Getting a personalized Top 500 off the ground is easy — dialing it in takes more experimentation
For many years we have prepared annual reports for the top 500 auction lots that have included books, manuscripts, maps and ephemera for the past year. And it’s always among the most widely read articles - leading us to wonder what the readership would be if we could provide the tool[s] to create your personal annual top 500.
Certainly the 500 most expensive lots for the entire collectible paper field is interesting, but collectors and collecting institutions think about their subjects in very different ways. For them the number and value of lots within their scope is close to essential reading and it turns out we have some tools to create such lists.
Here is how you do it.
Be logged in as a paid services member [anything from a 10 day Visitor to Folio]
Click on Advanced Search [to the right of the Keyword Search]
Type our search term, ephemera, in the Keyword field.
Type in 2023 in the Source Year field
Click Search and you find there were 4,056 lots that contained that term in 2023.
To sequence the results by price click Three times on PRICE on the results header.
Now you have a list in price order of the 4,056 lots.
We suggest you then select the page size that suits your purpose. The default size is 25 lots, but you can adjust to 50, 100 and 500 per screen
Here are some examples based on top 50 lots, while it is equally easy to create top 25s and 100s.
We have the data but initially these early versions will need to be straightforward. Here are some examples.
Search
Number of Records
Price Range
Poughkeepsie
68
$89 - $25,400
Poetry
3,047
$15,120 - 355,600
Judaica
656
$2,500 - $38,126,000
Chicago Fire
102
$360 - $100,000
Music
5,949
$64,346 - $38,126,000
Australia
3,646
$11,400 - 254,500
Maps
15,867
$40,320 - $1,744,000
This initial process is imperfect. We have to clean up the currencies. COP 960,000 converts into $243.51.
As well, if/when we add the Boolean search you will be able to include/exclude terms to narrow searches. The outcomes will really reflect your personal 25, 50, 100 or 500.
To try it, we’re providing some snapshots to help you get the hang of it.
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.
RareBookBuyer.com We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
RareBookBuyer.com Specialized in Purchasing
Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
RareBookBuyer.com We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
RareBookBuyer.com Specialized in Purchasing
Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
RareBookBuyer.com We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
RareBookBuyer.com Specialized in Purchasing
Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
RareBookBuyer.com We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
RareBookBuyer.com Specialized in Purchasing
Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
RareBookBuyer.com We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
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
