George Bellas Greenough
Unknown
Estimate: 8.000 - 12.000 GBP
Price realised: 10.000 GBP
Price realised: 10.000 GBP
Description
GEORGE BELLAS GREENOUGH (1778-1855)
A Geological Map of England and Wales. London: for the Geological Society, by Longman, etc., 1819 [but 1820]. Large hand-coloured engraved map (engraved image 1882 x 1582mm), to the scale of 5 nautical miles to one inch, numbered 45 in tiny ink manuscript under title imprint, dissected and laid down on linen into four sections, the outer edges with silk-ribbon edging, printed section slips to versoes. (Occasional faint soiling and browning, some light staining to versoes, silk-ribbon edging occasionally fraying.) The map contained in a modern quarter diced russia box (350 x 295 x 39mm), gilt spine. Provenance: Sir John Nicholl of Merthyr Mawr, South Wales.
EXTREMELY RARE FIRST EDITION OF GREENOUGH'S GEOLOGICAL MAP. Greenough was one the founding members of the Geological Society of London, and served as its first president until 1811. 'In 1808 he first sketched the boundary-lines of the various strata in England and Wales, and in 1810 he travelled over a great part of the country for the purpose of mapping it. At the request of the Geological Society he then, with the help of Conybeare, Buckland, and Henry Warburton, coloured a large scale-map drawn by Webster, and in 1820 published it in six sheets' (DNB). It is now recognised that he plagiarised William Smith's pioneering geological map of 1815, and some have even suggested that the present work's publication drove Smith into debtors' prison. This map, no. 45, was coloured by Webster and sold to Sir John Nicholl on 16 May 1820, who paid for it on 27 May. Despite being no. 45, it was the 26th map to be sold (sales began on 1 May 1820). ONLY TWO OTHER COPIES OF THIS MAP HAVE SOLD AT AUCT
A Geological Map of England and Wales. London: for the Geological Society, by Longman, etc., 1819 [but 1820]. Large hand-coloured engraved map (engraved image 1882 x 1582mm), to the scale of 5 nautical miles to one inch, numbered 45 in tiny ink manuscript under title imprint, dissected and laid down on linen into four sections, the outer edges with silk-ribbon edging, printed section slips to versoes. (Occasional faint soiling and browning, some light staining to versoes, silk-ribbon edging occasionally fraying.) The map contained in a modern quarter diced russia box (350 x 295 x 39mm), gilt spine. Provenance: Sir John Nicholl of Merthyr Mawr, South Wales.
EXTREMELY RARE FIRST EDITION OF GREENOUGH'S GEOLOGICAL MAP. Greenough was one the founding members of the Geological Society of London, and served as its first president until 1811. 'In 1808 he first sketched the boundary-lines of the various strata in England and Wales, and in 1810 he travelled over a great part of the country for the purpose of mapping it. At the request of the Geological Society he then, with the help of Conybeare, Buckland, and Henry Warburton, coloured a large scale-map drawn by Webster, and in 1820 published it in six sheets' (DNB). It is now recognised that he plagiarised William Smith's pioneering geological map of 1815, and some have even suggested that the present work's publication drove Smith into debtors' prison. This map, no. 45, was coloured by Webster and sold to Sir John Nicholl on 16 May 1820, who paid for it on 27 May. Despite being no. 45, it was the 26th map to be sold (sales began on 1 May 1820). ONLY TWO OTHER COPIES OF THIS MAP HAVE SOLD AT AUCT
A top price for George Bellas Greenough - as previously expected
In April 2014 Christies in London held the auction Travel, Science & Natural History, which included the work Unknown by George Bellas Greenough. The price achieved of GBP 10,000.00 (€ 12,172.31) was within expectations - the estimate range had previously been set by the auction house as GBP 8,000.00 – 12,000.00. Even if this result could not surprise positively, Unknown is the most expensive artwork by George Bellas Greenough that we have observed at auctions so far.
Ein Spitzenpreis mit Ansage
Im April 2014 führte Christies in London die Auktion Travel, Science & Natural History durch, in der auch die Arbeit Unknown von George Bellas Greenough zur Versteigerung kam. Der dabei erzielte Preis von GBP 10.000,00 (€ 12.172,31) lag im Rahmen der Erwartungen – die Schätzpreisspanne war von dem Auktionshaus zuvor mit GBP 8.000,00 – 12.000,00 angegeben worden. Auch wenn das Ergebnis damit nicht positiv überraschen konnte, ist Unknown das teuerste Kunstwerk von George Bellas Greenough, das wir bisher bei Auktionen beobachtet haben.
George Bellas Greenough - Auction history
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