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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 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: 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

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

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

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

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 – 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”

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

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

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

  • 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.
  • RareBookBuyer.com
    We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
    RareBookBuyer.com
    Specialized in Purchasing
    Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
    RareBookBuyer.com
    We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
    RareBookBuyer.com
    Specialized in Purchasing
    Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
    RareBookBuyer.com
    We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
    RareBookBuyer.com
    Specialized in Purchasing
    Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
    RareBookBuyer.com
    We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
    RareBookBuyer.com
    Specialized in Purchasing
    Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
    RareBookBuyer.com
    We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
  • Case Antiques
    2025 Winter Fine Art & Antiques Auction
    January 25-26, 2025
    Case Antiques, Jan. 25-26: 1861 Civil War Personal Flag. $12,000 to $14,000.
    Case Antiques, Jan. 25-26: Armory Show 1913 Exhibition Poster. $8,000 to $9,000.
    Case Antiques, Jan. 25-26: Abraham Lincoln Signed Appointment, 1863. $4,000 to $5,000.
    Case Antiques
    2025 Winter Fine Art & Antiques Auction
    January 25-26, 2025
    Case Antiques, Jan. 25-26: Cormac McCarthy, The Orchard Keeper, 1st Edition, Signed. $3,800 to $4,200.
    Case Antiques, Jan. 25-26: Cormac McCarthy, Suttree, 1st Edition, Signed. $3,200 to $3,400.
    Case Antiques, Jan. 25-26: Winston Churchill & Bernard Baruch Signed Letters Plus Photo. $1,400 to $1,600.
    Case Antiques
    2025 Winter Fine Art & Antiques Auction
    January 25-26, 2025
    Case Antiques, Jan. 25-26: Mississippi Civil War Ambrotype, Dr. Bisland Shields with Saber and Hat. $1,400 to $1,600.
    Case Antiques, Jan. 25-26: Custom 19th C. Lord Byron Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, 4 Vols w/ Over 350 Prints Incl. Ex-Joshua Reynolds. $1,200 to $1,400.
    Case Antiques, Jan. 25-26: Four NASA Lunar Orbiter Survey Photos, 1966; Maestlin G Crater; Apollo. $600 to $700.
    Case Antiques
    2025 Winter Fine Art & Antiques Auction
    January 25-26, 2025
    Case Antiques, Jan. 25-26: Three Margaret Mitchell Signed Books; Association Copies. $1,000 to $1,200.
    Case Antiques, Jan. 25-26: Jimmie Rodgers Signed & Dated Photograph plus Record, Framed. $1,000 to $1,200.
    Case Antiques, Jan. 25-26: Edward VIII Signed Letter Autograph. $500 to $600.
  • 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

Article Search

Archived Articles

Ask Questions