In the anniversary year of Reiss & Sohn in Königstein, there could be another million dollar bid. The auction house is celebrating its 50th anniversary with its autumn offer, which will be auctioned from October 26th to 29th. In a special catalog, 40 particularly valuable lots from the range of books, maps, graphics and photography are presented, the estimated prices of which are mostly in the five-digit range. Seven-digit prices are rare at book auctions. Most recently, in 2017, the house set an auction record of 1.1 million euros for a bound edition of Luther's 95 theses.

For an edition of "Rudiumentum novitiorum" by Lucas Brandis 1.2 million are now expected. The work printed in Lübeck in 1475 is one of the first world chronicles, comparable to the more famous Schedel world chronicle, which was only printed 18 years later. The copy contains the earliest maps to be used in book printing. Its valuable equipment and the large volume of the 475 pages and more than 150 woodcuts counting volume made it an expensive purchase even when it was published. The chronicle was not a great success at the time, and copies like this one in a complete state of preservation are extremely rare.

For the seven-volume anatomy work “De humani corporis fabrica libri septem” by Andreas Vesalius, printed in Basel in 1543, 700,000 euros are expected. It is known for its illustrations depicting dissected human bodies in allegorical poses and is considered revolutionary in medical practice. The first owner of the present specimen was the Saxon doctor Caspar Neefe, who provided it with numerous comments. Another milestone in the history of science followed in 1632 with the printing of “Dialogo” by Galileo Galilei. The defense of the heliocentric worldview landed on the Inquisition's index, and its opponents destroyed every specimen they could get their hands on. One of the rare first editions in good condition is estimated at 100,000 euros.Two other first editions of influential writings will also be called up: Immanuel Kant's “Critique of Pure Reason” from 1781 (12-000) and Sigmund Freud's “Traumdeutung” from 1899 (10,000).

Among the autographs there are two letters written by Frederick the Great. In a letter dated September 22, 1773, he asked the doctor Friedrich Jagwitz about the health of General Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz (800). A letter dated November 7, 1781 is addressed to the widow of the secret finance councilor Roden and refuses her request to intervene in the judicial process (500). Out of the range of illustrated books, the wonderfully drawn and colored fruits stand out, which are depicted on the 60 copper plates of the “Pomona Britannica”. On offer is the second edition of George Brookshaw's botanical collection from 1817 (7000).

Books and albums from the geographical section tell of distant countries and times.

The six volumes of the richly illustrated “Collection of Voyages and Travels”, the third edition of which was published in London from 1744 (4000), offer a whole collection of travel literature.

The drawings by the young artist Sidney Parkinson come from the first South Sea voyage of HMS Endeavor under James Cook.

The volume, published in 1773, contains not only depictions of landscapes, but also portraits of New Zealanders in riot gear, their tattooed faces and a map of the island (5000).

The album “Stamboul.

Souvenir d'Orient ”by Amadeo Preziosi is furnished with splendid color lithographed panels showing a bazaar, hawkers and street musicians on the streets of Istanbul (5000).