• Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 11-12: A Rare Complete Run of the Cuala Press Broadsides. €5,500 to €7,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 11-12: Rare First Edition of a Classic Work. [Stafford (Thos.)] Pacata Hibernia, Ireland Appeased and Reduced…, 1633. €1,500 to €2,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 11-12: Yeats (W.B.) The Poems of W.B. Yeats, 2 vols. Lond. (MacMillan & Co.) 1949. Signed by author, limited edition. €1,250 to €1,750.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 11-12: Fishing: Literal Translation into English of the Earliest Known Book on Fowling and Fishing, Written originally in Flemish and Printed at Antwerp in 1492. London (Chiswick Press) 1872. €1,500 to €2,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 11-12: Fishing: Blacker's - Art of Fly Making, etc., Comprising Angling & Dying of Colours..., Rewritten & Revised. Lond. 1855. €250 to €350.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 11-12: Joyce (James). Finnegans Wake,, London (Faber & Faber Ltd.) 1939, Lim. Edn. No. 269 (425) copies, Signed by the Author (in green pen). €3,000 to €4,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 11-12: Synge (J.M.) & Yeats (Jack B.) illus. The Aran Islands,, D. (Maunsel & Co. Ltd.) 1907, Signed Limited Edn. €4,000 to €5,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 11-12: Meyer (Dr. A.B.) Unser Auer -, Rackel-Und Birkwild und Seine Abarten, Wien (Verlag Von Adolph W. Kunast) 1887. €2,500 to €3,500.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 11-12: Carve (Thomas). Itinerarium R.D. Thomas Carve Tripperariensis, Sacellani Maioris in Fortisima iuxta…,, Moguntia (Mainz) impriemebat Nicolaus Heyll, 1639. €1,500 to €2,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 11-12: Grose (Francis). The Antiquities of Ireland, 2 vols. folio London (for S. Hooper) 1791. First Edition. €3,000 to €5,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 11-12: Heaney (Seamus) & Le Brocquy (Louis) artist. Ugolino, D. (Dolmen Press) 1979, Signed Limited Edition No. 87 (125) Copies. €3,500 to €4,500.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 11-12: Heaney (Seamus). Eleven Poems, Belfast (Festival publications - Queens University) [1965], First Edn., (First Issue) Signed. €2,500 to €3,500.
  • Doyle, Dec. 6: An extensive archive of Raymond Chandler’s unpublished drafts of fantasy stories. $60,000 to $80,000.
    Doyle, Dec. 6: RAND, AYN. Single page from Ayn Rand’s handwritten first draft of her influential final novel Atlas Shrugged. $30,000 to $50,000.
    Doyle, Dec. 6: Ernest Hemingway’s first book with interesting provenance. Three Stories & Ten Poems. $20,000 to $30,000.
    Doyle, Dec. 6: Hemingway’s second book, one of 170 copies. In Our Time. $15,000 to $25,000.
    Doyle, Dec. 6: A finely colored example of Visscher’s double hemisphere world map, with a figured border. $12,000 to $18,000.
    Doyle, Dec. 6: Raymond Chandler’s Olivetti Studio 44 Typewriter. $10,000 to $20,000.
    Doyle, Dec. 6: Antonio Ordóñez's “Suit of Lights” owned by Ernest Hemingway. $10,000 to $20,000.
    Doyle, Dec. 6: A remarkable Truman archive featuring an inscribed beam from the White House construction. $8,000 to $12,000.
    Doyle, Dec. 6: The fourth edition of Audubon’s The Birds of America. $8,000 to $12,000.
    Doyle, Dec. 6: The original typed manuscript for Chandler’s only opera. The Princess and the Pedlar: An Entirely Original Comic Opera. $8,000 to $12,000.
    Doyle, Dec. 6: A splendidly illustrated treatise on ancient Peru and its Incan civilization. $7,000 to $10,000.
    Doyle, Dec. 6: A superb copy of Claude Lorrain’s Liber Veritatis from Longleat House. $5,000 to $8,000.
  • High Bids Win
    Letterpress & Bindery Auction
    Nov. 20 – Dec. 5, 2024
    High Bids Win, Nov. 20 – Dec. 5: Book Press 10 1/2× 15 1/4" Platen , 2 1/2" Daylight.
    High Bids Win, Nov. 20 – Dec. 5: The Tubbs Mfg Co. wooden-type cabinet 27” w by 37” h by 22” deep.
    High Bids Win, Nov. 20 – Dec. 5: G.P.Gordon printing press 7” by 11” with treadle. Needs rollers, trucks, and grippers. Missing roller spring.
    High Bids Win
    Letterpress & Bindery Auction
    Nov. 20 – Dec. 5, 2024
    High Bids Win, Nov. 20 – Dec. 5: D & C Ventris curved wood type 2” tall 5/8” wide.
    High Bids Win, Nov. 20 – Dec. 5: Wood Type 1 1/4” tall.
    High Bids Win, Nov. 20 – Dec. 5: Quarter Case with Lead Triangles.
    High Bids Win
    Letterpress & Bindery Auction
    Nov. 20 – Dec. 5, 2024
    High Bids Win, Nov. 20 – Dec. 5: Page & Co wood type 1 1/4” tall 1/4” wide.
    High Bids Win, Nov. 20 – Dec. 5: Awt 578 type hi gauge.
    High Bids Win, Nov. 20 – Dec. 5: Quarter Case with Lead Penline Flourishes.
    High Bids Win
    Letterpress & Bindery Auction
    Nov. 20 – Dec. 5, 2024
    High Bids Win, Nov. 20 – Dec. 5: Quarter Case with Lead Penline Flourishes.
    High Bids Win, Nov. 20 – Dec. 5: Quarter Case with Lead Cents and Pound Signs.
    High Bids Win, Nov. 20 – Dec. 5: Wooden type cabinet 27” w by 19” d by 38” h.
  • ALDE, Dec. 11: ALBINUS (BERNHARD SIEGFIED). Tabulæ Sceleti et Musculorum corporis humanum, Londres, 1749. €4,000 to €5,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 11: BIDLOO (GOVARD). Anatomia humani corporis. Centum et quinque tabulis per artificiosiss. G. de Lairesse..., Amsterdam, 1685.
    ALDE, Dec. 11: BOURGERY (JEAN-MARC) – JACOB (NICOLAS-HENRI). Traité complet de l’anatomie de l’Homme comprenant la médecine opératoire, Paris, 1832. €4,000 to €5,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 11: CALDANI (LEOPOLDO MARCANTONIO ET FLORIANO). Icones anatomicae, Venice, 1801-14. €5,000 to €6,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 11: CARSWELL (ROBERT). Pathological Anatomy. Illustrations of the elementary forms of disease, London, 1838. €5,000 to €6,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 11: CASSERIUS (JULIUS) [GIULIO CASSERIO]. De vocis auditusq. organis historia anatomica singulari fide methodo ac industria concinnata tractatis duobus explicate, Ferrara, 1600-1601. €4,000 to €5,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 11: ESTIENNE (CHARLES). De dissectione partium corporis humani libri tres, Paris, 1545. €8,000 to €10,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 11: GAMELIN (JACQUES). Nouveau Recueil d'Ostéologie et de Myologie dessiné d'après nature... pour l’utilité des sciences et des arts, divisé en deux parties, Toulouse, 1779. €6,000 to €8,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 11: ROESSLIN (EUCHER). Des divers travaux et enfantemens des femmes et par quel moyen l'on doit survenir aux accidens…, Paris, 1536. €3,000 to €4,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 11: RUYSCH (FREDERICK). Thesaurus anatomicus - Anatomisch Cabinet, Amsterdam, 1701-1714. €3,000 to €4,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 11: VALVERDE (JUAN DE). Anatome corporis humani. Nunc primum a Michaele Michaele Columbo latine reddita, et additis novis aliquot tabulis exornata, Venetiis, 1589. €2,000 to €3,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 11: VESALIUS (ANDREAS). De humani Corporis Fabrica libri septem, Venetiis, 1568. €3,000 to €4,000.

