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Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 567. One of the Earliest & Most Desirable Printed Maps of Arabia - by Holle/Germanus (1482) Est. $55,000 - $65,000Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 681. Zatta's Complete Atlas with 218 Maps in Full Contemporary Color (1779) Est. $27,500 - $35,000Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 347. MacDonald Gill's Landmark "Wonderground Map" of London (1914) Est. $1,800 - $2,100Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 1. Fries' "Modern" World Map with Portraits of Five Kings (1525) Est. $4,000 - $4,750Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 539. Ortelius' Superb, Decorative Map of Cyprus in Full Contemporary Color (1573) Est. $1,100 - $1,400Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 51. Mercator's Foundation Map for the Americas in Full Contemporary Color (1630) Est. $3,250 - $4,000Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 667. Manuscript Bible Leaf with Image of Mary and Baby Jesus (1450) Est. $1,900 - $2,200Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 226. "A Powerful Example of Color Used to Make a Point" (1895) Est. $400 - $600Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 290. One of the Most Decorative Early Maps of South America - from Linschoten's "Itinerario" (1596) Est. $7,000 - $8,500Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 62. Coronelli's Influential Map of North America with the Island of California (1688) Est. $10,000 - $12,000Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 589. The First European-Printed Map of China - by Ortelius (1584) Est. $4,000 - $5,000
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Forum Auctions
A Sixth Selection of 16th and 17th Century English Books from the Fox Pointe Manor Library
19th June 2025Forum, June 19: Euclid. The Elements of Geometrie, first edition in English of the first complete translation, [1570]. £20,000 to £30,000.Forum, June 19: Nicolay (Nicolas de). The Navigations, peregrinations and voyages, made into Turkie, first edition in English, 1585. £10,000 to £15,000.Forum, June 19: Shakespeare source book.- Montemayor (Jorge de). Diana of George of Montemayor, first edition in English, 1598. £6,000 to £8,000.Forum, June 19: Livius (Titus). The Romane Historie, first edition in English, translated by Philemon Holland, Adam Islip, 1600. £6,000 to £8,000.Forum Auctions
A Sixth Selection of 16th and 17th Century English Books from the Fox Pointe Manor Library
19th June 2025Forum, June 19: Robert Molesworth's copy.- Montaigne (Michel de). The Essayes Or Morall, Politike and Millitarie Discourses, first edition in English, 1603. £10,000 to £15,000.Forum, June 19: Shakespeare (William). The Tempest [&] The Two Gentlemen of Verona, from the Second Folio, [Printed by Thomas Cotes], 1632. £4,000 to £6,000.Forum, June 19: Boyle (Robert). Medicina Hydrostatica: or, Hydrostaticks Applyed to the Materia Medica, first edition, for Samuel Smith, 1690. £2,500 to £3,500.Forum, June 19: Locke (John). An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding in Four Books, first edition, second issue, 1690. £8,00 to £12,000. -
Sotheby’s
New York Book Week
12-26 JuneSotheby’s, June 25: Theocritus. Theocriti Eclogae triginta, Venice, Aldo Manuzio, February 1495/1496. 220,000 - 280,000 USDSotheby’s, June 26: Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby, 1925. 40,000 - 60,000 USDSotheby’s, June 26: Blake, William. Songs of Innocence and of Experience, Printed ca. 1381-1832. 400,000 - 600,000 USDSotheby’s, June 26: Lincoln, Abraham. Thirteenth Amendment, signed by Abraham Lincoln. 8,000,000 - 12,000,000 USDSotheby’s, June 26: Galieli, Galileo. First Edition of the Foundation of Modern Astronomy, 1610. 300,000 - 400,000 USD
![Forum, June 19: Euclid. The Elements of Geometrie, first edition in English of the first complete translation, [1570]. £20,000 to £30,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/dbc5286a-4210-44e3-bbf0-6031c1c49801.png "<b>Forum, June 19:</b> Euclid. <i>The Elements of Geometrie,</i> first edition in English of the first complete translation, [1570]. £20,000 to £30,000.")
