Rare Book Monthly Articles - March - 2020 Issue

The 60th Annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair March 5-8, 2020

The 60th Annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair March 5-8, 2020

This fair is at the rare confluence of three exceptional book, manuscript, map and ephemera fairs that annually occur over a single March weekend in the splendid city of New York.  This year the dates are March 5-8, defined as the most concentrated opportunities to experience the collectible paper field first hand.   The principal event is:   The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair:  60 Years 1960 – 2020   220 dealers that are members of the ABAA and non-US dealer organizations will snugly fit into the Park Avenue Armory at 643 Park Avenue between 66th and 67th Avenues.  Thes...

The 7th Annual NYC Book and Ephemera Fair at the Church of St. Ignatius.  980 Park Avenue, NYC.

The 7th Annual NYC Book and Ephemera Fair at the Church of St. Ignatius. 980 Park Avenue, NYC.

New York, NY—On March 6-7, 2020, the NYC Book and Ephemera Fair returns to Wallace Hall in the Church of St. Ignatius (Park Ave. at 83rd Street) for its seventh straight year during NY Rare Book We...

Another Stolen Columbus Letter Returned from America to its Rightful European Owner

Another Stolen Columbus Letter Returned from America to its Rightful European Owner

In what seems to have become a distressingly common occurrence, yet another stolen Columbus Letter has made the journey over and back from Europe to America in recent years. This is the fourth time...

Tips,Tool & Terms: The Three Minute Guide to Graphics Arts

Tips,Tool & Terms: The Three Minute Guide to Graphics Arts

You can spend a lifetime learning the fine points of graphics, whether they are original works of art, or parts of books such as illustrations, maps or in some cases photos. I got my degree in prin...

Auctions add Glamour, Excitement and Collecting Success

Auctions add Glamour, Excitement and Collecting Success

What makes the upcoming Rare Book Week in Manhattan doubly exciting are both the three 1, 2 and 4 day shows as well the steady drumbeat of rare book, manuscript, map and ephemera auctions that, at ...

Books in Weird Places

Books in Weird Places

Tell me where you were printed, I’ll tell you what kind of book you are. When printing required a “privilege from the King”, it wasn’t easy to print sulphurous works about politics or loose morals....

The 53rd International Antiquarian Book Fair at Pasadena

The 53rd International Antiquarian Book Fair at Pasadena

The California Book Fair is a rite of passage for collectors on the west coast and as always, the event was very professional, well lighted and spaciously laid out in the Pasadena Convention Center...

A Survey about Book Fairs

A Survey about Book Fairs

Many thousands of our members are frequent guests at book, manuscript, map and ephemera fairs.  Such events are time-old traditions that increasingly seem to be a step behind the many changes that ...

The Pasadena Shadow Fair

The Pasadena Shadow Fair

At the ABAA’s annual west coast Fair on Saturday 8 February this year we also had the symbiotic Shadow Fair at the Pasadena Masonic Temple just a few steps away from the Pasadena Convention Center ...

Forum Auctions presents The Birmingham Assay Office Library

Forum Auctions presents The Birmingham Assay Office Library

This month, Forum Auctions in London will be offering the rare book collection of the Birmingham Assay Office on Thursday, 26th March. Founded in 1773, thanks to the drive and persistence of local ...

Marie Kondo Told Us to De-Clutter Our Homes by Disposing of Books. So Why is She Now Selling Us More Clutter?

Marie Kondo Told Us to De-Clutter Our Homes by Disposing of Books. So Why is She Now Selling Us More Clutter?

Last spring, we wrote about the mess tidying-up expert Marie Kondo got herself in when she recommended getting rid of unnecessary books, that is, those that don't “spark joy.” To some, the idea of ...

Preserving the Scent of Old Books

Preserving the Scent of Old Books

It has been the mission for centuries of rare book and other libraries, along with various other institutions, to preserve old books. So much of humanity's heritage and history resides within them....

Major Collector, Benefactor of Institutional Literary Collections, and Brother, Frederick R. Koch Dies

Major Collector, Benefactor of Institutional Literary Collections, and Brother, Frederick R. Koch Dies

He was an obscure collector in the fields of literature, music and art, and also a major benefactor of collections at several notable institutions. Those contributions were substantial, and yet the...

How the ‘King of Manuscripts’ Became the Madoff of ‘France’

How the ‘King of Manuscripts’ Became the Madoff of ‘France’

It’s an uncommon occurrence that rare books and manuscripts dominate the news in an issue of the New York Sunday Times.  Nevertheless it occurred on February 23rd, 2020.  Even more surprisingly it’...

Five Canadian University Libraries Band Together for Extra Storage

Five Canadian University Libraries Band Together for Extra Storage

Five Canadian universities have banded together to deal with an issue many libraries face – growing collections of books few if any people ever read. Storage space is limited, particularly as stude...

10 Varied Catalogues Reviewed This Month

10 Varied Catalogues Reviewed This Month

A wide range of subjects is covered by the bookseller catalogues we review this month. Ursus Rare Books features illustrated books. Antiquariat Kainbacher targets the history of electricity. Antiqu...

