In the next few days, I went to my ABE account and found orders for about thirty books, half of which I didn't have in my inventory and hadn't had for months. What the heck?! My cool, calm facade was beginning to crack a bit. I wasn't yelling yet, but I was borderline. The next day, I purged my old inventory, sent along my new file (I turn it over at least thrice a week), and noticed that they had me down for almost three times as many books in stock as I actually had for sale. I emailed them again, told them that they had books in my inventory that hadn't been in my store for months and that had long ago and far away been deleted. Their left-hand agent said that I really should purge my inventory before I sent in a new file. Huh?
I went to their web site to upload and when I hit the purge button, it went to the page and said, 'A book purge has already been requested and will be processed with your next file upload.' This was the same note I got the week BEFORE when I requested a purge, so their system was not purging my books and when I sent them a new file it was just putting it on top of the old file so I had triplicates of every book and all the sold books were back online. I said @$#-&f-%-^*$#%. I was getting mad now. I always purge before loading a new inventory file. I've been sending these files for years.
So finally, after raising my voice on the phone and peppering them with emails, they said that if I didn't straighten my inventory out soon, they would have to drop me from their site. I said that as far as I was concerned, if this was what they called "customer service" they could take it and ... well, you know. After that threat, I actually got an email from a very polite representative saying that they had finally turned it over to their technical department. Finally!
Next day an automated message told me that they had not purged my books when I asked them to as I had reduced my inventory by more than 25% of the current online inventory and, if the book purge and replacement file was intentional, to please reply so they could process my request to reduce my book count. After letting out a piercing scream that sent my dog skittering under the desk, I emailed them back and said that if I said purge and replace four times in a row, I meant purge and replace, dammit.
The next morning I had three new orders, but they still were not coming to my email, I had to go in and check the website every morning, which I did anyway. I emailed again - don't even try to phone them! The answer came back three days later - amazing: It seems that their system had not picked up my purges or my new inventory files, but of course, since I am technologically challenged, I just assumed, as did they, that it was my fault. But, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, it wasn't! At this point, ABE and I have parted company.
The bad news is that the U.S. Post Office is raising its rates, yet again, in May. Here we go again! More later, we're off to Costa Rica and will have more news next month. Saludos.
DOYLE, July 23: STOKES, I. N. PHELPS. The Iconography of Manhattan Island, 1498-1909. New York: Robert H. Dodd, 1915-28. Estimate: $3,000-5,000
DOYLE, July 23: [AUTOGRAPH - US PRESIDENT]FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. A signed photograph of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Estimate $500-800
DOYLE, July 23: [ARION PRESS]. ABBOTT, EDWIN A. Flatland. A Romance of Many Dimensions. San Francisco, 1980. Estimate $2,000-3,000.
DOYLE, July 23: TOLSTOY, LYOF N. and NATHAN HASKELL DOLE, translator. Anna Karénina ... in eight parts. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., [1886]. Estimate: $400-600
DOYLE, July 23: ROWLING, J.K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. London: Bloomsbury, 2000. Estimate $1,200-1,800
Freeman’s | Hindman Western Manuscripts and Miniatures July 8, 2025
Freeman’s | Hindman Western Manuscripts and Miniatures July 8, 2025
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. FRANCESCO PETRARCH (b. Arezzo, 20 July 1304; d. Arqua Petrarca, 19 July 1374). $20,000-30,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF THE MASTER OF THE VITAE IMPERATORUM (active Milan, 1431-1459). $15,000-20,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF ATTAVANTE DEGLI ATTAVANTI (GABRIELLO DI VANTE) (active Florence, c. 1452-c. 1520/25). $15,000-20,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. FOLLOWER OF HERMAN SCHEERE (active London, c. 1405-1425). $15,000-20,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. An exceptionally rare, illuminated music leaf from a Mozarabic Antiphonal with sister leaves mostly in museum collections. $11,500-14,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. Exceptional leaf from a prestigious Antiphonary by a leading illuminator of the late Duecento. $11,500-14,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF THE MASTER OF MS REID 33 and SELWERD ABBEY SCRIPTORIUM (AGNES MARTINI?) (active The Netherlands, Groningen, c. 1468-1510). $10,000-15,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. Previously unknown illumination from one of the most renowned Gothic Choir Book sets of the Middle Ages. $6,000-8,000.
Sotheby’s Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern Now through July 10, 2025
Sotheby’s Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern Now through July 10, 2025
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Book of Hours by the Masters of Otto van Moerdrecht, Use of Sarum, in Latin, Southern Netherlands (Bruges), c.1450. £20,000 to £30,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Albert Einstein. Autograph letter signed, to Attilio Palatino, on his research into General Relativity, 12 May 1929. £12,000 to £18,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: John Gould. The Birds of Europe, [1832-] 1837, 5 volumes, contemporary half morocco, subscriber’s copy. £40,000 to £60,000.
Sotheby’s Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern Now through July 10, 2025
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Ian Fleming. A collection of James Bond first editions, 8 volumes in all. £8,000 to £12,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue. £50,000 to £70,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: J.R.R. Tolkien. Autograph letter signed, to Amy Ronald, on Pauline Baynes's map of Middle Earth, 1970. £7,000 to £10,000.