Searching The Old Book Sites:<br>Just Who Is The Best?
- by Michael Stillman
ILAB provides a keyboard of non-English characters to use in searches.
Amazon is the largest bookseller, if you include new and old, and when you look at their site, you wonder how they do it. The obvious answer is they got there first, built a huge audience with the dollars gathered during the internet stock "bubble," so everyone goes there. They also sell new books more cheaply than the typical bricks and mortar store with which they compete. Still, I cannot imagine how they would do it without the advantage of being there first with the most dollars to spend. Perhaps they would still do all right with new books, but old books? This is one confusing site, a cacophony of attempts to sell you everything under the sun. This morning when I visited, and evidently based on the information they have about me, the first item they tried to sell me was a coffeemaker. I guess they do know what I like, but they don't know my lazy work habits. I prefer the ease of preparation and clean up that comes with instant coffee. Sorry, Amazon, but you missed this time.
The first step with Amazon is to locate the "Books" tab at the top of the page. That brought me to a search box where I could search either "Books," "Used Books," "Collectible Books," or "Bargain Books." Huh? What if I'm looking for something that is all four? Since I prefer a search where I can place terms in various fields such as "title" and "author," rather than a single field, I clicked on "Advanced Search" instead. This gives a well-designed search page into which I entered the author and title for the first book on my list, Howard Stansbury's 1855 Expedition to the Great Salt Lake. I click "search" and Amazon responds with four titles by Lemony Snicket. Say what? Was Snicket one of the early Mormon pioneers?
After awhile, I realize the Snicket snippets are recommendations, not matches. My account is actually in my wife's name, and Amazon has determined that she likes Lemony Snicket books. This is something not even I knew about her. This is scary. What other secrets of hers can I find? Here's what. Everything she's ever purchased from Amazon. What I haven't been able to find yet is a copy of the Expedition to the Great Salt Lake. We’ll get back to this in a moment, but for now it's time to move on to the next site.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 156: Cornelis de Jode, Americae pars Borealis, double-page engraved map of North America, Antwerp, 1593.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 206: John and Alexander Walker, Map of the United States, London and Liverpool, 1827.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 223: Abraham Ortelius, Typus Orbis Terrarum, hand-colored double-page engraved world map, Antwerp, 1575.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 233: Aaron Arrowsmith, Chart of the World, oversize engraved map on 8 sheets, London, 1790 (circa 1800).
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 239: Fielding Lucas, A General Atlas, 81 engraved maps and diagrams, Baltimore, 1823.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 240: Anthony Finley, A New American Atlas, 15 maps engraved by james hamilton young on 14 double-page sheets, Philadelphia, 1826.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 263: John Bachmann, Panorama of the Seat of War, portfolio of 4 double-page chromolithographed panoramic maps, New York, 1861.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 265: Sebastian Münster, Cosmographei, Basel: Sebastian Henricpetri, 1558.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 271: Abraham Ortelius, Epitome Theatri Orteliani, Antwerp: Johann Baptist Vrients, 1601.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 283: Joris van Spilbergen, Speculum Orientalis Occidentalisque Indiae, Leiden: Nicolaus van Geelkercken for Jodocus Hondius, 1619.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 285: Levinus Hulsius, Achtzehender Theil der Newen Welt, 14 engraved folding maps, Frankfurt: Johann Frederick Weiss, 1623.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 341: John James Audubon, Carolina Parrot, Plate 26, London, 1827.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue, inscribed by the author pre-publication. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Autograph sketchleaf including a probable draft for the E flat Piano Quartet, K.493, 1786. £150,000 to £200,000.
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.
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/00d5fd41-2542-4a80-b119-4886d4b9925f.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.")
