Bidders felt good at this sale. The value of their inventory was confirmed.
By Bruce McKinney
On February 10th, 16th and 18th interesting book auctions were held in New York at Swann, and in San Francisco by Dorothy Sloan and at John's Western Gallery. Both the Swann and Sloan sales did well while the Gilchriese presentation at John's found buying interest to be as narrow as the Gilchriese collecting focus: Wyatt Earp manuscript and memorabilia. At Swann the material was the remainder of a large Americana consignment and at Sloan it was actually two sales. The first was No. 14, Americana with an Emphasis on Borderlands, Texas, California, Mexico & Central America. The second, No. 15, was the Daniel G. Volkmann, Jr. collection of Californiana. In these sales a substantial portion of the lots sold: clear evidence of broad strength in the marketplace.
At Swann the material was mainly mid-market. It was a combination of lesser known items combined with better known material with occasional condition problems. The estimates were relatively low and almost everything sold. Of 358 lots 324 sold. There has been plenty of talk that the market for important, essentially perfect material is almost unlimited while the middle-market is less certain. At Swann's on the 10th there were plenty of buyers to bid and almost everything, at a price, sold. In the mid-market the variable isn't interest. It's price. The total hammer price was $227,460 and the average lot realization an affordable $702.
Susannah Carter's Frugal Housewife, or Complete Woman Cook brought $9,775 against an estimate of $3,000 to $4,000. The engraving on silk of the Declaration of Independence [1818] brought $21,850 against the estimate of $10,000 to $15,000. And for the person who purchased the 1753 Poor Richard's Almanack they won't need to wait for Poor Richard's predictions of book prices. Against an estimate of $7,000 to $10,000 it brought $19,550.
In the first Sloan sale [No. 14] there were 64 lots of which 48 sold at the auction. During the following two days several more were sold at the low estimate plus 15% commission. Several bidders, who left order bids that failed to win, later converted their unspent funds into purchases of unsold lots. Twelve lots sold at the low estimate and another 12 remain unsold but available. The average hammer price was $4,870.
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…
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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.
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
