The close of another year gives us a chance to look back at the Rare Book Hub Top 500 prices paid at auction in the books, manuscripts and ephemera field for 2015. These annual lists help us understand what is popular today, particularly among the highest end of collectors, and to take the pulse of the market. Here are a few things we found.
For the first time since 2012, the top item fell just short of reaching eight figures. However, the most expensive piece is not indicative of much other than how badly someone wanted the most desired item offered. More indicative of the market is ho...
A year ago, in December, I had elective open-heart surgery. Congenital issues were in play and my doctors felt they could intervene to alter the pattern of early death by heart disease that is epi...
This has been a difficult year for the Boston Public Library. There was the lost, feared stolen $600,000 print that turned out to be misplaced, the resignation of the library's president as a resul...
Two thousand and fifteen is now in the record books and most of the results in the fields of books, manuscripts, maps and ephemera have been recorded. It was a busy year.
The RBH database incr...
The first sale of Pierre Bergé’s collection was a success as it generated 11.7 millions euros. But are the exorbitant prices of these books a good omen for the future of old books?
«Yes, the sa...
Carpe Diem - "Seize the Day" was my mother's favorite piece of bookselling advice. A bookseller for 50 years she hung this motto over her desk and she found opportunity in many places. Here are som...
We've all entered our credit card number into an online order form and then, with some trepidation, clicked "submit." How many of us have done so when the amount was $191,000? Someone placed such a...
The calendar of book, manuscript, map and ephemera fairs for 2016 is fast filling. Bookstores may be closing and the bulk of sales shifting online but face-to-face contact remains an essential asp...
Are you a serious collector of maps? Do you perhaps live somewhere cold and want to escape the weather? Look no further than Miami, because this February 5th through 7th, the HistoryMiami Museum is...
This February, Auctionata, the Berlin-based auction house, is giving collectors of fashion something to be excited about. They’re hosting a sale of Rare Books Ephemera, and its headline item is a ...
A very special edition of the best selling novel of 2015 is now available. An edition limited to 500 copies of Harper Lee's Go Set A Watchman has been published by HarperCollins, with a price tag o...
Fellowships at the New-York Historical Society, Deadline Extended
The New York Historical Society has extended the deadline to apply for fellowships for 2016-2017 that are designed “to encourag...
Book theft is a crime most foul, but it is generally a genteel crime. Knowing how to quietly dispose of valuable books takes a degree of sophistication not possessed by the typical violent street t...
In a strange continuation of the long-running Department of Justice antitrust claim against Apple and five book publishers for e-book price fixing, Apple has filed an appeal all the way to the Supr...
This month we review 10 new catalogues, and this time, most of them cover a variety of subjects, rather than being targeted to a specific area of collecting. The Brick Row Book Shop offers a miscel...
