Rare Book Monthly

Articles - November - 2012 Issue

Book Fairs in November and December

The numbers of book fairs have been declining but they are great fun and worth supporting.  The widespread closing of bookshops adds to their importance for they are now more than ever, the best and often the only way to meet dealers.  For many book buyers the Internet is an acceptable way to find collectible books but every buyer has a threshold beyond which professional perspective about objects becomes important.  Book fairs are a way to find this expertise, make connections and renew friendships, and of course find interesting material.

They are listed in date order:

Vegas Valley Book Fest  Thursday – Saturday November 1st-3rd.  Reno, Nevada.  This is the 11th annual show.

http://vegasvalleybookfestival.org/

Chelsea Antiquarian Book Fair.  November 2-3.

The Chelsea Old Town Hall

King’s Road [Opposite Sydney Street]

London, UK SW3 5EE

http://www.chelseabookfair.com/

Buckeye Book Fair.  Saturday November 3rd.

Wooster, Ohio.  This is the 25th annual fair

http://www.buckeyebookfair.com/

Long Island Vintage Book & Ephemera Fair.  November 3rd and 4th

Sat. 11-6, Sun. 11-4

Hofstra University Student Center Multi Purpose Room 101, 200 Hofstra Drive, Hempstead, NY 11549

http://liabda.com/bookfair.htm

Fine Press Book Association, Oxford, UK.  November 5th and 6th

The exhibitors will include private presses from the UK, the Americas, Russia, Asia, and continental Europe, as well as dealers in fine press books, suppliers of fine printing materials, and related societies.

http://www.fpba.com/fairs/oxford.html

Kentucky Book Fair.  November 9th and 10th.

Fri.-Sat., November 9-10. Frankfort, Ky. The book fair is Kentucky's premier literary event. Each year some150 authors attend and autograph copies of their latest book. Between 4,000 and 5,000 patrons attend and gross sales annually top $120,000. This year's book fair is the 31th annual.

http://kybookfair.blogspot.com/

Connecticut Children’s Book Fair.  Sat.-Sun., November 10-11. Storrs, Conn.. The Connecticut Children's Book Fair brings together prominent children's authors and illustrators and the general public in an annual event designed to foster the enjoyment of children's literature. This is the 21th annual Connecticut Children's Book Fair.

http://bookfair.uconn.edu/

The Miami Book Fair International.  Presented by The Center for Literature and Theatre at Miami Dade College.  November 11-18.  Many exhibitors.

Sun.-Sun., November 11-18. Miami, Fla. The model for so many other book fairs and festivals, this one draws hundreds of thousands of people. The street fair runs Fri.-Sun., Nov. 16-18, and the writer events run the whole week

http://www.miamibookfair.com/

map:  http://www.miamibookfair.com/about/maps.aspx

36th Annual Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair

November 16th to 18th.  Hynes Convention Center,

International Book Fair in Vienna November 22nd to November 25th
http://bostonbookfair.com/

Buch Wien 12
Internationale Buchmesse
November 22-25

http://www.buchwien.at/

Guadalajara International Book Fair.  Sat.-Sun., November 24-December 2. This is the 26th annual gathering of the preeminent Spanish-language book fair. The Guest of Honor is Chile. The show is open to the public November 24-30 and December 1-2 and open to the trade only November 26-28.

http://www.shelf-awareness.com/upcoming-events.html

Rare Book Monthly

  • Heritage Auctions
    Rare Books Signature Auction
    December 15, 2025
    Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: Bram Stoker. Dracula. Westminster: Archibald Constable & Co., 1897.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
  • Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!
  • Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
  • Sotheby’s
    Book Week
    December 9-17, 2025
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.

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