Software and site development is incremental accompanied once every two or three years with a major remake/rewrite. During the past month we’ve been made several incremental changes worth noting.
On our home, AE Monthly and auction pages we have added movement in the image boxes on the right side and we think the difference is significant because it gathers attention to specific events or catalogues. This month Christie’s is advertising their Valuable Printed Books and Manuscripts auction in London on June 13th. Images they selected appear every six seconds in effect creating a catalogue browsing experience for anyone whose eyes are drawn for a few moments to the activity. Each image in their case is linked to specific lots in their upcoming sale at London, King Street.
The same activity is occurring in the second and third boxes, de Orbe Novo and The Arader Galleries.
The Internet provides broad options for obtaining information but there is every indication the sheer speed of such encounters often requires more incidental encounters to achieve the same intensity of impression as print media. Hence the now common assessment of booksellers who report that electronic catalogues, while robust and flexible, do not generate as many sales as the traditional printed catalogue. We believe the addition of activity in presentation will dramatically increase viewer awareness.
As to the size of the audience AE Monthly is emailed to more than 20,000 individuals and institutions each month and thousands more come to the site regularly for an update on the world of books.
Another Change: revised advance search
The advanced search screen now has the Keyword(s) field at the top with the next four most commonly used fields, author, title, year printed and place printed just below. This sequences these most commonly used fields in order of their frequency of use.
The Keyword field continues to search all terms as unique and sequential. A search for Washington finds 91,268 records in the AED. Adding George narrows the results to 23,045. Adding Martha brings the number of results down to a manageable 160
Sotheby’s: The Shem Tov Bible, 1312 | A Masterpiece from the Golden Age of Spain. Sold: 6,960,000 USD
Sotheby’s: Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD
Sotheby’s: William Blake | Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Sold: 4,320,000 USD
Sotheby’s: The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD
Sotheby's Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
Sotheby’s: Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Sold: 1,920,000 USD
Sotheby’s: Machiavelli | Il Principe, a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP
Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 1: Bob Dylan, his high school classmate's yearbook with his senior portrait, signed and inscribed to her, 1959. $10,000 to $20,000.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 1: Bob Dylan, his high school classmate's yearbook with his senior portrait, signed and inscribed to her, 1959. $10,000 to $20,000.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 4: Various entertainers, Group of 30 items, signed or inscribed, various dates. $1,500 to $2,500.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 27: John Adams, Autograph Letter Signed to Benjamin Rush introducing Archibald Redford, Paris, 1783. $35,000 to $50,000.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 36: Robert Gould Shaw, Autograph Letter Signed to his father from Camp Andrew, Boston, 1861. $10,000 to $15,000.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 53: Martin Luther King Jr., Time magazine cover, signed and inscribed "Best Wishes," 1957. $5,000 to $7,500.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 127: Paul Gauguin, Autograph Letter regarding payment for paintings, with woodcut letterhead, 1900. $6,000 to $9,000.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 169: Suck: First European Sex Paper, complete group of eight issues, 1969-1974. $800 to $1,200.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 173: Black Panthers, The Racist Dog Policemen Must Withdraw Immediately From Our Communities, poster, 1969. $2,000 to $3,000.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 187: Marc Attali & Jacques Delfau, Les Erotiques du Regard, first edition, Paris, 1968. $300 to $500.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 213: Andy Warhol, Warhol's Index Book, first printing, New York, 1967. $800 to $1,200.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 215: Cookie Mueller, Archive of 17 items, including 4 items inscribed and signed. $3,000 to $4,000.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 249: Jamie Reid, The Ten Lessons / The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle; Sex Pistols, chromogenic print with collage, signed, circa 1980. $20,000 to $30,000.
