Be an armchair explorer with these books and prints from Galerie Bassenge
06 April 2020 So your travel plans might not be quite what you’d hoped this year, but you can still let your mind run free.
The account of George Anson’s voyage around the world is offered with an estimate of €900 at the Galerie Bassenge starting April 7.
Give your imagination a jump start with these lots from Galerie Bassenge, which recall days of historic exploration and include maps, prints and rare books.
The whole sale is live online over three days starting April 7 on thesaleroom.com.
A Voyage Round the World
This illustration is taken from Richard Walter’s account of British admiral George Anson’s trip around the world. Though the ill-fated trip was successful in completing a navigation and capturing a Spanish galleon, it was horrific for the men aboard the eight-ship squadron. Ravaged by scurvy, only 188 of the original 1854 survived. However the men who did return came back loaded with treasure and discoveries, some of which are recorded in this volume, offered with an estimate of €900.
Scenes of Japanese street performers
This pair of scenes showing Japanese street performers are offered with an estiate of €1800 at the Galerie Bassenge starting April 7.
This is one of a pair of c.1857 Japanese silk paintings of performers engaged in street art. They stand before the imperial palaces in Edo and are signed and stamped Nidaime Hiroshige, suggesting they are from the workshop of the famous Ukiyo-e painter. Shown here is a juggler shooting rose-coloured balls into the air as another catches them in a sack. It reinterprets a well-known scene from Kitao Masayoshi’s depiction of different professions. The pair are offered with an estimate of €1800.
A world of bridges
Carl Christian Schramm’s views of bridges around the world is offered with an estimate of €800 at Galerie Bassenge’s sale starting April 7.
Carl Christian Schramm’s 1735 ornamental compendium of bridge building includes this scene of the Saale in Germany, as well as city views in Nuremberg, Paris, Praue, Rome and Stockholm. There are also depictions of fantasy bridges in the Alps, and the work includes a number of documents about the construction of these structures. The work is missing some plates and is offered with an estimate of €800.
Exploring Botany Bay
Arthur Phillip’s account of establishing the first British colony on Australia is offered with an estimate of €1200 at the Galerie Bassenge sale starting April 7.
British Royal Naval officer Arthur Phillip’s Voyage to Botany Bay (1789) is an account of the establishment of the first penal colony in Australia, which would later become the city of Sydney. Among the engravings are numerous animals including birds, fish and mammal as well as this depiction of a kangaroo. This first edition in later leather is offered with an estimate of €1200.
