Rare Book Monthly Articles - September - 2016 Issue

Tom Lecky:  the next stage

Tom Lecky: the next stage

Tom Lecky – until recently Department Head, Books Manuscripts at Christie’s New York – has moved on, if not far, to establish himself in business. This summer he assumed control of Riverrun Books Manuscripts in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY, a firm that, since 1978, has specialized in fine material from all periods. He works both as a bookseller and appraiser, and maintains a close relationship with Christie’s as a consultant. His career has been meteoric.   His resume, beyond his 17 years at Christie’s, includes four and a half years as Head of Books and Prints at William Doyle Galleries, now...

Ken Lopez Updates his Views on Modern Book Collecting Trends

Ken Lopez Updates his Views on Modern Book Collecting Trends

In 1999 Ken Lopez, a specialist in modern first editions, wrote a long analysis of the rare book collecting world as it looked on the cusp of the 21st century. The article appeared at a time when t...

Rarer than Many Rare Books:  The Young Dealer

Rarer than Many Rare Books: The Young Dealer

Dan Whitmore is a book dealer in southern California.  He is 35 and never experienced the halcyon days of bookselling two decades ago.  He was in high school then and would go on to Middlebury Coll...

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

Perhaps the second most popular item in the books and paper field is maps. There are classic maps that go for hundreds of thousands of dollars I'd love to own, but are a bit out of my price range. ...

18th Century Paris - Mercier and (the not old yet) books

18th Century Paris - Mercier and (the not old yet) books

Editor's Note: This is part II of a series begun in the August issue of Rare Book Monthly.   Welcome back to the dark and smelly streets of the French capital in the 18th century, with the same g...

Stay Tuned: Three-Part Series on New Editions of 17th-Century Women Writers

Stay Tuned: Three-Part Series on New Editions of 17th-Century Women Writers

Set your cap for this! Guest Series: “Old Books / New Editions” by Guest Writer, Maureen E. Mulvihill, a collector scholar with The Princeton Research Forum, NJ. Three articles, with contemporary ...

The Fall Auction Season Begins:  Here is How to Follow It and Find Items of Interest

The Fall Auction Season Begins: Here is How to Follow It and Find Items of Interest

The fall auction season, the busiest time of the year, is about to begin. The number of sales in the book and paper field will rapidly rise, and continue to build all the way to its crescendo in mi...

A Private Library in Ulster County:  the year 1810

A Private Library in Ulster County: the year 1810

Recently I purchased a 160-page manuscript account of the founding of a private library in Ulster County in December 1810:  The Pleasant Valley Library Society.   The account begins with:   A L...

Aug 31 - Sep 14: Rare Maps, Charts, Atlases and more at Old World Auctions

Aug 31 - Sep 14: Rare Maps, Charts, Atlases and more at Old World Auctions

Old World Auctions, the online-only auction house specializing in antique maps, globes, charts, and atlases, has a sale taking place at the time of this month’s Rare Book Monthly online publishing....

Perfumes for People Who Want to Smell Like Their Old Books

Perfumes for People Who Want to Smell Like Their Old Books

The smell of old books is intoxicating to those who love antiquarian tomes. The collector does not need sight to sniff out a classic library. Love is blind. It is one of those fragrances that is no...

Rare Italian Banknote from WWII Occupation of Egypt Coming to Auction

Rare Italian Banknote from WWII Occupation of Egypt Coming to Auction

Winner’s Auctions and Exhibits, the Jerusalem-based auction house I first wrote about in July’s Rare Book Monthly, is hosting another sale this month, Auction No. 095. With the house’s focus on Jud...

Truman Capote Offered For Sale

Truman Capote Offered For Sale

Being offered for sale this month is the ultimate piece of ephemera for the field of books. This one pertains to the great twentieth century writer Truman Capote, noted for In Cold Blood, and the n...

Library Book Thief Dodges a Bullet

Library Book Thief Dodges a Bullet

An Irish librarian who stole many valuable books from his employer over a long period of time was fortunate to be tried before a sympathetic judge. Different judges and jurisdictions look at crimes...

Sep 9-11: The Third Annual Brooklyn Antiquarian Book Fair brings books and more to NYC

Sep 9-11: The Third Annual Brooklyn Antiquarian Book Fair brings books and more to NYC

This month, the third annual Brooklyn Antiquarian Book Fair will be holding court from Friday, September 9th through Sunday, September 11th. With almost 100 dealers exhibiting a wide array of colle...