Rare Book Monthly

Articles - June - 2005 Issue

"M" is for M-Bag (International Shipping)

M-bag essential, PS Tag 158

M-bag essential, PS Tag 158


By Renee Magriel Roberts

Probably the least known and most cost-effective international shipping service is the United States Post Office's "M-Bag" service. An "M-Bag" is defined as a "direct sack of printed matter to one addressee". Your packed books, in one or more boxes, are literally enclosed in a special postal mailbag, a tag is affixed to the outside of the bag, and it is delivered to your customer. In addition to books, M-bags can also be used for a variety of printed matter, including newspapers, magazines, journals, books, sheet music, catalogues, directories, commercial advertising, and promotional matter (You cannot enclose handwritten or typed materials.)

Born in the post-World War II era to move huge amounts of books and other materials to Europe, M-bags are now cost-effective vehicles for shipping to countries all over the world. We frequently use M-bag service which costs, for example, $9.90 to the United Kingdom or $11.00 to Hong Kong for up to 11 lbs. There is no minimum weight for M-bags, but for weights up to 4 lbs. regular surface mail, or Global Priority flat-rate envelopes can be more cost-effective, or even faster. Larger quantities up to 64 lbs. are also value-priced.

M-bags can be shipped either via surface mail or via air mail, and must be accompanied with a completed customs form PS 2976 and an M-bag tag, PS Tag 158. The customs slip and the return address/customer address go on the package. The M-bag tag also has a return address/customer address, and on the reverse of the tag the postage is adhered. NB: The postage does NOT go on the package but on the tag.

