Big Fish

“Yours!”

Original artwork by Charles M. Schulz, $13,420 at Bonhams & Butterfields, Los Angeles & New York on October 4.

Certain to appeal to both Peanuts and baseball fans, this original ink on stiff paper artwork for one of Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts strips shows Charlie Brown giving of his best as a pitcher but uttering a desperate cry of “Yours!” as the ball is hit straight back at him, and his cap, glove, socks, and shoes go a-flying. It is dated to March 15, 1975 and is additionally signed (presumably at some later date) above the first two panels.

A Crusader’s Will

Vellum document, sold at £4,148 ($6,395) by Bloomsbury Auctions of London on September 9.

A little stained and showing the odd tear at the folds, but generally a well preserved vellum document for its age, this document was drawn up in June, 1108, for Bernard de Pézènes, a man who was about to leave his native Languedoc region of southern France and go on pilgrimage, or indeed crusade to the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem—the holy city had been taken in 1099 during the First Crusade.

In this last will and testament are bequests to Bernard’s brother and sister and gifts to a number of churches, the principal beneficiary in this latter case being the church of Saint-Sauveur at Villemagne-l’Argentière in the Herault department. Though sold in London, it was among books and manuscripts sent to auction from the collections of the late Dr. André Rooryck of Zaventem in Belgium.

Great Men on Camera

Signed photo-portraits of Mahatma Gandhi, £13,585 ($21,285) at International Autograph Auctions of Heathrow on September 25-26, and Charles Darwin, $27,579 in an online sale held by RR Auctions of Amherst, New Hampshire, in August.

Signed “M. K. Gandhi 10-9-31” in blue ink, the anonymous photograph of the Indian political and spiritual leader is one that in 1996 had sold for $3,800 at Christie’s East of New York as part of the collection of signed portraits amassed by American autograph collector, M. Wesley Marans, and it features in his 1983 book on the collection, Sincerely Yours.

Richard Davies, who runs IAA, was at that New York sale and remembered the image when it was brought in to him for sale, but where it has been since that time, or how many times it may have changed hands since then is unknown. It was consigned to Richard by an English collector, who had acquired it several years ago from a European dealer.

Rather more boldly signed, the Julia Margaret Cameron carte-de-visite of Charles Darwin made a good price, but not a world record for a signed photograph of Darwin as the auctioneers claimed. In April of last year Keys of Aylsham sold another Julia Margaret Cameron photo-portrait at £25,300 ($37,145). That one had Darwin facing right, not left as in the more familiar versions of this portrait.