Rare Book Monthly Articles - February - 2024 Issue

Buy a part of Italian National Cultural Heritage: the Santini Codex at Il Ponte Casa d'Aste on February 27

It’s not often that a work on paper recognized as a piece of “National Cultural Heritage” by a sovereign nation comes up for sale at auction, but this month, that is exactly what is happening. Il Ponte Casa d’Aste, the Milan-based auction house, will be auctioning the Santini Codex, a renaissance masterpiece that was officially declared a part of National Cultural Heritage by the Italian State in 2012. Read Il Ponte’s brief introduction here, and then I recommend watching their YouTube video and perusing the dedicated catalogue for the single item going to auction on the 27th of February! A...

Book and Collectible Paper Auction Sales Were Up and Down in 2023

Auction sales in the books and collectible paper field were a mixed bag in 2023. The number of lots offered and sold were up significantly, but the average sale price was down substantially. The re...

Your Personal Top 500 is Nearby

For many years we have prepared annual reports for the top 500 auction lots that have  included books, manuscripts, maps and ephemera for the past year.  And it’s always among the most widely read ...

The Latest Style – Bookshelf Wealth

There's a new style that's overtaking the world, especially that part of the world that gets its sense of style from Tik Tok. It's called “bookshelf wealth,” but it doesn't require expensive books....

Michael Ginsberg Appreciated

The antiquarian bookselling community lost one of its most beloved members in 2023, when Michael Ginsberg died. While crossing the street on his way to his favorite restaurant, Michael was struck b...

Fred Holabird: Remembering Old Friends

Collectors collect old books and paper while the best dealers and auctioneers collect clients.  In the fullness of time, attitudes, opportunities and circumstances change. When those relationships ...

Free Willie – Steamboat Willie is Finally Free

The mouse that roared shook up Congress, but he served authors well by extending their copyright protection to long after their gone. But, after a heroic battle, Mickey Mouse is now free. Mickey Mo...

Experience the 56th California International Antiquarian Book Fair: February 9-11

  Pier 27, The Embarcadero, SF CA 94111   The 56th California International Antiquarian Book Fair is about to launch Friday, February 9th at Pier 27 in San Francisco at the Embarcadero (94111). ...

Pasadena Book Fair, Sat. & Sun. Feb. 3 & 4 at Pasadena Convention Center Presented by Rare Books LA

Pasadena welcomes booksellers and bibliophiles from around the world to share their love of books, fine prints, maps, ephemera, and more on Sat.,Feb 3 and Sun., Feb.4, 2024 at the Pasadena Conventi...

Bookscardsnbikes.com: A business for sale

Bookscardsnbikes.com is a click away.   In the old days book stores often opened with great fanfare and when the hourglass eventually ran out, willing buyers both for their stock and their shops ...

Two Years A Slave, or Le Sieur d’Aranda in Algiers

In 1640, while sailing off La Rochelle, France, Sieur d’Aranda was captured by the Turks, and then taken to Algiers, Africa, as a slave—a traumatic experience that gave birth to a fascinating littl...

The History of Black History Month and Some Virtual Tidbits

Every February America celebrates Black History Month. In the past few years there have been increasingly organized efforts to suppress, distort and even criminalize the teaching of Black history. ...

Ending February 7th: Old World Auctions' Auction #196

AN ONLINE ANTIQUE MAP AUCTION FEATURING A WIDE RANGE OF MATERIAL WILL BE HELD IN OLD WORLD AUCTIONS’ AUCTION #196, ENDING FEBRUARY 7th   The auction’s 790 lots include rare antique and vintage ma...

Getman’s Virtual now Included in viaLibri rare book search engine

Marvin Getman developed an online solution for the book fair community after Covid 2019 caused person to person fairs to be temporarily shut down.  Today’s announcement tells us that he continues t...

COLLECTING INSIGHTS – Registration Open for Spring 2024 Sessions

COLLECTING INSIGHTS – Registration Open for Spring 2024 Sessions   COLLECTING INSIGHTS https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/collecting-insights-spring-2024-3040339   Starting in April 2024, experience...

Book Theft for the “Buzz”

This is a strange case of a book thief who apparently had no need for the money but stole anyway. John Nicolaides, 39, of Stoke-on-Trent, Stratfordshire, England, was recently sentenced in a case g...

Another Long Overdue Library Book Returned, This Time 120 Years Late

This is effectively the latest chapter in an ongoing series though that was not our intention when it started. It is the saga of overdue library books, finally returned many years later. This seems...

Two New Catalogues Reviewed This Month

We have two new catalogues under review for this month. One comes from Shapero Rare Books. It is their latest selection of guidebooks from Baedeker and other other compilers. They cover the 19th an...

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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