiswick Press catalog of J.P. Morgan's Collection of Jewels and Precious Works of Art could sell for $20,000–30,000. This is one of forty copies printed on Japanese vellum.