Rare Book Monthly Articles - December - 2010 Issue

Auction1

A Sale on the Morrow

By Bruce McKinney

The human brain is in constant flux, caught between emotion and reason. On the day last spring I consigned my collection of the American Experience to auction at Bonhams for sale tomorrow, December 2nd, in New York, 'reason' was in charge. As the day, hour and minute approach it turns out that consignor emotions will be heard. They are now informing me that they weren't consulted and are now in an uproar. Oh well. Every consignor to auction faces a moment when the market will judge the material, house, timing, offer, estimates and reserves and if pleased leap to it...

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Nancy pearl

Nancy Pearl: America's Favorite Librarian

By Susan Halas

Nancy Pearl - many readers, NPR listeners, library-goers and those who think fondly of librarians - already know her name.

This is the Nancy Pearl who started the city-wide bo...

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Starspangled

December to be a Busy Month for the Auctions

By Michael Stillman

The first three weeks of December will be one of the busiest times we have seen in a while for the world of book and ephemera auctions. Then, the hammers will fall silent for...

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3mil1

The AED at Three Million

By Bruce McKinney


The Americana Exchange Database of Auction records, bibliographical notices, important dealer and collector catalogues has reached three million full text records. Over the ...

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Kissofdeath

Keywords and the Future of Book Collecting

By Tom McKinney

For those not familiar with Matchmaker, it is a service that lets Americana Exchange members input keywords & phrases, and authors, titles & dates, into our system. We then take ...

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Humantorch

A Book Theft Turns Deadly

By Michael Stillman

A book theft that turned deadly may lead to homicide charges depending on the outcome of forensic evidence. The books at issue were actually comic books, but the results were...

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Bwbagain

Follow-up to Better World Books Article

By Susan Halas

November's lead story on Better World Books of Mishawaka, Indiana, not only attracted a greater than usual number of readers, but also evoked quite a bit of response both directly...

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Trend1

A Positive Trend for Regional Auction Houses

By Bruce McKinney

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers of Chicago struck gold with 3,129 words which they sold for $79,300 or $25.34 each. These words were written in 1880 by Samuel Clemens in his hand, ...

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Paubasite

Portland Booksellers' Website - A Great Idea Not Quite Fulfilled

By Michael Stillman

The Portland Area Used Booksellers Association (Portland, Oregon) two weeks ago announced the launching of a cooperative website for its members. According to PAUBA's Preside...

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Austin1

New Man at a Crucial Moment

By Bruce McKinney

One of the storied seats in all of book auction selling is going to be filled on January 3rd. The seat is as Head of Books & Manuscripts at Sotheby's in New York. The person ...

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Bntoys

Barnes & Noble Reaches Out to Children

By Michael Stillman

Barnes & Noble recently announced another new idea for its stores as the nation's number one bricks and mortar book retailer struggles to re-establish relevance in a changing...

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Declaration1

Skinner Sells a Declaration

By Bruce McKinney


Skinner, the Boston auction house, for the second time in two years, has sold a Declaration of Independence and the price of freedom continues to be high. This copy is attri...

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Oyo

New E-Readers Hit European Shelves

By Michael Stillman

The electronic reader knows no borders. The rapid rollout of Kindles and Nooks in America is being repeated with a group of locally produced electronic readers in Europe. On ...

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Postal

Auctions Going Postal

By Bruce McKinney


Antiquarian Auctions of Laguna Beach, California will be posting its first sale for bidding beginning on December 9th and concluding its first sale on the 16th. Ed Postal, o...

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Cats12-10

14 New Catalogues Reviewed This Month

This month we are reviewing 14 new bookseller catalogues. The American West is featured in catalogues from Gene Baade's Books on the West and the Argonaut Book Shop, while the William Reese Company...

