Auction details |
Early Autograph Album. Found with personal Connett items. Bearing the inside cover name of Maude Gallimore, the book spans inscriptions to the owner from 1917 to 1924, from locations such as Tasmania to Australia. Great original art among the pages including cartoon images as well as a wonderful still life (signed H. Middleton). General wear to the cover of the album.
Eugene Virginus Connett III (1891-1969) The name of Eugene Connett III will forever be associated with the unparalleled high quality sporting books and prints published under his direction of the Derrydale Press. From humble 1926 beginnings in Connett's own study, the Press would span a 14 year run, closing at the brink of the second World War, halted with the limitations of quality European materials. Coming from a long lineage of sportsmen, Connett III was well adapted to the skills of rod and gun from an early age. With the founding of the Press, Connett created the perfect vehicle by which to integrate his affection for the sports of gentlemen, his penchant for fine books, and his appreciation for art. Capitalizing on the small press' ability to produce superior custom editions, numerous authors sought Connett's services, the end product in many cases being very small runs of exceptional quality books, highly coveted by collectors today. Though the Press did publish several volumes outside sporting titles, the Derrydale name soon became synonymous with the sporting genre. Connett's abilities allowed him a remarkable amount of creative liberties. Experimenting with different methods and materials, Connett was able to personally design and edit a total of 169 books, which remain some of the most coveted volumes of sporting literature to ever be published. In addition to being a noted bibliophile with a vast sporting library, Connett was also an admirer of the visual arts. He reveled in a wide range of sporting subjects and mediums, from hand colored lithographs of bustling horse races, to sportsman in the field finished in oil or watercolor, to simple pen and ink studies of dogs or wildfowl. The Press provided ample opportunities for associations with the greatest literary authors of the era, but it also granted Connett close contact with sporting artists, a majority of which shared his enthusiasms, such as Lynn Bogue Hunt, Paul Brown, Dr. Edgar Burke, Roland Clark, A.B. Frost, John Frost, Aiden Ripley, Ralph Boyer, Margueritte Kirmse, and many others. Business affiliations with these extraordinary artists/illustrators not only allowed the Press to produce approximately 100 fine hand colored sporting prints, but saw Connett personally befriend many, with relationships that lasted throughout his lifetime and on several occasions, beyond to the following generation. Before there was a Derrydale Press, there was Connett's association with Princeton University that lasted well beyond his graduation in 1912. The alumni kept strong ties to his alma mater throughout his life, eventually producing a book on the accomplishments of his peers fifty years after their graduation. Connett would go on to become a president of the Anglers' Club of New York, having produced the organization's original bulletin many years prior. His affinity for the field would also lead him to undertake positions at numerous sporting and yachting clubs throughout the northeast. The most important pieces in this small collection are the original works gifted to Eugene Connett III by the artists he admired, those he befriended during the years of the Press. These artists continue to gain notoriety today and their pieces have enjoyed steadily increasing values. The original art included in the following lots, were among Connett's most treasured belongings, and remained with him until his passing, to then be hung for several decades in his son's home, until this de-accession. Being offered publicly for the first time, they are of historic importance, not only because they were produced by the most highly revered sporting artists of their day, but because they were gifted to, and cherished by, the sporting book publisher of all time. This lot is part of a collection consigned directly by the Connett family. ImagesClick on thumbnails to see larger images: 
View Lang's Auction next auction.Similar lots up for auction |
5836427
