Rare Book Monthly Articles - September - 2017 Issue

Year 16, Day 1

Year 16, Day 1

Rare Book Hub, the successor to Americana Exchange, begins on 3 September its 16th year as a database of rare books, manuscripts, maps and ephemera offered at auction, online and in significant dealer catalogues, and/or described in important bibliographies.  The total number of records in our Transaction Database a few days ago was 7,886,529, 52 times what it was at launch while the price of the service that was $79.95 at startup has increased only 3.7 times in 15 years to $295.   It is a field in transition and information now trumps assertions.   The world outside of rare books has a...

Three New Theories Attempt to Unravel the 500-year-old Mystery of the Voynich Manuscript

Three New Theories Attempt to Unravel the 500-year-old Mystery of the Voynich Manuscript

It is perhaps the greatest mystery of the book world. A 240-page illustrated manuscript, whose history can be traced back almost five centuries, remains indecipherable, its language, creator and or...

Here's How to Find What's Available at Auction During the Busy Season

Here's How to Find What's Available at Auction During the Busy Season

The busiest time of the year for book and paper auctions is about to arrive. Last year, 30% of the items were sold in the last three months of the year. Moreover, many saved their best for last, as...

Columbus returns to the Vatican:  it's a miracle!

Columbus returns to the Vatican: it's a miracle!

In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue but only after the kings of Portugal, France and England turned down the opportunity to finance his adventure and King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella stepped in...

Martin Luther in Print

Martin Luther in Print

The religious turmoil of the Protestant Reformation proved a bonanza for printers and artists, especially in Germany. A stunning new exhibition at SMU’s Bridwell Library in Dallas evokes the drama ...

Weathering the Storm

Weathering the Storm

I woke up on the morning of Thursday, August 24, made breakfast, and turned on the Weather Channel for the 8:00 update on Tropical Storm Harvey. I live in Corpus Christi, Texas, a flat, low lying c...

Raveneau de Lussan… and a bottle of rum!

Raveneau de Lussan… and a bottle of rum!

Twenty severed heads, on a buccaneer's bark, yo-oh-oh! Welcome to the merciless world of the buccaneers* (or flibustiers), those terrible people who swarmed the Spanish Americas in the second half ...

A Busy Fall for Swann Galleries and Rare Americana in September

A Busy Fall for Swann Galleries and Rare Americana in September

Swann Auction Galleries has released their Fall 2017 Auction Schedule, and it is quite the lineup! Starting mid-September and running through mid-December, sales that may interest readers of Rare B...

Sept 13: Fine Maps, Americana, and More at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers

Sept 13: Fine Maps, Americana, and More at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers

Fall is almost here, and with it comes a serious uptick in auction activity. This month, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers invites collectors to browse and bid at their September 13th sale of Fine Books a...

Live Online Now Thru Sept 13: Atlases, Maps, and Rare Books at Old World Auctions

Live Online Now Thru Sept 13: Atlases, Maps, and Rare Books at Old World Auctions

Although collectors typically come to Old World Auctions (OWA) for antique maps, the September sale also offers an outstanding selection of rare books.  Included are atlases, history books, geograp...

Brooklyn Antiquarian Book Fair September 8-10

Brooklyn Antiquarian Book Fair September 8-10

Marvin Getman, the trade show impresario, is continuing to build a book buying and bookselling community around his Brooklyn Book Fair, now in its fourth year and scheduled for the 8th to the 10th ...

Inaugural San Francisco Map Fair September 14-16

Inaugural San Francisco Map Fair September 14-16

This September, in San Francisco, the 1st Annual San Francisco Map Fair will be held at the Regency Center, beginning Friday September 15th from 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm, continuing Saturday the 16th 10:...

Fresh eCatalogues:  Interesting and Part of the Future

Fresh eCatalogues: Interesting and Part of the Future

As paper catalogues decline in frequency the decline is offset by a rise in electronic catalogues.  This month there are 20 fresh efforts and another dozen since July 1st.  These catalogues reflect...

Can A Monkey Copyright His Original Works?

Can A Monkey Copyright His Original Works?

