On August 8^th in Chicago Leslie Hindman Auctioneers is offering a primer on collecting – a broad and, by American standards, large sale of material chosen to appeal to collectors.  The sale is Fine Books and Manuscripts.  It succeeds admirably and is well worth the time pursuing the online catalogue linked at the end of this brief description.  There are days when the differences between eBay and traditional auctions seem to narrow and then there are presentations and selections like this to reaffirm the importance of the auction house vetting large quantities of material and selecting appealing, well estimated items.

This is a specialist sale but not in its widely understood sense.  It is not about a single subject but rather about collectability as a standard and succeeds in holding the attention of the reader all the way through to the end.  To this it can be added, the material, with some exceptions, is not expensive.

Here are the categories of material offered, most brief with from 1 to 15 lots:

Illuminated manuscripts and heraldry 1-21

Bibles 22-43

Literature 44-47

European and engravings 47a-80

Anatomy and sciences 85-100

Audubon 101-114

Ornithology 115-134

Mammals 135-139

Mollusks, fish and reptiles 141-144

Insects 145-150

Botany 151-177

Atlases 178-181

Photography – Alaska 182

Asia and the world 183-189

Geography, maps and images 190-208

India and the Middle East 209-217

South America 218

Angling and sports 219-227

General Americana 228-289

Lincoln and the Civil War lots 249-255

George Custer lot 265

Buffalo Bill 266-268

Chicago lots 269-278

Elvis lot 289

George Washington 280

Fiction 290-346

Alice’s Adventures 297

Rockwell Kent lots 322-326a

Printing equipment 347-348

Book arts 349-352

Pop-up books 353-355

Art and cartoon illustration 356-

Art books 375 – 397

Photography 398-404

Architecture 405-408

Decorative arts 409-416

Fore edge Painting 417-420

Collected works, fine bindings and sets 422-448

As the list of lot categories suggests this is a taster menu, the opportunity to find something of interest.  For collectors it’s also the opportunity to learn.  Bookshops may be closing but if your mind is open there’s something to be learned here.

With this brief story flickering images are introducing some of the lots.  To see more click here to be transported to Leslie Hindman Auctions.  The sale is on the 8^th.

Link to auction

Link to AE global auction lot search