Rare Book Monthly Articles - December - 2017 Issue

Updating a Personal Collection

I write from time to time about my collection relating to the Hudson Valley of the State of New York.  I’ve been collecting for sixty years and continue to be surprised by my changing interaction with this subject.  I could say “evolving” but this seems to understate the speed with which my options for collecting change.   A book collector from an early age I soon learned about some forty-plus titles I should focus on.  That a collection might include more than books was dismissed as requiring the complex alchemy of knowledge and opportunity.  As to opportunity it was suggested I offer to...

The Aristophil Scandal: the epilogue

The first “Aristophil sale” will take place this month in Paris, France, as an epilogue to the “biggest scandal in the history of autographs”.    The Aristophil case started in 1990, when Gérard...

Book Review: Where Have All the Copies of Robert Burns' First Book Gone? Here is the Long Answer

In the summer of 1786, 27-year-old Robert Burns delivered his first set of poems to a local printer. Burns was the son of a farmer, one who saw little future for himself in his native Scotland. He ...

Book Trade Manners in the 21st Century - “Courtesy to the Trade” has Many Meanings

“Courtesy to the trade:” That’s the old school way of saying that a dealer will give a discount or be more flexible in pricing and terms if you declare yourself as a fellow bookseller. The best way...

Follow-Up: Declaration of Independence Sells for $1.8 Million

Last month, we wrote about a very early copy of the Declaration of Independence coming up for sale at auction (click here). It was the first New York edition, printed on July 9, 1776, just five day...

Jack Stauffacher: A printer of the old school

In 2009 I was looking for a distinctive book plate to identify the 81 lots I would send later in the year to Bloomsbury, then in New York.  Several members of the Roxburghe Club in San Francisco su...

George Fox: a lifelong affair with the printed word

George Fox, who recently passed away, was an engaging man born with a serious case of bibliomania.  He liked the printed word, be it a book or ephemera and organized his life around involvement wit...

Stolen Library Book Returned 177 Years Later

Marsh's Library, Ireland's first public library, hosted an exhibition called Hunting Stolen Books. It was based on books that went missing from the library during its first 133 years of existence. ...

Bolerium: G R O W I N G

Bolerium is back in the news.  They have taken over an additional 1,700 square feet at 2141 Mission in San Francisco.  The space was previously occupied by Libros Latinos.  John Durham, the proprie...

Photography at Doyle: December 14th

On December 14 Doyle New York has an auction of photography that includes seventy-five photographs (in seventy-one lots) by Ansel Adams. These come from a complete Museum Set. Such sets, issued by ...

Exploring the World and Collecting Books

Editor's Note: On December 7, Christie's will host a sale of Russian America Polar Exploration: Highlights from the Martin Greene Library. The following is an introduction written by the collector...

The Lingering Allure of the Manuscript: The Jay T. Snider Collection of Illustrated & Decorated Manuscripts at Christie's

Editor's Note: Christie's sale on December 5th of Fine Printed Books and Manuscripts Including Americana contains a beautiful selection of manuscripts from the Jay T. Snider Collection. This is Boo...

Are Digital Files Better Than Books? Think Again!

It is a given that electronic formats are superior to printed books for ease of use and document preservation. For ease of use, they can be accessed from anywhere via the internet, sent via email h...

Dec. 6: Fine Books, Western Manuscripts and Works on Paper at Forum Auctions in London

Words that have become immortalized through the HBO show Game of Thrones will ring true this month: Winter is Coming. And with the cold comes a lull in the auction season as the industry takes time...

Postcards: A Fading Business But Increasingly Collectible

It is another sign of the changing of the guard in terms of print versus electronic media. Britain's oldest postcard publisher is closing its doors after over a century in business. J. Salmon opene...

A Bombed Out Library Is Assisted by Another Over 2,000 Miles Away

The story of the Mosul University Library, like that of so many things in Iraq, is one of enormous tragedy. The library survived the Iraqi War, though it brought numerous hardships to the city. The...

13 New Catalogues Reviewed This Month

For December, we have 13 new bookseller catalogues to review. Perhaps in keeping with the season, gift-giving for friends and family with varied tastes, we have a few more catalogues with a variety...

Rare Book Monthly

  • Fonsie Mealy’s
    Summer Rare Book
    & Collectors’ Sale
    July 30-31, 2024
    Fonsie Mealy’s, July 30-31: U.S. / European Shipping Archive 1800-1814. The Widow Bermingham & Sons Collection. €7,000 to €10,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, July 30-31: Bunreacht na hÉireann. Constitution of Ireland. An important copy of the First Printing of De Valera’s new Constitution, approved in 1938. Signed by the Constitution Cabinet. €7,000 to €9,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, July 30-31: A Rare Complete Run of the Cuala Press Broadsides. €7,000 to €9,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s
    Summer Rare Book
    & Collectors’ Sale
    July 30-31, 2024
    Fonsie Mealy’s, July 30-31: Grose (Francis). The Antiquities of Ireland, 2vols. folio London (for S. Hooper) 1791. Magnificent Hand-Coloured Copy - Only 25 Copies. €3,000 to €5,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, July 30-31: Cantillon (Richard). Essai sur la Nature du Commerce en General, Traduit de l'Anglois, Sm. 8vo London (Fletcher Gyles) 1756. €3,000 to €4,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, July 30-31: Gregory, (Lady Augusta). Spreading the News: The Rising of the Moon: The Poorhouse (with Douglas Hyde). Being Vol. IX of the Abbey Theatre Series. €3,000 to €4,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s
    Summer Rare Book
    & Collectors’ Sale
    July 30-31, 2024
    Fonsie Mealy’s, July 30-31: Lavery (Lady Hazel). A moving series of three A.L.S. and a Telegram to Gen. Eoin O'Duffy, July-August 1927, expressing her grief at the death of Kevin O'Higgins. €3,000 to €4,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, July 30-31: Dampier (Wm.) Nouveau Voyage Autour du Monde, ou l'on descrit en particulier l'Isthme de l'Amerique…, 2 vols. in one, Amsterdam, 1698. €800 to €1,200.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, July 30-31: Howell (James). Instructions for Forreine Travel Shewing by what Cours, and in what Compasse of Time…, London, 1642. €800 to €1,200.
    Fonsie Mealy’s
    Summer Rare Book
    & Collectors’ Sale
    July 30-31, 2024
    Fonsie Mealy’s, July 30-31: Rowling (J.K.) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 8vo, L. (Bloomsbury) 1999, First Edn., First Printing of Deluxe Collectors Edn. Signed. €800 to €1,200.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, July 30-31: James (Wm.) A Full and Correct Account of the Military Occurrences of The Late War Between Great Britain and The United States of America. 2 vols. Lond. 1818. €650 to €900.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, July 30-31: The Laws of the United States, Published by Authority, 3 vols. Philadelphia (Richard Folwell) 1796. €600 to €800.

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