Paying Tribute to an Honorable Legacy: A Visit to the Firm of H.P. Kraus, Inc.
Item 25 in Catalogue 185, Mela, De situ orbis, 1518
MAF: I think I speak for both of us when I say that the current economy is certainly on a roller coaster. [All parties nod.]
JL: I think that with the antiquarian book market there are lots of forces involved, not just the economy. It used to be the fashionable thing to do to collect rare books, especially in New York. [Editor’s note: this point is certainly driven home in Kraus’s autobiography, in which he describes himself hobnobbing with the very crème-de-la-crème of New York society.] It’s become less so. Here at Kraus, we’ve lived through recessions before. Business gets slightly less robust, and then it picks up again when the economy does. It’s simply a cycle.
MAF: And thank god we’re certainly more than holding our heads above water right now. [She smiles, somewhat slyly, at JL as if alluding to a private reference or joke.]
As an indication of what the market is like, I think all you have to do is look at the recent book auctions in New York and London, which have been thin aside from Americana which continues to be popular at sales.
AT: You mention Americana. Can we explore for a moment for AE Monthly’s readers – most of whom are first and foremost Americana dealers and collectors – H.P. Kraus’s relationship to Americana?
MAF: Well as you know from the autobiography, when my father first came to this country he had in his pocket a Columbus letter. So in a way I guess you could say we’ve dealt in Americana from the very start of the firm. But it’s mostly European Americana: voyages, explorations, not anything after 1700 or so. And since we don’t have much Americana at the moment our Americana customers tend to be only a small part of our customer base.
JL: But we do still have some extraordinary Americana. [Aside to MAF: Perhaps I should show her some pieces? MAF nods and JL gets up and goes to a nearby bookshelf, grabbing seemingly random copies of two or three books.]
AT: Since Americana is but a part of your firm’s vast holdings, let’s talk about what your strengths and specialties are.
MAF: Our specialties most asked for by our customers are incunabula, illustrated books (which can of course include classics, sciences, histories, or much more), and classics, Greek and Roman material.
At this point JL returns to the table and spreads out three books in front of me. All are spectacularly fine examples of European Americana. The condition of all three is superb: they look of course appropriately old but for books their age they are immaculate copies, inside and out. They consist, in no particular order, of: a 1709 Massachusetts
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. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.
Heritage Auctions Rare Books Signature Auction December 15, 2025
Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
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…
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9a74d9ff-42dd-46a1-8bb2-b636c4cec796.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.")
![<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.")
