This, I believe, will be a major issue Abebooks will have to confront in the days ahead. It may not be important to the used book amateurs who sell on the site, but it is critical to the antiquarian experts. If Abe persists in taking steps that negate their selling skills, it is hard to imagine they will not earnestly seek selling alternatives. This may not be a major concern for the other large sites which have never facilitated direct contact, but Abe has always been the one that did, and this made it a favorite of the "serious" bookseller.
Perhaps those booksellers will find no alternatives and be forced to swallow the changes. There are other sites with a more antiquarian bend, such as the ABAA (Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America) site, but none of these have anywhere near the traffic of Abe. However, Abe needs to understand that their changes are hurting the traditional bookseller, the backbone on which their business was built. If Abe is unable to find a way to meet their own financial needs without jeopardizing the business model of many of their important sellers, they must recognize that those sellers are likely to seek new selling venues. If so, it remains to be seen whether they will be successful. They may not be able to find alternative selling vehicles superior to Abe. Then again, maybe they will.
Editor's Note: We have received many interesting and informative comments on this subject, and they can be seen in our Letters to the Editor
Sotheby’s: The Shem Tov Bible, 1312 | A Masterpiece from the Golden Age of Spain. Sold: 6,960,000 USD
Sotheby’s: Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD
Sotheby’s: William Blake | Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Sold: 4,320,000 USD
Sotheby’s: The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD
Sotheby's Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
Sotheby’s: Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Sold: 1,920,000 USD
Sotheby’s: Machiavelli | Il Principe, a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP
Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR
Koller, Mar. 26: Wit, Frederick de. Atlas. Amsterdam, de Wit, [1680]. CHF 20,000 to 30,000
Koller, Mar. 26: Merian, Maria Sibylla. Der Raupen wunderbare Verwandelung, und sonderbare Blumennahrung. Nürnberg, 1679; Frankfurt a. M. und Leipzig, 1683. CHF 20,000 to 30,000
Koller, Mar. 26: GOETHE, JOHANN WOLFGANG VON. Faust. Ein Fragment. Von Goethe. Ächte Ausgabe. Leipzig, G. J. Göschen, 1790. CHF 7,000 to 10,000
Koller, Mar. 26: Hieronymus. [Das hochwirdig leben der außerwoelten freünde gotes der heiligen altuaeter]. Augsburg, Johann Schönsperger d. Ä., 9. Juni 1497. CHF 40,000 to 60,000.
Koller, Mar. 26: BIBLIA GERMANICA - Neunte deutsche Bibel. Nürnberg, A. Koberger, 17. Feb. 1483. CHF 40,000 to 60,000
Koller, Mar. 26: HORAE B.M.V. - Stundenbuch. Lateinische Handschrift auf Pergament, Kalendarium französisch. Nordfrankreich (Rouen?). CHF 25,000 to 40,000
Gonnelli Auction 58 Books, Autographs & Manuscripts March 11th-13th 2025
Gonnelli: Manuscript and illuminated book of hours, mid-15th century.
Gonnelli: Sumptuous Koran manuscript by Bukhara illuminators in the mid-nineteenth century.
Gonnelli: Rowling J. K., Harry Potter e la Pietra Filosofale. Firenze: Adriano Salani, 1998.
Gonnelli: Valli Antonio, Il canto de gl'augelli. In Roma, Nicolò Mutij, 1601.
Gonnelli: Moniglia Giovanni Andrea, Il Mondo Festeggiante. In Firenze: nella Stamperia di S.A.S., 1661.
Gonnelli: Alighieri Dante, [Divine Comedy with commentary and Life of Dante by Cristoforo Landino]. Danthe alegieri fiorentino. Venezia, Capcasa, 1493.
![<b>Koller, Mar. 26:</b> Wit, Frederick de. Atlas. Amsterdam, de Wit, [1680]. CHF 20,000 to 30,000](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/2214ca86-0dc9-47be-8bc5-99d9f1c2aa1f.jpg "<b>Koller, Mar. 26:</b> Wit, Frederick de. Atlas. Amsterdam, de Wit, [1680]. CHF 20,000 to 30,000")
![<b>Koller, Mar. 26:</b> Hieronymus. [Das hochwirdig leben der außerwoelten freünde gotes der heiligen altuaeter]. Augsburg, Johann Schönsperger d. Ä., 9. Juni 1497. CHF 40,000 to 60,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/b8b6a630-a01a-4220-ae77-38540d6c898d.jpg "<b>Koller, Mar. 26:</b> Hieronymus. [Das hochwirdig leben der außerwoelten freünde gotes der heiligen altuaeter]. Augsburg, Johann Schönsperger d. Ä., 9. Juni 1497. CHF 40,000 to 60,000.")
![<b>Gonnelli:</b> Alighieri Dante, [Divine Comedy with commentary and Life of Dante by Cristoforo Landino]. Danthe alegieri fiorentino. Venezia, Capcasa, 1493.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/fc9560f4-73da-4dfd-8070-2fb3b8892dd9.JPG "<b>Gonnelli:</b> Alighieri Dante, [Divine Comedy with commentary and Life of Dante by Cristoforo Landino]. Danthe alegieri fiorentino. Venezia, Capcasa, 1493.")
![<b>Gonnelli:</b> Gouvea Antonio (de), Innocentia victrix. [China, Canton], 1671.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/ebc18788-ba83-4c96-bbc8-fe8f2b287c31.JPG "<b>Gonnelli:</b> Gouvea Antonio (de), Innocentia victrix. [China, Canton], 1671.")
