<i>In The News:</i> A Competitor for Google, A Book Show in Baltimore
- by Michael Stillman
Cuil's results from a search for "rare books."
By Michael Stillman
A new search engine emerged with much fanfare this past Monday (July 28) to challenge Google's hegemony. The name is Cuil (pronounced "cool"). Cuil is not the only recent attempt to start a new search engine, but its pedigree is what has enabled it to garner much press attention. It is headed by Anna Patterson, who sold technology to Google to upgrade their searches in 2004, and her husband Tom Costello, a former Google engineer. Their names are enough to make you at least stop and look.
Cuil's search page looks much like Google's, except in reverse (the background is black instead of white), but the results page is much different. Instead of a vertical listing of results with a very brief description, Cuil provides columns of matches with a paragraph of description and an image. You are able to see more about the site with Cuil before you decide whether to go there. That's an advantage. Of course, that means it will take you longer to evaluate which sites to visit than with Google's more terse descriptions. In today's world where people believe every second counts, that's a disadvantage. So your choice may be a matter of taste.
In an interesting twist, Cuil does not necessarily extract its information from the site itself. We were surprised to see the description of the Americana Exchange site was taken not from here, but from Wikipedia. Obviously Cuil is doing some sophisticated searching and matching.
Cuil says it uses new technology to better analyze relevance to your keywords. Perhaps, but while the matches we found were at times substantially different from Google, it was not clear why they were superior. Cuil does provide a new feature - a box that allows you to "explore by category." Some make sense, some don't. For "rare books" it recommends academic libraries and research libraries, but also Hamilton County, Ohio. Are there an unusual number of rare books in Hamilton County, Ohio? Who knows?
One feature we do appreciate is Cuil's privacy policy. Unlike Google, they claim not to gather any information about their visitors, not even by IP address. They don't remember where you've been, which is fine, because that's none of their business...or Google's.
Most interestingly, Cuil says it searches 120 billion pages. It says this is three times as many as Google, but this is not certain. Google does not give out numbers. Google may actually search more, but that does not mean it displays all. This has been an issue in the book trade of late, as listings from various book listing and dealer sites no longer show up as often as they once did. Other times they appear under the dreaded "repeat the search with the omitted results included" link. No one sees them there. Google says it does this to avoid duplication, but many listings that consumers might like to see, perhaps copies offered at lower prices, are lost by Google's decision to limit matches. Booksellers may well like to see a competitor to Google that opens up more of their listings for consumers to decide which they want to pursue.
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.")
