What was not so long ago called book collecting has been transforming into the field of collectible paper. What kept traditional book collecting understandable were the fixed boundaries provided by the many reference materials that made it possible for the interested to immediately understand what they were researching. Quick clarity has always been vital given that books were often offered in open shelves.
Of course, the Internet has recast the book buyer and seller equations and now name and title searches provide transaction history in a flash. We get a sense of how tedious searching pre-Internet was when you occasionally find seller’s lists today that aren’t searchable. Good grief. Do you really want to browse through hundreds of items with no clear expectation what you’ll find? Life is simply too short to waste time that way.
Fortunately books are close to a settled matter. Certainly previously unknown copies come to light. Attics, garages and basements still hold a sense of potential discovery and often the hopeful are rewarded.
But for what will soon be the new wild world of collectible paper – ephemera – is barely in its organizational stage. That term appears only 121,559 times in our Transaction History in the 13,057,177 records today.
Into the future, most of the tens of millions of potentially collectible ephemera will not be catalogued until images are captured and software analyzes them automatically. Bingo shazam.
The nub? Ephemera usually lacks some or all of the standard identifiers. Image comparison will be the key and such technologies will have to find a financial basis to justify their development and implementation.
Certainly famous and important ephemera appear at auction and in dealer and library catalogues today because they are known to be important and/or valuable.
But until the rarity and value of the millions of random papers and printings that are stuffed in boxes and buried in attics worldwide, is established, there are millions of ephemera that will have to wait for their moment in the sun.
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Ellis Smith Prints unsigned. 20” by 16”.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: United typothetae of America presidents. Pictures of 37 UTA presidents 46th annual convention United typothetae of America Cincinnati 1932.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec signed Paper Impressionism Art Prints. MayMilton 9 1/2” by 13” Reine de Joie 9 1/2” by 13”.
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Aberle’ Ballet editions. 108th triumph, American season spring and summer 1944.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Puss ‘n Boots. 1994 Charles Perrult All four are signed by Andreas Deja
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Specimen book of type faces. Job composition department, Philadelphia gazette publishing company .
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: An exhibit of printed books, Bridwell library.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur Court By Mark Twain 1889.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: 1963 Philadelphia Eagles official program.
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: 8 - Esquire the magazine for men 1954.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: The American printer, July 1910.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Leaves of grass 1855 by Walt Whitman.
Sotheby's Fine Books, Manuscripts & More Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: William Shakespeare. The Poems and Sonnets of William Shakespeare, 1960. 7,210 USD
Sotheby’s: Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol, First Edition, 1843. 17,500 USD
Sotheby’s: William Golding. Lord of the Flies, First Edition, 1954. 5,400 USD
Sotheby's Fine Books, Manuscripts & More Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: Lewis Carroll. Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, Inscribed First Edition, 1872. 25,000 USD
Sotheby’s: J.R.R. Tolkien. The Hobbit, First Edition, 1937. 12,000 USD
Sotheby’s: John Milton. Paradise Lost, 1759. 5,400 USD
