Rare Book Monthly Articles - February - 2021 Issue

Prices at Auction: It Was a Very Good Year

The year 2020 was a year like no other. The coronavirus pandemic was bad for way more businesses than it was good. Many went under. What would this mean for books and other paper collectibles? Would unemployment rates that soared higher than at any time since the Great Depression severely damage the trade, or would people stuck at home but not financially hurt exchange dollars usually spent on entertainment for building their collections? The experiences felt by many dealers was different, but for auctions of books and other paper collectibles, the answer was collectors repurposed those dol...

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Remembering an Excellent Effort to Understand the Market in 1978/1979

I was recently given a gift by an old friend, old enough to have achieved emeritus status both with the ABAA and AE RBH:   Annual Report of the American Rare, Antiquarian and Out-of-Print Book T...

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Rare Books often have complicated lives

Clarence Wolf of MacManus Rare Books has been writing some very interesting perspectives on events and people he has encountered over  his career in the rare book world.  He has a keen eye and a gi...

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Thomas “T.” Craig Scoop McKinney 1941-2021: Book Scout

T. Craig McKinney, had a life-long love affair with old books and the sundry paraphernalia around them.   He found them in attics, basements, garage sales, at country auctions and antique shops.  I...

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Covid be damned - Stuttgart (Virtual) Rare Book Fair live now through February 3rd

For the past 60 years, the Stuttgart Rare Book Fair has taken place in January in the southern German city from which it takes its name. It’s fair to call it “well established” in the trade. But li...

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Everett C. Wilkie, Jr.: (1947-2020)

Everett Cleveland Wilkie, of Tow, Texas lost his life at the hands of Covid-19 on December 23rd, 2020.  His roots ran deep along the Neuse River in Kinston, North Carolina where as a bright student...

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Institution Reverses Plan to Sell $13 Million Book Collection

In these tough economic times, numerous institutions – libraries, colleges, museums and such – have determined one way of relieving the burden is to sell their book collection. These attempted sale...

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Historic Rarities at Old World Auctions February 10th

  Already accepting bids by the time you read this, and closing on February 10th, Old World Auctions’ Sale #181 features several rare and historic pieces never before auctioned by them. Seven hund...

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Thouvenin Jeune, Younger is no Better

So close and yet so far! was my cry of disillusion when I read “Jeune” after “Thouvenin—” on the binding of a book I had just received from Germany. Well, I was still very pleased with my purchase,...

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EXLIBRIS: Useful & Informative Listserv + A Miscellany of Other Interesting Bookish Links

EXLIBRIS: Chances are unless you are a professional in the field of rare books, manuscripts and special collections, or operate at an elevated level in the book trade, the free EXLIBRIS listserv ho...

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New Record Price for a Baseball Card - $5.2 Million

A new record price has been set for a baseball card, and this time it topped $5 million. The card is a Tops 1952 Mickey Mantle rookie card, sold by PWCC to Indianapolis native Rob Gough. The final ...

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History through Commerce: the confluence of money and ideas converted into Certificates of Ownership

History through Commerce:  the confluence of money and ideas converted into Certificates of Ownership   I’ve been reading two volumes, both photographic essays, that are collector’s guide books t...

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A Bookstore Seeks to Raise Over $1 million through Crowd Sourcing

A book store in England has turned to crowd sourcing to fund its business. This is not the often seen case of a bookstore trying to survive the pandemic through contributions from its loyal custome...

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Seven New Catalogues Reviewed This Month

For February, we have reviewed seven new booksellers' catalogues. Type Punch Matrix is offering a selection of children's books. The Veatchs Arts of the Book has a new collection from the book arts...

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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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