Rare Book Monthly Articles - October - 2019 Issue

Rare Book Hub mobile: do you want to be a survey monkey?

Rare Book Hub mobile: do you want to be a survey monkey?

We’re redeveloping the Rare Book Hub website, and we’re excited to be adding full mobile optimization. More and more of our traffic is coming from phones and tablets, and we want to make that experience is natural, smooth, and productive.   Because we are venturing into new territory with the development of a fully functional mobile version of the site, we want to hear from you, our members. We want to know what will make your Rare Book Hub experience on a phone or tablet better. We want to know how your use of the site changes when you’re on a mobile device. We want to know what features...

American Tariffs on China Now Apply to Antiquarian Books

American Tariffs on China Now Apply to Antiquarian Books

Tariffs imposed by the U.S. upon China will place some unexpected costs on American collectors. The list of items subjected to a 15% tax as of September 1 contains many targets that are quite reaso...

Collecting Choices:  Buying where you find ‘em

Collecting Choices: Buying where you find ‘em

For years I spent $7,000 to $20,000 a year on eBay but anymore hardly look.  To find collectible material at fixed prices I need not look further than sites like www.abaa.com.  eBay has long been a...

Thief Sentenced to 25 Months in Prison for Stealing 7,000 Library Books

Thief Sentenced to 25 Months in Prison for Stealing 7,000 Library Books

A thief who stole 7,000 library books will be spending 25 months as a house guest of law authorities in Edinburgh, Scotland. The books have been valued at £80,000 (approximately US $100,000). Darre...

Simon Beattie - “The books you never knew you wanted………..”

Simon Beattie - “The books you never knew you wanted………..”

“If there is a trend in collecting nowadays, it is that collectors, more and more, are seeking increasingly obscure material, unique items that no one else has.” This month Rare Book Hub correspon...

The Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair, October 12-13, 2019

The Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair, October 12-13, 2019

The Annual Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair will take place over the weekend of October 12-13 in Exhibition Hall at Seattle Center, home of The Space Needle, and the site originally built for the 1962...

John Milton Found - In a Shakespeare First Folio

John Milton Found - In a Shakespeare First Folio

It looks to be one of the most important literary finds in a long time. It may tie together what many regard as the second greatest English poet and writer, John Milton, with the greatest. There is...

Christies:  Important Sales shifting to October and April

Christies: Important Sales shifting to October and April

Christie's New York Books Manuscripts department recently made an important update to their sale calendar: the twice-yearly Fine Printed Books Manuscripts Including Americana auctions will now be...

The Poughkeepsie Thomsonian

The Poughkeepsie Thomsonian

Recently I purchased a bound volume of the Poughkeepsie Thomsonian covering portions of 1842 and 1843.  In the late 1830’s into the 1840’s this was a newspaper-like publication published twice mont...

Oct. 18: Fine Books & Manuscripts at Potter & Potter Auctions

Oct. 18: Fine Books & Manuscripts at Potter & Potter Auctions

Later this month on October 18th, Potter Potter Auctions out of Chicago will be hosting a 639 lot sale of Fine Books Manuscripts. The sale is diverse, with the print and PDF catalogues broken int...

Now Available - A House with a Library for 4,000 Books

Now Available - A House with a Library for 4,000 Books

If you are looking for a house designed to house your serious book collection, one recently came on the market. It contains a library meant to hold 4,000 volumes, and it is a library worthy of 4,00...

Theophilus Barrois: The First of the Monks

Theophilus Barrois: The First of the Monks

Matthew G. Lewis’ Ambrosio, or the Monk became an instant classic when it came out in England in 1796. Less than a year later, Year V—or 1797, old style, it was translated into French. Claude-Franç...

U.S., Chinese & Worldwide Banknotes, Scripophily and Security Printing Ephemera to be Offered Thursday, October 10th, 2019

U.S., Chinese & Worldwide Banknotes, Scripophily and Security Printing Ephemera to be Offered Thursday, October 10th, 2019

FORT LEE, N.J. –  The October 10th auction by Archives International Auctions will consist of 1178 different lots offered in three sessions beginning with 375 lots of Chinese and Worldwide Banknote...

What Type of Books Does Gwyneth Paltrow collect?

What Type of Books Does Gwyneth Paltrow collect?

In a time when the role of books in society is in a state of flux, it is always reassuring to learn that a celebrated, well-known person is a book collector. What could be better than a famous actr...

Collections Moving On, But Whereto?

Collections Moving On, But Whereto?

This is an extraordinarily fluid time for book collections. The 21st century, not yet even a fifth of the way along, has seen enormous changes. Much of it has been spurred on by the development of ...

Seven New Catalogues Reviewed This Month

Seven New Catalogues Reviewed This Month

This month we review seven new bookseller catalogues. Shapero Rare Books offers a selection of books for the young, that is, children's books. But, don't let your children get their hands on these....

Rare Book Monthly

  • 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.
  • 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!

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