Rare Book Monthly

  • Fonsie Mealy’sRare Books & Collectors’ SaleApril 30th & May 1st Fonsie Mealy’sRare Books & Collectors’ SaleApril 30th & May 1st
    Fonsie Mealy’s
    Rare Books & Collectors’ Sale
    April 30th & May 1st
    Fonsie Mealy’s
    Rare Books & Collectors’ Sale
    April 30th & May 1st
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Taylor (Geo.) & Skinner (A.) Maps of the Roads of Ireland, Surveyed 1777. Lond. & Dublin 1778. €500 to €750.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Messingham (Thos.) Florilegium Insulae Sanctorum seu Vitae et Acta Sanctorum Hibernia, Paris 1624. €350 to €500.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Heaney (Seamus). The Haw Lantern, L. (Faber & Faber) 1987, First Edn., Signed and dated. €225 to €350.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Valencey (Lt. Col. Chas.) Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis, Vols. I-IV, 4 vols. Dublin 1786. €400 to €600.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Powerscourt (Viscount). A Description and History of Powerscourt, Lond. 1903. €350 to €500.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Moryson (Fynes). An Itinerary ... Containing His Ten Yeeres Travel Through the Twelve Dominions of Germany, Bohermerland, Sweitzerland…, Lond. (John Beale) 1617. €700 to €1,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: After Buffon, Birds of Europe, c. 1820. Approx. 120 fine hd. cold. plts., mor. backed boards. €125 to €250.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Dunlevy (Andrew). An Teagasg Criosduidhe De Reir Ceasda agus Freagartha... The Catechism or Christian Doctrine by Way of Question and Answer, Paris (James Guerin) 1742. €400 to €700.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: The Georgian Society Records of Eighteen-Century Domestic Architecture in Dublin, 5 vols. Complete, Dublin 1909-1913. €500 to €750.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Scale (Bernard). An Hibernian Atlas or General Description of the Kingdom of Ireland, L. (Robert Sayer & John Bennet) 1776. €625 to €850.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: [Johnson (Rev. Samuel)]. Julian the Apostate Being a Short Account of his Life, together with a Comparison of Popery and Paganism,L. (Langley Curtis) 1682. €300 to €400.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Nichlson (Wm.) Illustrator. An Almanac of Twelve Sports, Lond. 1898. €300 to €400.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Heaney (Seamus) trans. The Light of the Leaves, 2 vols., Mexico (Imprenta de los Tropicos/Bunholt) 1999. €1,500 to €2,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Fleming (Ian). Moonraker, L. (Jonathan Cape) 1955. €1,500 to €2,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Heaney (Seamus) & Egan (Felim) artist. Squarings, Twelve Poems, D. (Hieroglyph Editions Ltd.) 1991. €1,750 to €2,250.
  • Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: ANDERSEN'S EXTREMELY RARE FIRST APPEARANCE IN PRINT. "Scene af: Røverne i Vissenberg i Fyen." in Harpen, 1822.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: FIRST ISSUE OF THE FIRST THREE FAIRY TALE PAMPHLETS, WITH ALL INDICES AND TITLE PAGES. Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. 1835-1837.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: THE FIRST FAIRY TALES WITH A SIGNED CARTE DE VISITE OF ANDERSEN AS FRONTIS. Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. 1835-1837.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: KARL LAGERFELD. Original pastel and ink drawing in gold, red and black for Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes (1992), "La cassette de l'Empereur."
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: PRESENTATION COPY OF THE SIXTH PAMPHLET FOR PETER KOCH. Eventyr, Fortalte For Børn, Second Series, Third Pamphlet. 1841. Publisher's wrappers, complete with all pre- and post-matter.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN RARE AUTOGRAPH QUOTATION SIGNED IN ENGLISH from "The Ugly Duckling," c.1860s.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: HEINRICH LEFLER, ORIGINAL WATERCOLOR FOR ANDERSEN'S SNOW QUEEN, "Die Schneekönigin," 1910.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: FIRST EDITION OF ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES IN ENGLISH. Wonderful Stories for Children. London, 1846.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: ANDERSEN ON MEETING CHARLES DICKENS. Autograph Letter Signed ("H.C. Andersen") in English to William Jerdan, July 20, 1847.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: PRESENTATION COPY FOR EDGAR COLLIN. Nye Eventyr og Historier. Anden Raekke. 1861.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: DOLL HOUSE FURNITURE BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSON, DECORATED WITH FANTASTICAL CUT-OUTS, for the children of Jonna Stampe (née Drewsen), his godchildren.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: PRESENTATION COPY FOR GEORG BRANDES. Dryaden. Et Eventyr fra Udstillingstiden i Paris 1867. 1868.
  • Sotheby'sSell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts Sotheby'sSell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: The Shem Tov Bible, 1312 | A Masterpiece from the Golden Age of Spain. Sold: 6,960,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: William Blake | Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Sold: 4,320,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD
    Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Sold: 1,920,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Machiavelli | Il Principe, a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR

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