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Rare Book Monthly

  • 099cbeb6-b2c7-4d3e-9eb4-0b34028cae18 F5423e1a-7c3e-441e-9cd4-e0694a708216 E57f1c0d-6b4b-4ca1-95dc-6730cb016cde E98a6830-a33d-4542-a347-24e480809d1f 1176d13a-86d1-4fa8-aa13-b1cb481bdab7 015ee8df-df22-4b79-bf48-5b039cfa5d9b 8855b368-7ef8-4994-b0a4-dc874cd20521 3ff058b4-b7e0-4ae4-b829-9bb722fedd10 Bfc60a31-7354-4b89-8b5d-24c98fdff769 60948e38-d21b-4471-b8ca-538217bda441 B6358529-8118-4c45-af04-f44a8fd8a312 D185a7b4-c547-49b8-a2d2-3228b10ab860
    <b>Bonhams, Mar 12:</b> Walt Whitman. <i>Leaves of Grass.</i> First edition, first issue, SIGNED in block letters by Whitman. 1855. $200,000 to $300,000
    <b>Bonhams, Mar 12:</b> Isaac Newton's copy of John Greave's <i>Pyramidographia,</i> London, 1646. $50,000 to $70,000
    <b>Bonhams, Mar 12:</b> Colonel John Mosby. Robert E. Lee's autograph letter to Samuel Cooper reporting on Mosby's exploits, with Cooper's autograph note ordering his appointment to Major.
    <b>Bonhams, Mar 12:</b> Gyula Halasz Brassai. Large archive of autograph and typed letters, over 260, to his family including his wife Gilberte, 1947-1978. $40,000 to $60,000
    <b>Bonhams, Mar 12:</b> Archive of drawings and letters from Harper Lee to Charles Carruth, including an inscribed first edition of <i>To Kill a Mockingbird.</i> $20,000 to $30,000
    <b>Bonhams, Mar 11:</b> VESALIUS, ANDREAS. 1514-1564. <i>De humani corporis fabrica libri septem.</i> Basel: Johannes Oporinus, June 1543. $300,000 to $500,000
    <b>Bonhams, Mar 11:</b> HARVEY, WILLIAM. 1578-1657. <i>De motu cordis & sanguinis in animalibus Anatomica Exercitatio.</i> Leiden: Joannis Maire, 1639. $25,000 to $35,000
    <b>Bonhams, Mar 11:</b> BERENGARIO DA CARPI, GIACOMO. 1460-1530. <i>Isagogae breves perlucide ac uberrimae in Anatomiam humani corporis.</i> Bologna: Benedictus Hectoris, 15 July 1523. $15,000 to $25,000
    <b>Bonhams NY, Mar 11:</b> FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN. 1706-1790. <i>Experiments and Observations on Electricity, made at Philadelphia in America…</i> London, 1769. $10,000 to $15,000
    <b>Bonhams NY, Mar 11:</b> BENIVIENI, ANTONIO. 1443-1502. <i>De abditis nonnullis ac mirandis morborum et sanationum causis.</i>Florence: Filippo Giunta, 1507. $8,000 to $12,000
  • 915140a5-e9da-4214-8f02-0502a2905e2a Ba61742e-570b-449c-92c5-643a5ea2da53 53c50f19-f1d2-42cf-bb59-e78fc3cfbde1 B0b88bf7-0b87-447b-82e7-6fedd3112686 8f550bd6-7a7c-4e6b-bca2-d984d6067a07 B33b8a70-c6b8-400d-8fd3-8e7945b8cb8a
    <b>Christie’s Paris, 20 Feb:</b> BELON. <i>L’Histoire de la nature des oyseaux.</i> Paris : Corrozet, 1555. $17,000 to $23,000
    <b>Christie’s Paris, 20 Feb:</b> MIOMANDRE – BARBIER. <i>Dessins sur les danses de Vaslav Nijinsky.</i> Paris. 1913. $23,000 to $34,000
    <b>Christie’s Paris, 20 Feb:</b> HOKUSAI. <i>Fugaku Hyakkei, Edo : Nishimura Yûzô.</i> 1834-1875. $58,000 to $80,000
    <b>Christie’s Paris, 20 Feb:</b> EDWARDS. <i> <br>A Natural History of Uncommon Birds…</i> London : Printed for the Author. 1743-1764. $35,000 to $46,000
    <b>Christie’s Paris, 20 Feb:</b> VESALIUS. <i><br> De Humane Corporis Fabrica libri septem...</i> Basle : J. Oporinus. 1555. $58,000 to $80,000
  • 14e1b1a9-754c-47cc-a783-774ec4eb995b Db229670-9ab2-48e1-a26f-50deca476547 758352c6-534b-4545-992b-678cba466b07 3700acad-2e97-40af-8613-8df87d667fc6 840946db-dac6-4a55-9af1-c633ab82dddc 8e69cae2-7de8-4d78-a0d5-2384ca6c53ea E51ac0cc-c96b-48d6-88a6-a0cc50d7327e 34149d20-3202-491e-b1d6-447cd0351f22
    <b>Morton Subastas on Bidsquare:</b><br>Die Französische Expedition gegen Mexico /Beilagen zum Beiheft des Militair - Wochenblattes
