NEW YORK — Books and works on paper from the collection of the late Estelle Chessid, a fondly remembered member of the Manhattan rare book dealing community, will be presented at La Belle Epoque on Saturday, April 6. A talented pianist who studied at Hunter College, she became a book dealer in the 1970s and traded for more than three decades before spending her final years creating art in her Upper West Side abode.
A broad cross section of material is offered in close to 150 lots ranging from 18th-century literature to modern private press works. A highlight is a group of 13 near mint Cheloniidae Press editions illustrated by Massachusetts artist Alan James Robinson. These deluxe suites of engravings and etchings produced by the celebrated master printer Harold P. McGrath (1921-2000) include The Raven from an edition of 225 copies issued in 1980, and A Fowl Alphabet, with 26 wood engravings issued in 1988. Both are estimated at $1,000-$2,000 apiece.
Among the modern firsts is a copy of How to Raise Your IQ by Eating Gifted Children, a compilation of short essays written by renowned satirist Lewis Burke Frumkes. The 1983 McGraw-Hill Book Company first edition is a rarity in its dust jacket, with this copy signed by the author ‘To a gifted (Yum!) friend, Best wishes, Lewis B Frumkes’. It is estimated at $800-$1,200.
Alongside books, Estelle Chessid was a collector of Hanna-Barbera production animation storyboards from the 1960s and 1970s. Offered with an estimate of $500-$1,000 are 43 pages of Fantastic Four storyboards, including the opening credits for the show. They are probably the work of Howard Swift (1912-1983), who began his career working with Disney in the 1930s and 1940s but was story director at Hanna-Barbera from 1966-1981.
The nostalgia-tinged Hanna-Barbera show Abbott & Costello, featuring the famous comedy duo in their later years, ran for 39 episodes from between 1965-1967. Estimated at $300-$600 is a lot comprising the storyboards from seven of those episodes, each featuring four five-minute cartoons, plus two scripts for the episodes titled The Vikings and Going Buggy.
