The Collaborative Project Part III Resources Available For Book Collectors
- by Michael Stillman
The new “MatchMaker” software with this writer's “Wants List.”
By Michael Stillman
This marks the third month of the Americana Exchange’s “The Collaborative Project,” (TCP for short) and this time we have focused on providing a “how-to” guide. The Collaborative Project is a series of articles written by four collectors on staff here at the Æ. We have focused on four varied collections, and on how each of us is going about discovering new titles appropriate for our collections, and then locating the books themselves.
Of course, unless our interests overlap, you may not be that concerned about what we are collecting. However, the tools we all need to use to build our collections are the same. We have found some great resources and time-savers that will apply to your collecting as well our own. Think of us as four fellow collectors who are happy to share anything we have learned with you. And, if you have some tips we have missed, please write our Managing Editor so we can pass them on to others.
This month we discuss both resources available to Æ subscribers and those open to anyone via the internet. We start with Julie Carleton’s thorough “Using Library Research Methods and Catalogs As A Supplement To ÆD and Book Collecting.” Julie shows us how to use internet search engines, directories, Æ services, and library websites to locate obscure material for your collection. Her description of how to discover new material using library websites opens the door to a huge resource most people know little about. Since she has a Masters Degree in Library Science, Julie is very familiar with these resources, and she generously shares her knowledge with us. While we cannot fathom why anyone would not pay the minimal cost to subscribe to the
Æ Database, for those who don’t, Julie shows you how to use some very useful free tools to build your collection.
In “So This Is Day One In The World Of Book Collecting,” Bruce McKinney presents an overview of the Æ's new MatchMaker software. This amazing invention enables you to find new material in your subject area and effortlessly post a list of titles you want to the 42-million strong Abebooks website for "matches". It then searches again and again, once every day, so that you will be first to know when a book you want is listed for sale. And no one will ever know that you’re looking! After you read Bruce’s overview, take a look at Abby Tallmer’s “Further Addicted: The Continuing Adventures of an Æ's 'Wants List' Junkie.” Abby gives us some specific examples of how she has used the new MatchMaker software. If you’re an Æ subscriber, you can use this MatchMaker software free until August 1. If not…now’s the time to join!
Finally, my own contribution, “Finding Early Works About The Oregon Trail,” will give you some tips on using the "Keyword" search in the Æ Database. "Keyword" searches can provide an enormous amount of material, sometimes too much. I’ve included some tips on how to target "Keyword" searches, and then use what you’ve found to find even more new material.
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. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
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>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.")