    <b>Morton Subastas on Bidsquare:</b><br>The Architecture Of M. Vitruvius Pollio. London, 1791.
    <b>Morton Subastas on Bidsquare:</b> Estatuto Provisional del Imperio Mexicano. México: Imprenta de Andrade y Escalante, 1865.
    <b>Morton Subastas on Bidsquare:</b> Historia de Méjico... México, 1849 - 1852.
    <b>Morton Subastas on Bidsquare:</b> Juárez, Benito - Ogazón, Pedro. Legajos de Bandos del Estado de Guadalajara, 1860-1863.
    <b>Morton Subastas on Bidsquare:</b> Sigüenza y Góngora, Carlos. Mapa de las Aguas que por el Círculo de 90 Leguas Vienen a la Laguna de Tescuco... Méx, 1748.
    <b>Morton Subastas on Bidsquare:</b> Cruces y Campa / Aubert / Valleto. Pareja Imperial, Fusilamiento de Maximiliano, Tipos Mexicanos... ca,1875.
  • D48d267f-ece2-43d4-98dc-cc218ae2f626 06929abc-0db9-46b7-a98a-5622498d9f4a A10bcd4e-4a7f-450e-8868-09841e13b940 296e4d49-463b-49ab-814d-7aa5fc0c9175 148af1b5-bfc4-4d5b-a943-c7014c1d50c6 0db9de2a-f504-405b-af31-0f68bba6afd0
    <b>Bonhams: Treasures from the Eric C. Caren Collection: How History Unfolds on Paper, Part VII (Online). March 6-14, 2019
    <b>Bonhams, Mar 6-14:</b> Albert Einstein A remarkable letter on God in English, one of his most eloquent and quoted, 1 p, July 2, 1945. $100,000 to $150,000.
    <b>Bonhams, Mar 6-14:</b> Benjamin Lincoln's commission as Major General in the Continental Army, February 19th, 1777. $60,000 to $90,000.
    <b>Bonhams, Mar 6-14:</b> Broadside. A Poem Upon the Bloody Engagement That Was Fought on Bunker's-Hill. 1775. $15,000 to $25,000.
    <b>Bonhams, Mar 6-14:</b> Early, full printing of the Star-Spangled Banner in The Yankee, October 7, 1814. $8,000 to $12,000.
    <b>Bonhams, Mar 6-14:</b> Paul Revere. Engraving, “The Boston Massacre Perpetrated on March 5, 1770," in <i>Massachusett's Calendar 1772.</i> $8,000 to $12,000.
  • D25c1999-79cc-478e-babd-a073bc62061c D6e761c2-9d2e-482e-93ca-d1df9780787f A77ab525-8094-427a-9c3e-0d862ee70c11 Faacee58-3852-4178-aeab-754c77d45abb 19e64ef5-63e4-4b30-bf43-e47be2120e02 Cdff1d4b-3e99-46c3-9cd2-93768bc1a339 4d423bd4-f72f-4336-aeb7-b6d26856a000 0ba80387-d103-41e5-9454-e17b7f72007b 78c9a7f9-781a-48a8-8537-7239d0aa31b4 819baf4a-809f-46d8-9405-38352256c67b Af3febbd-eb96-498d-838e-18062f372369 Cc88c2e6-efee-4800-ae14-6bcd3c0c7972
    <b>Swann Auction Galleries, Feb 21:</b> NASA archive with 351 photographs, silver & chromogenic prints, 1960-2002. $6,000 to $9,000.
    <b>Swann Auction Galleries, Feb 21:</b> Edward S. Curtis, suite of 18 cyanotypes, 1910-14. $25,000 to $35,000.
    <b>Swann Auction Galleries, Feb 21:</b> Edward S. Curtis, <i>Horse Capture, Atsina,</i> unique copper plate for <i>The North American Indian,</i> 1908. $60,000 to $90,000.
    <b>Swann Auction Galleries, Feb 21:</b> John Whipple, <i>Harriet Beecher Stowe,</i> salted print from a calotype negative, 1853. $10,000 to $15,000.
    <b>Swann Auction Galleries, Feb 21:</b> Lewis Carroll, <i>Xie Kitchen,</i> albumen print, circa 1872. $8,000 to $12,000.
    <b>Swann Auction Galleries, Feb 21:</b> Ansel Adams, <i>Taos Pueblo,</i> limited, signed first edition of the artist's first book, 12 silver bromide prints, 1930. $30,000 to $45,000.
    <b>Swann Auction Galleries, Feb 21:</b><br>JFK in his motorcade about 2 mins before his assassination, chromogenic print, 1963. $2,000 to $3,000.
    <b>Swann Auction Galleries, Feb 21:</b> Anton Guilio Bragaglia, 6 photomechanical postcards with facsimile signatures, 1911-13, printed 1932. $30,000 to $45,000.
    <b>Swann Auction Galleries, Feb 21:</b> Société Anonyme, Inc, group of 9 postcards, including 8 real photo postcards, 1920-30. $25,000 to $35,000.

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