![Forum, June 19: Shakespeare (William). The Tempest [&] The Two Gentlemen of Verona, from the Second Folio, [Printed by Thomas Cotes], 1632. £4,000 to £6,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/655b361c-71c7-48ba-9455-09c14e8c7494.png "<b>Forum, June 19:</b> Shakespeare (William). <i>The Tempest</i> [&] <i>The Two Gentlemen of Verona,</i> from the <i>Second Folio,</i> [Printed by Thomas Cotes], 1632. £4,000 to £6,000.")
Rare Book Monthly
Sotheby's Briefly the Most Valuable Company on Earth
Sotheby's closing chart for May 6 showed a high price of $100,000 per share.
By Michael Stillman
The venerable auction house of Sotheby's, which began its life as an auctioneer of books, has been a successful business for centuries. Of course, books now constitute a small part of what is offered, but Sotheby's remains a major force in the field. This past year, Sotheby's has been a particularly good to investors. Its stock price has tripled in the last year, from a low of $10 to $30+.
However, sometimes news is a bit too good to be true, even for a strong company such as Sotheby's. On May 6, the stock market went into a chaotic freefall. Almost a month later, no one really knows why. In a matter of minutes, the Dow Jones average dropped almost 1,000 points, only to regain most of its losses a few minutes later. Charts for several reputable companies showed their stocks trading temporarily for huge losses. Intraday trades at losses greater than 60% were cancelled. However, some substantial companies showed their stocks had dipped as low as a penny, though it's doubtful anyone would have made such a trade. Computerized trading can wreak havoc on orderly markets.
Less known is that a few stocks experienced the exact opposite on that strange day. Enter Sotheby's. The stock opened at $34.61, and dropped as low as $27.85 intraday. However, somewhere along the way, the stock price reached an astronomical high (click the thumbnail image above left to see its daily chart for May 6). At its high point, Sotheby's supposedly reached a price of $100,000 per share. $100,000? At that moment, it was the most valuable company on earth. It dwarfed giants like Microsoft, Google, even Exxon. Heck, its value dwarfed the value of all of the major oil companies combined. Its price would have valued the company at $6.7 trillion, a figure higher than any monetary amount save for the U.S. national debt.
Alas, when things are too good to be true, they are too good to be true. After reaching $100,000, a price it is hard to imagine anyone actually paid, the stock settled back to $33 per share at the day's close. Sotheby's investors who purchased a year ago will again have to be content with a return of 200%, rather than one million percent. Easy come, easy go.
![Finarte, June 24-25: ALIGHIERI, DANTE. La Commedia [Commento di Christophorus Landinus]. Aggiunta: Marsilius Ficinus, Ad Dantem gratulatio [in latino e Italiano], 1487. €40,000 to €60,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/4ee20109-25f3-42e8-93ab-bd4c8e17093a.png "<b>Finarte, June 24-25:</b> ALIGHIERI, DANTE. <i>La Commedia [Commento di Christophorus Landinus]. Aggiunta: Marsilius Ficinus, Ad Dantem gratulatio [in latino e Italiano],</i> 1487. €40,000 to €60,000.")
![Finarte, June 24-25: BANDELLO, MATTEO. La prima [-quarta] parte de le nouelle del Bandello, 1554. €7,000 to €9,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/5adfdf34-8a9a-47e5-9288-5e65dac5ce79.png "<b>Finarte, June 24-25:</b> BANDELLO, MATTEO. <i>La prima [-quarta] parte de le nouelle del Bandello,</i> 1554. €7,000 to €9,000.")
![Finarte, June 24-25: FESTE - COPPOLA, GIOVANNI CARLO. Le nozze degli Dei, favola [...] rappresentata in musica in Firenze…, 1637. €6,000 to €8,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9a1b8605-a566-4fb7-8a4c-5fb72ac539bc.png "<b>Finarte, June 24-25:</b> FESTE - COPPOLA, GIOVANNI CARLO. <i>Le nozze degli Dei, favola [...] rappresentata in musica in Firenze…,</i> 1637. €6,000 to €8,000.")
