Rare Book Monthly Articles - November - 2023 Issue

Need to Sell Your Valuable Books but have No Idea How? We Can Help!

Over the past 20 years, the Rare Book Hub has grown to be far and away the world's largest source of sales data about rare and collectible books. As a result, we have come to work with many of the leading auction houses and booksellers. When it comes to collectors, the one question I have been asked most often is “how do I sell my books?” For most collectors, whether it's age, space limitations, finances, changed focus or fading interest, it eventually becomes time to sell. For others, it is books they inherited but know nothing about. They would like to dispose of them for a fair price but...

Library Sale Turns into Library Theft

The Batley Library in Wales, U.K., saw dozens, maybe hundreds of books taken from its shelves in one of the more bizarre misunderstandings seen lately. The Friends of the Batley Library were holdin...

Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair Turns 45!

The Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair celebrated its 45th anniversary, Oct 27-29, at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston’s historic Back Bay. The event brought together over 100 exhibito...

The Columbus Letter, History and Forgery

Fake old books are rare, as it’s very expensive, and thus hardly profitable to forge one. Yet there are a few documents that are worth the effort—the letter Columbus sent to the Court of Spain when...

Bankruptcy Filing at Denver’s Tattered Cover Raises Concern in the World of Books

The news that Tattered Cover, Denver’s iconic long running independent bookseller, had declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 16th sent ripples of concern through the world of books.   Accordi...

AbeBooks Most Expensive Books Sold in July-September 2023

AbeBooks has announced their latest list of the top prices paid for books sold on the top old and used books website in the world. This one covers the third quarter, July-September, of 2023. It is ...

Doyle is offering the interesting and obscure on November 7th: Be mindful!

Salem Witch Trials + very early New England   ·       Auction of Rare Books, Autographs Maps on Tuesday, November 7, 2023 at 10am ·       Including the Esmond Bradley Martin Collection of Afric...

Hindman Auctions Offers Two Book and Paper Sales on 9-10 November

Hindman Auctions of Chicago has two auctions soon coming into the rooms:  165 lots from The Dorros Family Collection on the 9th, and 411 more of Fine Books Manuscripts, Including Americana on the ...

A NEW “SHADOW” HAS RISEN

Contributed by Mr. Stevens and Richard Mori who were this show’s promoters.   From all accounts the Boston shadow fair was one of the most successful in years, in terms of the quality of dealers ...

Book Legal Case #1 – Massive Copyright Violation

A group of publishers have sued what is known as a “shadow library,” what the publishers describe as “just a ruse for a massive piracy effort.” The defendant is Library Genesis, better known for sh...

Book Legal Case #2 – The Internet Archive to Appeal Copyright Infringement Judgment Against It Over Their Open Library

The Internet Archive (IA), creator of the famed Wayback Machine and numerous other free services, has announced that it will appeal a legal decision against it in a suit by publishers over copyrigh...

SPENCER W. STUART, Bibliophilic Advisor, chats with The Institute Library Community via ZOOM EVENT

Spencer Stuart, author of Contemporary Issues in Rare Book and Manuscript Collecting: A Handbook for Collectors and the Trade, speaks to questions of interest to today’s bibliophiles. Book collecti...

The Veatchs inventory begins to appear at NE Auctions mid-November

Eight hundred+ items from the Veatchs’s stock, to be included in many New England Auctions sales continuing into 2024.  In mid-November this will be the first sale that will include their material ...

Emily Kerrigan joins Leland Little

Auction houses are finding more consignors and interesting material to sell.   Leland Little Auctions is expanding their services to the rare book community by hiring book specialist Emily Kerrig...

Paris Map Fair Returns November 4

The 22nd annual edition of the Ancient Geographical Map Exhibition, also known as the “Paris Map Fair,” will take place on Saturday. November 4. Hours are 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Naturally, it is he...

US New Book Sales Drop Across the Board in First 9 Months of 2023, But eBooks, and Audiobooks Show Gains

Unit sales of print books fell 4.1% in the first nine months of 2023, compared to the same period in 2022, at outlets that report to Circana BookScan according to a recent article in Publishers Wee...

Nine Catalogues Reviewed This Month

This month we review nine new bookseller catalogues. Jonathan A. Hill Bookseller features Chinese, Japanese Korean books, manuscripts scrolls. Type Punch Matrix has a collection of fine and varie...

Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby’s
    Fine Books and Manuscripts
    8 December 2023
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: [Austen, Jane] — Isaac D'Israeli. Jane Austen's copy of Curiosities of Literature. 100,000 - 150,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition in boards of the author's debut novel. 70,000 - 100,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: Brontë, Charlotte. "I am no bird; and no net ensnares me..." 100,000 - 150,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: Eliot, George. The author's magnum opus. 25,000 - 35,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: Whitman, Walt. Manuscript written upon the Death of Lincoln, 1865. 60,000 - 80,000 USD
  • Sotheby’s
    Important Modern Literature from the Library of an American Filmmaker
    8 December 2023
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: Kerouac, Jack. Typescript scroll of The Dharma Bums. Typed by Kerouac in Orlando, Florida, 1957, published by Viking in 1958. 300,000 - 500,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: Hemingway, Ernest. The autograph manuscript of "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber." [Key West, finished April 1936]. 300,000 - 500,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: Miller, Henry. Typescript of The Last Book, a working title for Tropic of Cancer, written circa 1931–1932. 100,000 - 150,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: Ruscha, Ed. Twentysix Gasoline Stations, with a lengthy inscription to Joe Goode. 40,000 - 60,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: Hemingway, Ernest. in our time, first edition of Hemingway’s second book. 30,000 - 50,000 USD
  • Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 7, 2023
    Swann, Dec. 7: Samuel Augustus Mitchell, A New Map of Texas, Oregon and California with the Regions Adjoining, Philadelphia, 1846. $3,500 to $5,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: 17th–19th-century case maps of various locations. $1,500 to $2,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Andreas Cellarius, Haemisphaerium Stellatum Boreale Cum Subiecto Haemisphaerio Terrestri, celestial chart, Amsterdam, 1708. $2,500 to $3,500.
    Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 7, 2023
    Swann, Dec. 7: Vincenzo Coronelli, Set of engraved gores for Coronelli’s monumental 42-inch terrestrial globe, Venice, circa 1688–97. $18,000 to $22,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Lucas Janszoon Waghenaer, group of four navigational charts, Antwerp, 1580s. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Thomas Bros, Block Book of Berkeley, Oakland, 1920s. $800 to $1,200.
    Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 7, 2023
    Swann, Dec. 7: John Nieuhoff & John Ogilby, An Embassy from the East-India Company of the United Provinces, map of China, plan of Canton, London, 1673. $1,200 to $1,800.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Frederick Sander, Reichenbachia, St. Albans, 1888-1894. $5,000 to $7,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Two early illustrated works on horsemanship and breeding, Nuremberg, early 18th century. $700 to $800.
    Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 7, 2023
    Swann, Dec. 7: John Gould, A Monograph of the Ramphastidae, or Family of Toucans. Supplement to the First Edition, London, 1834; 1855. $40,000 to $60,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: John Pinkerton, A General Collection of the Best and Most Interesting Voyages and Travels in All Parts of the World, London, 1808–14. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Oakley Hoopes Bailey, Hackensack, New Jersey, Boston, 1896. $800 to $1,200.
  • CHRISTIE’S
    Valuable Books and Manuscripts
    London auction
    13 December
    Find out more
    Christie’s, Explore now
    TREW, Christoph Jacob (1695–1769). Plantae Selectae quarum imagines ad exemplaria naturalia Londini in hortus curiosorum. [Nuremberg: 1750–1773]. £30,000–40,000
    Christie’s, Explore now
    VERBIEST, Ferdinand (1623–88). Liber Organicus Astronomiae Europaeae apud Sinas restituate. [Beijing: Board of Astronomy, 1674]. £250,000–350,000
    Christie’s, Explore now
    PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF ALICE & NIKOLAUS HARNONCOURT. Master of Jean Rolin (active 1445–65). Book of Hours, use of Paris, in Latin and French, [Paris, c.1450–1460]. £120,000–180,000
    Christie’s, Explore now
    A SILVER MICROSCOPE. Probably by Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723), c.1700. £150,000–250,000
    Christie’s, Explore now
    AN ENGLISH HORARY QUADRANT
    C.1311. £100,000–150,000
  • Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Roberts (David) & Croly (George). The Holy Land, Syria, Idumae, Arabia, Egypt and Nubia. Lond. 1842 - 1843 [-49]. First Edn. €10,000 to €15,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Incunabula: O'Fihily (Maurice). Duns Scotus Joannes: O'Fihely, Maurice Abp… Venice, 20th November 1497. €8,000 to €12,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: An important file of documents with provenance to G.A. Newsom, manager of the Jacob’s Factory in Dublin, occupied by insurgents during Easter Week 1916. €6,000 to €9,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: WILDE (Oscar), 1854-1900, playwright, aesthete and wit. A lock of Wilde’s Hair, presented by his son to the distinguished Irish actor Mícheál MacLiammóir. €6,000 to €8,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Heaney (Seamus). Bog Poems, London, 1975. Special Limited Edition, No. 33 of 150 Copies, Signed by Author. Illus. by Barrie Cooke. €4,000 to €6,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Binding: Burke, Thomas O.P. (de Burgo). Hibernia Dominicana, Sive Historia Provinciae Hiberniae Ordinis Praedicatorum, ... 1762. First Edition. €4,000 to €6,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: COLLINS, Michael. An important TL, 29 July 1922, addressed to GOVERNMENT on ‘suggested Proclamation warning all concerned that troops have orders to shoot prisoners found sniping, ambushing etc.’. €3,000 to €4,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Scott Fitzgerald (F.) The Great Gatsby, New York (Charles Scribner's Sons) 1925, First Edn. €2,000 to €3,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Yeats (W.B.) The Poems of W.B. Yeats, 2 vols. Lond. (MacMillan & Co.) 1949. Limited Edition, No. 46 of 375 Copies Only, Signed by W.B. Yeats. €1,500 to €2,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Miller (William) Publisher. The Costume of the Russian Empire, Description in English and French, Lg. folio London (S. Gosnell) 1803. First Edn. €1,000 to €1,500.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Miller (William) Publisher. The Costume of Turkey, Illustrated by a Series of Engravings. Lg. folio Lond.(T. Bensley) 1802. First Edn. €800 to €1,200.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Mason (Geo. Henry). The Costume of China, Illustrated with Sixty Engravings. Lg. folio London (for W. Miller) 1800. First Edn. €1,400 to €1,800

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