Sep 22: Forum Auctions' fall calendar opens with Fine Books and Works on Paper

Sep 22: Forum Auctions' fall calendar opens with Fine Books and Works on Paper

Forum Auctions, the new London-based house which held its first auctions in July, is kicking off the fall season with a 539-lot sale of Fine Books and Works on Paper taking place Thursday, Septembe...

Six New Catalogues Reviewed This Month

Six New Catalogues Reviewed This Month

The dog days of summer are the slowest time of the year for the preparation of new bookseller catalogues. This past month, we received only six. Oak Knoll Books offers a selection of miniatures, fi...

Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby's
    Bibliothèque Jacques Dauchez - Autour de Dubuffet
    5-19 June
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Bissière, Roger. Cantique à notre frère soleil de saint François. 1954. 1,000 - 1,500 EUR
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Céline, Louis-Ferdinand. La vie & l’œuvre de Philippe Ignace Semmelweis. 1924. Rare édition originale, avec envoi. Joint : La Quinine en thérapeutique, 1925. 4,000 - 6,000 EUR
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Céline, Louis-Ferdinand. Mort à crédit. 1936. Édition originale. Bel exemplaire sur Hollande. 2,500 - 3,500 EUR
    Sotheby's
    Bibliothèque Jacques Dauchez - Autour de Dubuffet
    5-19 June
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Chillida, Eduardo ─ Emil Cioran. Face aux instants. 1985. Un des 100 exemplaires sur Arches. Eau-forte signée. 600 - 800 EUR
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Dubuffet, Jean. Ler dla canpane. L’Art Brut, 1948. Édition originale. 3,000 - 5,000 EUR
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Dubuffet, Jean. L'Herne Jean Dubuffet. 1973. Un des 100 exemplaires du tirage de luxe avec une sérigraphie originale en couleurs. 1,000 - 1,500 EUR
  • Gros & Delettrez
    Livres & Manuscrits Arméniens
    Jeudi 12 juin 2025
    Paris, Francis
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: BIBLE, Venise 1733, reliure arménienne
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: CHARAKNOTS, manuscrit XVIIe-XVIIIe siècle
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: CHARAKNOTS, manuscrit daté 1606, reliure arménienne
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: CHARAKNOTS, manuscrit début XVIIIe siècle, reliure arménienne
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: CHARAKNOTS, Amsterdam 1664
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: CHARAKNOTS, Amsterdam 1702, reliure arménienne
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: DICTIONNAIRE arménien, manuscrit XVIIe-XVIIIe siècle.
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: EVANGILE, manuscrit 1735-1737, reliure arménienne
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: LIVRE DE PRIERES, Grégoire de Narek, manuscrit
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: GEOGRAPHIE, Ghoukas INDJIDJIAN, Venise 1802-1806
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: MANUSCRIT THEOLOGIQUE, XVIe-XVIIe siècle
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: MASHTOTS, manuscrit XVIIIe-XIXe siècle, reliure arménienne
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: LETTRE ENCYCLIQUE, manuscrit XIXe siècle
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: NOUVEAU TESTAMENT, Amsterdam 1668, reliure arménienne
  • Doyle
    The Collection of Mary Tyler Moore
    June 4, 2025
    DOYLE: Peter Max, Portrait of Mary Tyler Moore (Versions 1,2, 5, 6), 2001. Estimate $10,000-15,000
    DOYLE: The iconic screen-used wall-mounted "M" from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Estimate $5,000-8,000
    DOYLE: The Mary Tyler Moore Show by Al Hirschfeld. Estimate $4,000-6,000
    Doyle
    The Collection of Mary Tyler Moore
    June 4, 2025
    DOYLE: Annie Leibovitz presents Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke for Vanity Fair. Estimate $4,000-6,000
    DOYLE: Al Hirschfeld presents Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke in the CBS Wednesday Night Lineup. Estimate $4,000-6,000
    DOYLE: Richard McKenzie, Portrait of Mary Tyler Moore. Estimate $1,000-2,000
    Doyle
    The Collection of Mary Tyler Moore
    June 4, 2025
    DOYLE: Three Original Bill Hargate Costume Designs for The Mary Tyler Moore Hour. Estimate $600-800
    DOYLE: The famous Bonnie and Clyde "Wanted" broadside. Estimate $500-800
    DOYLE: Ticket to the Final Episode of the Mary Tyler Moore Show Estimate $400-600

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