The U. S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco recently heard an interesting case, one which generated more laughs than scholarly legal commentary. It involved a monkey that took a "selfie" picture. T...

Six New Catalogues Reviewed

Six New Catalogues Reviewed

This month we are reviewing six new bookseller catalogues. The William Reese Company features a new collection of Western Americana. Lorne Bair Rare Books targets radical social movements from both...

Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby’sBooks, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to ModernNow through July 10, 2025 Sotheby’sBooks, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to ModernNow through July 10, 2025
    Sotheby’s
    Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern
    Now through July 10, 2025
    Sotheby’s
    Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern
    Now through July 10, 2025
    Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Book of Hours by the Masters of Otto van Moerdrecht, Use of Sarum, in Latin, Southern Netherlands (Bruges), c.1450. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Albert Einstein. Autograph letter signed, to Attilio Palatino, on his research into General Relativity, 12 May 1929. £12,000 to £18,000.
    Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: John Gould. The Birds of Europe, [1832-] 1837, 5 volumes, contemporary half morocco, subscriber’s copy. £40,000 to £60,000.
    Sotheby’s
    Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern
    Now through July 10, 2025
    Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Ian Fleming. A collection of James Bond first editions, 8 volumes in all. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue. £50,000 to £70,000.
    Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: J.R.R. Tolkien. Autograph letter signed, to Amy Ronald, on Pauline Baynes's map of Middle Earth, 1970. £7,000 to £10,000.
  • Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly! Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!
    Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!
    Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!
  • DOYLERare Books, Autographs & MapsJuly 23, 2025 DOYLERare Books, Autographs & MapsJuly 23, 2025
    DOYLE
    Rare Books, Autographs & Maps
    July 23, 2025
    DOYLE
    Rare Books, Autographs & Maps
    July 23, 2025
    DOYLE, July 23: WALL, BERNHARDT. Greenwich Village. Types, Tenements & Temples. Estimate $300-500
    DOYLE, July 23: STOKES, I. N. PHELPS. The Iconography of Manhattan Island, 1498-1909. New York: Robert H. Dodd, 1915-28. Estimate: $3,000-5,000
    DOYLE, July 23: [AUTOGRAPH - US PRESIDENT]FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. A signed photograph of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Estimate $500-800
    DOYLE, July 23: [ARION PRESS]. ABBOTT, EDWIN A. Flatland. A Romance of Many Dimensions. San Francisco, 1980. Estimate $2,000-3,000.
    DOYLE, July 23: TOLSTOY, LYOF N. and NATHAN HASKELL DOLE, translator. Anna Karénina ... in eight parts. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., [1886]. Estimate: $400-600
    DOYLE, July 23: ROWLING, J.K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. London: Bloomsbury, 2000. Estimate $1,200-1,800
  • Freeman’s | HindmanWestern Manuscripts and MiniaturesJuly 8, 2025 Freeman’s | HindmanWestern Manuscripts and MiniaturesJuly 8, 2025
    Freeman’s | Hindman
    Western Manuscripts and Miniatures
    July 8, 2025
    Freeman’s | Hindman
    Western Manuscripts and Miniatures
    July 8, 2025
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. FRANCESCO PETRARCH (b. Arezzo, 20 July 1304; d. Arqua Petrarca, 19 July 1374). $20,000-30,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF THE MASTER OF THE VITAE IMPERATORUM (active Milan, 1431-1459). $15,000-20,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF ATTAVANTE DEGLI ATTAVANTI (GABRIELLO DI VANTE) (active Florence, c. 1452-c. 1520/25). $15,000-20,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. FOLLOWER OF HERMAN SCHEERE (active London, c. 1405-1425). $15,000-20,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. An exceptionally rare, illuminated music leaf from a Mozarabic Antiphonal with sister leaves mostly in museum collections. $11,500-14,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. Exceptional leaf from a prestigious Antiphonary by a leading illuminator of the late Duecento. $11,500-14,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF THE MASTER OF MS REID 33 and SELWERD ABBEY SCRIPTORIUM (AGNES MARTINI?) (active The Netherlands, Groningen, c. 1468-1510). $10,000-15,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. Previously unknown illumination from one of the most renowned Gothic Choir Book sets of the Middle Ages. $6,000-8,000.

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