‎Thomas E. Kirby‎
‎Catalogue of the Art collection formed by the late Mrs. Mary J. Morgan‎

‎KIRBY, Thomas E.. Catalogue of the Art collection formed by the late Mrs. Mary J. Morgan to be sold by auction, without reserve by order of the administrator William Moir, Esq. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings March 3d, 4th and 5th at 7.30 o'clock at Chickering Hall corner 5th Avenue and 18th Street continuing Monday, March 8th, and following days at the American Art Galleries.... New York, The American Art Association, 1886. 2 vols. in-folio, 40 x 28,5 cm, demi-chagrin d'époque noir et coins, dos à cinq nerfs, titre doré, tête dor., non rogné.[2] ff., iv pp., [5] ff., 305 pp. sur papier vélin, 53 pl. tirée à part sur Chine appliqué et sous serpente (29 gravures d'ap. les tableaux – signature autographe au crayon de chaque graveur en bas de chaque gravure, ainsi que de la première photogravure à pleine page – et 24 photogravures d'ap. les porcelaines, vases, objets de cabinet, les ivoires et les bronzes), couv. sur Chine bien cons. (mais inversées par le relieur, la 2ème de couv. vient à la fin du premier vol. et la 1ère au début du second vol.) Exemplaire réservé au souscripteur n. 8 sur 50 (justifié à la main). Corps d'ouvrage en bon état, qqs. rares pliures aux serpentes, usure et frott. modérés à la reliure. Alors que l'édition in-4 non illustrée se trouve aisément, nous n'avons pu trouver que cinq occurences de l'éd. in-4 illustrée des 53 planches (limitée à 500 ex. tirés sur papier vergé), deux à la Frick Art Research Library (NY) (incorrectement décrit comme ayant 55 pl.) et une à la National Gallery of Art Library ; deux exemplaires sont passés en vente « récemment », sur le marché américain en 2015 et en 2016 . Malgré nos recherches, nous n'avons relevé aucune trace de notre édition in-folio sur papier vélin qui semble absente à toutes les catalogues numériques de bibliothèques publiques et pour laquelle il n'y a aucun signe de passage en vente sur les dernières décennies. Les gravures sont superbes et la signature autographe de chacun des graveurs ajoute à cet exemplaire de luxe un particularisme tout à fait signifiant.‎

Reference : UGE-443

‎« At the end of the 19th century Mrs. Mary Jane Morgan (1823–1885) was one of the most prominent art collectors in the United States and one of New York’s wealthiest women. She began collecting in earnest in the seven years after the death in 1878 of her husband Charles Morgan, a shipping, railroad, and iron tycoon and cousin of J. Pierpont Morgan. She was well-educated, fluent in French, and astute in assembling her collection of European and American paintings, prints, antiquities, porcelain, and decorative arts from a myriad of well-known dealers. Her collection, containing masterpieces as well as works from up-and-coming artists, was referred to as a “dealer’s collection,” one that rivaled some of the best collections in Europe. She turned part of her New York brownstone into a popular picture gallery where she had private and public showings, causing speculation that she intended to start her own museum. But Mary died unexpectedly on July 3, 1885, without a will, resulting in the sale of her collection for the benefit of her sisters. This finely crafted publication (...) is an auction catalog documenting the 1886 sale of Mary’s collection, illustrated with miniature portraits of the artists, photographs, and etchings reproducing works in her collection by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Théodore Rousseau, Jean-François Millet, and Thomas Moran, among others. The American Art Association, a newly formed but prominent New York auction house, the first in the United States, organized the 13-day sale that took place at Chickering Hall on March 3–15, 1886, with 2,628 lots available for purchase. The wide-ranging treasures from Mary’s collection are now in private and public collections across North America and Europe, including the National Gallery of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Walters Art Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art. » In Depth - The Art of Sleuthing, National Gallery of Art, 2022.‎