Rare Book Monthly Articles - July - 2023 Issue

Montana: A Paper Trail. A Review

Montana: A Paper Trail. A Review

Recently I received a heavy package that contained a copy of Thomas Minckler’s book detailing his collection of Montanaiana.  It is large in every respect; 10.25” x 12.25” x 1.5”, 440 pages with images on more than 80% of them.  It weighs 6+ lbs.  And oh yes, he has 12,000 items relating to his magnificent obsession of which several hundred are contextualized and explained.  Welcome to collecting nirvana! <-------- Click on these images and they become a full size slide show!! Over the years I’ve received a thousand or more dealer catalogues and umpteen auction catalogues.  Anymore, mo...

Did ChatGPT Learn Its Lesson About Old Books?

Did ChatGPT Learn Its Lesson About Old Books?

An article in Palm Springs' Desert Sun recently caught my eye. Writer Mike Rivkin said he had asked ChatGPT to identify five categories of antiques that were rising and five in decline. He said Cha...

Sotheby’s:  Bibliotheca Brookeriana will be coming into the rooms

Sotheby’s: Bibliotheca Brookeriana will be coming into the rooms

On October 11, Sotheby’s will inaugurate a series of sales the likes of which, in terms of celebrity, magnitude, and value, has not been seen in the book world since the heady days of the Papal Cou...

Old Books;  Old is often not enough

Old Books; Old is often not enough

Rare Book Hub is a paid self-appraisal service. Nevertheless, we frequently receive requests for free “advice” about what an owner should do with their old books.  Over the years, from their random...

The Lament of the Beast of Gévaudan

The Lament of the Beast of Gévaudan

I received an obscure manuscript from the South of France the other day, dealing with a mysterious animal that devoured more than a hundred people between 1764 and 1767—the infamous Beast of Gévaud...

A Happy Ending for Bookstore Victimized by Theft

A Happy Ending for Bookstore Victimized by Theft

Recently, 15 books were stolen from Graffiti Books in the town of Montana, just north of Pretoria, in South Africa. They were all copies of the same book, Truth to Power: My Three Years Inside Esko...

Where has the truth gone?

Where has the truth gone?

Where has the truth gone?     Facts have become malleable in a world where traditional sources have been set in competition against loud voices that tell you what you want to hear.   Daily ne...

Library Book Returned 81 Years Late. Perhaps the Borrower Thought He Was Doing Other Patrons a Favor Keeping It.

Library Book Returned 81 Years Late. Perhaps the Borrower Thought He Was Doing Other Patrons a Favor Keeping It.

There seems to have been a rash of stories about long overdue library books being returned many years late recently. Perhaps people's consciences have become more sensitive, or maybe it's because m...

Case Auctions July 8 & 9:  A Summer Gem

Case Auctions July 8 & 9: A Summer Gem

On July 8 9 Case Auctions will soon be holding a two day sale featuring “fine art, antiques, and jewelry and a solid 150 lots of ephemera, manuscripts, early images, relics and flags.  Do I now ha...

Censorship Is Not Just an American Problem

Censorship Is Not Just an American Problem

Library censorship has become a major concern in the United States this past year, but the issue is not limited to America. Other nations are ahead of us, and as such, perhaps, provide a road map a...

Seven New Catalogues Reviewed for July

Seven New Catalogues Reviewed for July

This month we review seven new catalogues in the field of books and related paper. They represent seven different subjects. Shapero Rare Books offers a collection of modern first editions. Bulls He...

Rare Book Monthly

  • High Bids Win
    Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines
    and Machine Manuals
    December 24 to January 9
    High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Ellis Smith Prints unsigned. 20” by 16”.
    High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: United typothetae of America presidents. Pictures of 37 UTA presidents 46th annual convention United typothetae of America Cincinnati 1932.
    High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec signed Paper Impressionism Art Prints. MayMilton 9 1/2” by 13” Reine de Joie 9 1/2” by 13”.
    High Bids Win
    Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines
    and Machine Manuals
    December 24 to January 9
    High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Aberle’ Ballet editions. 108th triumph, American season spring and summer 1944.
    High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Puss ‘n Boots. 1994 Charles Perrult All four are signed by Andreas Deja
    High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Specimen book of type faces. Job composition department, Philadelphia gazette publishing company .
    High Bids Win
    Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines
    and Machine Manuals
    December 24 to January 9
    High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: An exhibit of printed books, Bridwell library.
    High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur Court By Mark Twain 1889.
    High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: 1963 Philadelphia Eagles official program.
    High Bids Win
    Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines
    and Machine Manuals
    December 24 to January 9
    High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: 8 - Esquire the magazine for men 1954.
    High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: The American printer, July 1910.
    High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Leaves of grass 1855 by Walt Whitman.
  • Sotheby's
    Fine Books, Manuscripts & More
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s: William Shakespeare.
    The Poems and Sonnets of William Shakespeare, 1960. 7,210 USD
    Sotheby’s: Charles Dickens.
    A Christmas Carol, First Edition, 1843. 17,500 USD
    Sotheby’s: William Golding.
    Lord of the Flies, First Edition, 1954. 5,400 USD
    Sotheby's
    Fine Books, Manuscripts & More
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s: Lewis Carroll.
    Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, Inscribed First Edition, 1872. 25,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: J.R.R. Tolkien.
    The Hobbit, First Edition, 1937. 12,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: John Milton.
    Paradise Lost, 1759. 5,400 USD

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