The Digital Age Comes to the Ivory Tower - <i>A visit to some public and private special collections
- by Susan Halas
The Bancroft Library.
By Susan Halas
This month AE looks in on a variety of experts from the world of special collections with an eye toward updating our readers on their interests, needs and how technology has changed their focus. There's something here for the book dealer who wants to do more business with these kinds of libraries and archives. There's also information for the collector who may need help with research or other scholarly pursuits.
It would be impossible to speak personally with all the thousands of women and men who make up this unique and rapidly changing field, but we did touch base with the following experts. Their contact information and links to their sites appear at the end of this article.
*Anthony Bliss, Curator, Rare Books and Literary Manuscripts
Bancroft Library at the University of California at Berkeley
* Katherine Hedin, Curator of Rare Books and Special Collections at the University of Minnesota Law Library
* Liza Kirwin, Curator, Archives of American Art, Washington DC
* Gina Olaya, Director, Tribal & Public Relations for Cherokee Nation Entertainment
* Louis Pitschmann, Dean, University Libraries the University of Alabama
*Alice Schreyer, Director, Special Collections Research Center at the University of Chicago
Special Collections are Potential Buyers
No two of the special collections we spoke with have identical interests or expertise, but all except the Archives of American Art (which only acquires through donation) are prospective buyers of books and related antiquarian materials. They do read their emails. They do read catalogs. They do subscribe to magazines and journals in their fields of interest.
Many of them participate in free on-line listserv XLIBRIS where some of the finer points of antiquarian scholarship are discussed and debated. This list is strictly non-commercial. That said, there is much to be learned from reading the posts or archives and dealers may submit catalog announcements, but only on Tuesdays.
Except for the Archives, they are all interested in receiving quotes on material relevant to their areas of particular interest. The key here is doing your homework. "We welcome and encourage offers targeted to our interests," said Chicago's Alice Schreyer. "Send your query or quote. If we haven't done business before introduce yourself." She and others explained that the offer does not need to be an elaborate presentation. A well written description sent by email will do. There is no need to send photos unless requested.
More often than not the sticky wicket is getting paid in a timely manner. Libraries as a group still want to be invoiced, still have purchase orders, still pay slowly and still expect special consideration. "It might take us a while, but we do pay, said Alabama's Pitschmann. "A library won't stiff you."
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…
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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.
![<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.")
