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![<b>Finarte, Nov 20-21:</b> Alighieri, Dante - La Commedia, [col commento di Jacopo della Lana e Martino Paolo Nidobeato, curata da Martino Paolo Nidobeato e Guido da Terzago. Aggiunto Il Credo], 1478](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/45a90570-7486-4199-91da-bd2e9a044380.jpg "<b>Finarte, Nov 20-21:</b> Alighieri, Dante - La Commedia, [col commento di Jacopo della Lana e Martino Paolo Nidobeato, curata da Martino Paolo Nidobeato e Guido da Terzago. Aggiunto Il Credo], 1478")
![<b>Finarte, Nov 20-21:</b> Alighieri, Dante - La Commedia [Commento di Christophorus Landinus, edita da Piero da Figino. Aggiunte le Rime diverse; Marsilius Ficinius, Ad Dantem gratulatio], 1491](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/99566626-91f5-42da-8f8c-05fae35b4c67.jpg "<b>Finarte, Nov 20-21:</b> Alighieri, Dante - La Commedia [Commento di Christophorus Landinus, edita da Piero da Figino. Aggiunte le Rime diverse; Marsilius Ficinius, Ad Dantem gratulatio], 1491")
Finarte, Nov 20-21: Alighieri, Dante - La Commedia, [col commento di Jacopo della Lana e Martino Paolo Nidobeato, curata da Martino Paolo Nidobeato e Guido da Terzago. Aggiunto Il Credo], 1478Finarte, Nov 20-21: Alighieri, Dante - La Commedia [Commento di Christophorus Landinus, edita da Piero da Figino. Aggiunte le Rime diverse; Marsilius Ficinius, Ad Dantem gratulatio], 1491Finarte, Nov 20-21: Lactantius, Lucius Coelius Firmianus - Opera, 1465Finarte, Nov 20-21: Alighieri, Dante - Le terze rime di Dante, 1502Finarte, Nov 20-21: Boccaccio, Giovanni - Il Decamerone. Di messer Giouanni Boccaccio, 1516Finarte, Nov 20-21: Giordano Bruno - Candelaio comedia del Bruno nolano achademico di nulla achademia; detto il fastidito. In tristitia hilaris: in hilaritate tristis, 1582Finarte, Nov 20-21: Petrarca, Francesco - Le cose volgari di Messer Francesco Petrarcha, 1504Finarte, Nov 20-21: Legatura - Manoscritto - Medici - Cosimo III de' Medici / Solari, Giuseppe - I Ritratti Medicei overo Glorie e Grandezze della sempre sereniss. Casa Medici..., 1678Finarte, Nov 20-21: Alighieri, Dante - La Divina Commedia di Dante Alighieri con varie annotazioni, e copiosi Rami adornata, 1757Finarte, Nov 20-21: Lot containing 80 printed guides and publications dedicated to travel and itineraries in Italy -
Old World Auctions (Nov 6-20):
Lot 51. Ortelius' Influential Map of the New World - Second Plate in Full Contemporary Color (1579) Est. $5,500 - $6,500Old World Auctions (Nov 6-20):
Lot 165. Reduced-Size Edition of Jefferys/Mead Map with Revolutionary War Updates (1776) Est. $4,750 - $6,000Old World Auctions (Nov 6-20):
Lot 688. Blaeu's Superb Carte-a-Figures Map of Africa (1634) Est. $3,000 - $3,750Old World Auctions (Nov 6-20):
Lot 105. Striking Map of French Colonial Possessions (1720) Est. $2,750 - $3,500Old World Auctions (Nov 6-20):
Lot 98. Rare First Edition of the First Published Plan of a Settlement in North America (1556) Est. $3,000 - $3,750Old World Auctions (Nov 6-20):
Lot 181. Important Map of the Georgia Colony (1748) Est. $2,750 - $3,500Old World Auctions (Nov 6-20):
Lot 547. Ortelius' Map of Russia with a Vignette of Ivan the Terrible in Full Contemporary Color (1579) Est. $1,400 - $1,700Old World Auctions (Nov 6-20):
Lot 85. Homann's Decorative Map of Colonial America (1720) Est. $1,600 - $1,900Old World Auctions (Nov 6-20):
Lot 642. Blaeu's Magnificent Carte-a-Figures Map of Asia (1634) Est. $3,000 - $3,750Old World Auctions (Nov 6-20):
Lot 748. The Martyrdom of St. John in Contemporary Hand Color with Gilt Highlights (1520) Est. $1,000 - $1,300Old World Auctions (Nov 6-20):
Lot 298. Scarce Early Map of Chester County (1822) Est. $2,750 - $3,500 -
Ketterer Rare Books
Auction November 25thKetterer Rare Books, Nov. 25:
H. Schedel, Liber chronicarum, 1493. Est: € 25,000Ketterer Rare Books, Nov. 25:
P. O. Runge, Farben-Kugel, 1810. Est: € 8,000Ketterer Rare Books, Nov. 25:
W. Kandinsky, Klänge, 1913. Est: € 20,000Ketterer Rare Books
Auction November 25thKetterer Rare Books, Nov. 25:
W. Burley, De vita et moribus philosophorum, 1473. Est: € 4,000Ketterer Rare Books, Nov. 25:
M. B. Valentini, Viridarium reformatum seu regnum vegetabile, 1719. Est: € 12,000Ketterer Rare Books, Nov. 25:
PAN, 10 volumes, 1895-1900. Est: € 15,000Ketterer Rare Books
Auction November 25thKetterer Rare Books, Nov. 25:
J. de Gaddesden, Rosa anglica practica medicinae, 1492. Est: € 12,000Ketterer Rare Books, Nov. 25:
M. Merian, Todten-Tanz, 1649. Est: € 5,000Ketterer Rare Books, Nov. 25:
D. Hammett, Red harvest, 1929. Est: € 11,000Ketterer Rare Books
Auction November 25thKetterer Rare Books, Nov. 25:
Book of hours, Horae B. M. V., 1503. Est: € 9,000Ketterer Rare Books, Nov. 25:
J. Miller, Illustratio systematis sexualis Linneai, 1792. Est: € 8,000Ketterer Rare Books, Nov. 25:
F. Hundertwasser, Regentag – Look at it on a rainy day, 1972. Est: € 8,000 -
Sotheby's
Fine Books, Manuscripts & More
Available for Immediate PurchaseSotheby’s: J.R.R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. 11,135 USDSotheby’s: Edgar Allan Poe. The Raven and Other Poems, 1845. 33,000 USDSotheby’s: Leo Tolstoy, Clara Bow. War and Peace, 1886. 22,500 USDSotheby’s: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, 1902. 7,500 USDSotheby’s: F. Scott Fitzgerald. This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, and Others, 1920-1941. 24,180 USD
Rare Book Monthly
Articles - February - 2007 Issue
Book Prices Inched Forward in 2006
One of the many charts now available on AE provides detailed pricing information by auction house.
By Michael Stillman
The value of rare and collectible books inched up ever so slightly last year, auction records compiled by the Americana Exchange have revealed. The median price for books and related ephemera at auction rose from $420 to $423 last year. While the good news for sellers and those who own collections is that prices managed to go up, the bad news is they rose more slowly than inflation. The rise in the AEI (Americana Exchange Index) was but 0.7%. The rise in the CPI (Consumer Price Index) was 2.5%.
Similar to the CPI, the AEI slipped by 1% from 2005. Median book prices rose by 1.7%, from $413 to $420, last year, vs. 0.7% this year. Likewise, the CPI was 1% higher last year, 3.5% vs. 2.5% this year.
These results reflect pricing at the mid to higher end of the book spectrum. Inexpensive books are rarely sold at auction. Therefore these results do not necessarily carry over to the lower end of the book market. The ever-increasing number of low to mid priced books offered through online selling sites and eBay may well have placed added pressure on prices at this end of the market. Auction sales only show trends for mid to upper level books. However, it is possible that increased competition at the mid levels where books sold online and at auction intersect has had an impact on sales at auction. While there were occasional aberrant years, the dominant trend throughout the twentieth century was for the price of collectible books to grow at several times the rate of the CPI. Book prices trailing the CPI, as they have the past two years, is unusual.
The average price for books sold at auction was $2,557 for 2006, a drop of almost $200. However, this is not considered to reflect trends in pricing as accurately as median prices since averages can readily be skewed by the number of very valuable items coming up for sale in any given year. Average prices often swing wildly from year to year while median prices move at more gradual, consistent rates.
Sell through at auction also inched up from the prior year in 2006. For the past year, 75% of the book lots offered for sale were purchased, vs. 74% in 2005. Lots sold for more than the high estimate also increased. In 2006, 49% sold above the high estimate vs. 28% below the low estimate. For 2005, the ratio was 48%-29%. However, these numbers can be somewhat misleading since they are based only on lots sold, and many auction houses simply won't sell lots that fall too far below minimum estimates. When lots that did not sell are combined with those sold below the minimum estimate, we find 45% of the lots offered failed to bring the minimum estimate, while 37% brought in more than the maximum estimate.
