Maggs Bros curates rare expeditions and woven histories for Boston antiquarian fair
The London bookseller presents five remarkable treasures at the 48th Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair, from Arctic exploration watercolours to silk woven portraits of computing's unsung pioneers.
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Maggs Bros has assembled five extraordinary works for the 48th Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair, each a window into moments when art and history converged with purpose and passion. The collection spans Arctic expeditions, mechanical innovation, political upheaval, wartime ingenuity and Caribbean journeys, each piece fragile, each irreplaceable.
A watercolour of rare refinement depicts the crews of HMS Hecla and HMS Fury cutting a channel through the frozen sea. The composition captures sailors at work on ice, their figures rendered with delicate precision against the white vastness, the two ships moored beyond in the distance. The painting preserves a moment of Arctic survival, the meticulous labour required to establish winter quarters in the optimum position, with every detail of rigging and human endeavour rendered in temperate washes of blue and ochre.
Perhaps the most poignant work is a portrait woven on silk: Joseph Marie Jacquard himself, the man whose loom revolutionised textile production in the early nineteenth century. The programmable card system Jacquard perfected became the conceptual ancestor of the computer, adopted by Charles Babbage in his analytical work. The fabric holds his image in tones of grey and ivory, an early instance of his own innovation preserving his memory.
A fragile map charts Navy Island and Fort Schlosser near the Niagara River, documenting the sinking of the American steamer Caroline on 28 December 1837, a flashpoint in the Rebellions that set Canada toward independence. The cartography is austere, precise, marking the channels and islands with measured lines.
Two works by Captain Henry A. Turner, an artist who sojourned in Grenada during the mid nineteenth century, complete the selection, capturing landscape and light from that Caribbean moment.
A rare Disney publication designed for servicemen during wartime rounds out the collection, a reminder of how even entertainment became an instrument of care during global conflict.
The fair opens this weekend in Boston.
Imagery courtesy of Maggs Bros (@maggsbros).