Weigh your parcel and then round up to the nearest pound to compute postage. For example, if your parcel weighs 11.2 lbs, you will be paying the 12-lb. rate. The total that the M-bag can weigh is 66 lbs. (including the tare weight of the sack), so figure 64 lbs., maximum, for your parcel or group of parcels addressed to the same person, per sack. There are no defined size limits for the size of the box, as long as it fits inside the sack. If you are using an extra-large box, it would be wise to check it out at your local post office first before filling it. We have shipped all the common sizes of post office boxes, including 13"x13"x13" boxes, and they fit fine. The sack is quite large.

It is your responsibility to attach and label everything correctly. The M-bag tag, PS Tag 158, is filled in by the bookseller, but attached to the sack by the post office. If you are sending more than one M-bag at a time, it is critical to make sure that the right tag goes with the right package. Don't hand in the tag loose - lightly tape each tag to the package it belongs to before passing it over. (Just try and get back packages which the post office has sent to the wrong customer in places like China and South Africa.)

Rare Book Monthly

  • ALDE, Dec. 9: BLAEU (JOAN) ET BORGOGNIO (GIO TOMASO). Theatre des Estats de son Altesse Royale le duc de Savoye…, La Haye, 1700. €25,000 to €30,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 9: BROWNE (JAMES D. HOWE). Ten Scenes in the last Ascent of Mont Blanc including five Views from the Summit. London, 1853. €6,000 to €8,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 9: FELLOWS (CHARLES). A Narrative of an Ascent to the Summit of Mont-Blanc. London, 1827. €30,000 to €40,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 9: HACQUET (BELSAZAR). Physikalisch= Politische Reise aus den Dinarischen durch die Julischen…, Leipzig, 1785. €3,000 to €4,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 9: HAWES (BENJAMIN). A Narrative of an Ascent to the Summit of Mont-Blanc made during the summer of 1827 by Mr. William Hawes and Mr. Charles Fellows, 1828.
    ALDE, Dec. 9: MARTEL (PIERRE) ET WINDHAM (WILLIAM). An account of the glacieres or ice Alps in Savoy, in two letters…, London, 1744. €6,000 to €8,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 9: PITSCHNER (WILHELM). Der Mont Blanc Darstellung des Besteigung desselben am 31 Juli, 1 und 2 August 1859…, Berlin, 1860-1864. €8,000 to €10,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 9: SCHEUCHZER (JOHANN JACOB). Natur-Geschichte des Schweizerlandes, samt seinen Reisen über die Schweitzerische Gebürge. Zurich, 1746. €3,000 to €4,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 9: STUMPF (JOANNES). Gemeiner loblicher Eydgnosschaft Stetten, Landen, und Völckeren Chronicwirdiger Thaatenbeschreybung. Zurich, Christoph Froschauer, 1548. €2,500 to €3,500.
    ALDE, Dec. 9: WALTON (ELIJAH) ET BONNEY (THOMAS GEORGE). The Peaks and valleys of the Alps. London, 1868. €3,000 to €4,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 9: WYTTENBACH (JACOB SAMUEL). Vues remarquables des montagnes de la Suisse, avec leur description. Amsterdam, 1785. €15,000 to €20,000.
  • Sotheby's
    Fine Books, Manuscripts & More
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s: J.R.R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. 11,135 USD
    Sotheby’s: Edgar Allan Poe. The Raven and Other Poems, 1845. 33,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Leo Tolstoy, Clara Bow. War and Peace, 1886. 22,500 USD
    Sotheby’s: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, 1902. 7,500 USD
    Sotheby’s: F. Scott Fitzgerald. This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, and Others, 1920-1941. 24,180 USD
  • Doyle, Dec. 5: Minas Avetisian (1928-1975). Rest, 1973. $8,000 to $12,000.
    Doyle, Dec. 5: Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington (1876-1973). Yawning Tiger, conceived 1917. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Doyle, Dec. 5: Robert M. Kulicke (1924-2007). Full-Blown Red and White Roses in a Glass Vase, 1982. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Doyle, Dec. 5: Pablo Picasso (1881-1973). L’ATELIER DE CANNES (Bloch 794; Mourlot 279). The cover for Ces Peintres Nos Amis, vol. II. $1,000 to $1,500.
    Doyle, Dec. 5: LeRoy Neiman (1921-2012). THE BEACH AT CANNES, 1979. $1,200 to $1,800.
    Doyle, Dec. 5: Richard Avendon, the suite of eleven signed portraits from the Avedon/Paris portfolio. $150,000 to $250,000.
    Doyle, Dec. 5: Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989). Flowers in Vase, 1985. $20,000 to $30,000.
    Doyle, Dec. 5: Edward Weston (1886-1958). Nude, 1936. $20,000 to $30,000.
    Doyle, Dec. 5: Edward Weston (1886-1958). Juniper, High Sierra, 1937.
    Doyle, Dec. 5: Steven J. Levn (b. 1964). Plumage II, 2011. $6,000 to $8,000.
    Doyle, Dec. 5: Steven Meisel (b. 1954). Madonna, Miami, (from Sex), 1992. $6,000 to $9,000.

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