In this issue: It's the little things that make a house a home in this month's sale specials: a fine 19th-century pocket globe, a detailed pocket map of 1870s New York City, a book of Abraham Lincoln's speeches the size of a postage stamp, wax miniature portraits of literary and cultural figures, and a desktop storage chest disguised as a set of books. Our selection of small things is rounded out by a series of meticulously made models: a spiral staircase, a toy anti-aircraft gun, a brass fighter plane, and a Welsh coal cart.
Each item is also specially curated for perfect gift giving for the early Holiday shopper.
Contact us for further assistance and gift selection ideas.
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Availability of items below subject to prior sale.
Sale prices in effect through November 20, 2025.
A POCKET FULL OF CARTOGRAPHY
POCKET GLOBE: A superb example of a Newton Son & Berry 3-Inch Terrestrial Pocket Globe in unusually fine condition rotates in its richly patinated original mahogany box. It was made in London almost 200 years ago in the 1830s. Despite its small size, in addition to standard geographic information it shows historical exploration such the routes of Captain Cook’s second and third voyages throughout the Pacific and Southern Oceans. Included is the place on the Big Island of Hawaii where Cook met his untimely death in a dispute there with indigenous peoples in 1779. Regularly $12,500, sale price $11,250. More information.
POCKET MAP: In 1873, you could navigate a large portion of New York City with this large, folding pocket Map of the Cities of New York and Brooklyn and Long Island City. It is filled with copious geographic details: streets, railroads, large buildings, and churches. Parks and cemeteries are colored green and decorated with tiny symbols of trees; paths through them are indicated. Even the rivers include detailed navigation information: locations of piers, buoys and ferry routes, and numbers indicating depth soundings. Regularly $1,500, sale price $1,350. More information.
TINY TOME
This novelty promotion by the Kingsport Press of Tennessee in 1929 advertises “America’s Smallest Book” — a tiny volume of Abraham Lincoln’s speeches, bound in red morocco leather. Of particular interest — making this an excellent gift idea for book collectors — is that it shows the various stages of creating a book, from printing to binding. Actual unbound miniature pages and covers are included with captions showing the stages of production. A two-cent stamp is added for scale demonstrating that the book is “Smaller than a Postage Stamp.” Regularly $2,600, sale price $2,300. More information.
I'VE GOT A SECRET — SO PEEK INSIDE THE LITTLE DOOR
This collection of miniature Victorian wax relief portrait cameos is artistically arranged on a black background within the original bird’s-eye maple shadowbox. This mid-19th-century display includes notable figures in fields of literature, philosophy, and politics from Shakespeare and Voltaire to Catherine the Great and Sir Walter Scott. Regularly $2,400, sale price $2,150. More information.
WAX POETIC WITH SHAKESPEARE AND OTHER PETITE PORTRAITS
This unusual miniature desk-top chest cabinet box has a faux-leather book front door disguised as a set of five books, that opens to reveal four leather-fronted storage drawers with gilt tooled borders. The box is raised on flattened bun feet. Regularly $1,200, sale price $875. More information.
BABY STEPS
The spiral mahogany model staircase, made in the late 20th century stands just 14 inches high on a circular base. Fashion icon Bill Blass popularized this genre of architectural design in his Sutton Place penthouse apartment, and the Cooper Hewitt museum holds superb examples of historic ones from the collection of Eugene and Clare Thaw. Regularly $750, sale price $675. More information.
CATCH A SMALL PLANE
A fine brass model of a single propeller military airplane — almost certainly a 1940s British Hawker Hurricane. It has a free-spinning propeller, and is mounted on a mahogany base chamfered on top and trimmed in brass. Regularly $1,050, sale price $950. More information.
HIGH CALIBER TOY GUN
This model coastal defense anti-aircraft gun was made by the Märklin toy company around 1931. The gun is set on a rotating platform with handrail fencing. The gun raises and lowers by turning the handle of a geared brass mechanism. Regularly $2,400, sale price $1,900. More information.
MINI MINECART
This charming brass model of a Welsh coal mining cart is set on four wheels and can be moved along a brass rail set on the rectangular wood base. It was made in Wales around the 1890s. Regularly $950, sale price $850. More information.