Searching The Old Book Sites:<br>Just Who Is The Best?
- by Michael Stillman
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Next up was Rudyard Kipling?s With the Night Mail. This was easier since virtually all copies are of the 1909 original. Why this fascinating 1909 prediction of how the world would look in the year 2000 has not been reprinted is a mystery to me. Here are the numbers:
Listing Site
No.of Copies
Price Range
Abebooks
54
$16-$500
Alibris
24
$35-$300
ABAA
14
$40-$500
ILAB
16
$40-$500
Froogle
21
$40-$500
Barnes and Noble
28
$36-$259
Amazon
12
$75-$595
Abe also found two copies of a 1998 reprint by the upscale Arion Press for $350 and $400. Alibris found a paperback for $5.68.
Next I tried a harder to find title, Jared Sparks 1828 The Life and Travels of John Ledyard… Here, only Abebooks and ILAB found anything. Abe found five copies priced $550 - $1,265. ILAB found four priced $537-$1,265. Why did ILAB find four and ABAA zero? All four copies were offered by foreign (to America) booksellers, 1 Canada, 1 Netherlands, 2 Australia.
Now we'll try a different type of book. Here's one that's not valuable, not too old, but not too new, and not well known. Probably most books fit into this category. We will try a search for Laurence Pringle's Death is Natural. This book is supposed to teach children about death. What it really is is an antidote for anyone feeling too happy. If you want to get depressed in a hurry, read this book.
Not to digress, but here's how it starts: "A cottontail rabbit left the shelter of some weeds and hopped onto the road. The night was cool, the pavement, still warm from spring sunshine, felt good underfoot. Suddenly, two bright lights shone on the rabbit. It hesitated, then ran. Too late. THUMP." It even comes with a picture of a dead rabbit. I'm just glad my wife didn't buy this book on Amazon or they would probably be recommending a copy of Dr Kevorkian?s "how-to" book to me. Here is what I found:
Listing Site
No.of Copies
Price Range
Abebooks
47
$1.95-$22.00
Alibris
55
$2.95-$18.95
ABAA
0
ILAB
0
Froogle
13
$1.99-$22.00
Barnes and Noble
4
$2.07-$17.84
Amazon
55
$1.24-$23.32
Froogle also offered copies of The Mummy Congress: Science, Obsession and the Everlasting Dead by Heather Pringle. I don't know whether Laurence Pringle and Heather Pringle are related, but they'd make a lovely couple.
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.")
