Rare Book Monthly Articles - August - 2024 Issue

A Step into the Future

A Step into the Future

Rare Book Hub for 21 years been pursuing two goals, one of them to become the first click world-wide when the interested, enthralled, committed or required want to understand the importance, value and rarity of rare paper. With 14,128,422 records we have captured the essence of the auction flow from the past 175 years, simply by following price changes.   Of course price at auction has always reflected the complex interaction of the copy, its quality, its rarity and its audience. The fact that those auction transactions would be recorded and remembered was never expected, beyond the many ...

Extra Extra Read all about it....fast!

Extra Extra Read all about it....fast!

Welcome to the 1970's.  Interesting and rare material, in some cases incomplete but in orginal condition estimated very modestly.    The upcoming Rare and Collectible Book Auction at Leland Littl...

THE TRIUMPH OF PAPER AMERICANA AT BOTH CHRISTIE'S and SOTHEBY'S

THE TRIUMPH OF PAPER AMERICANA AT BOTH CHRISTIE'S and SOTHEBY'S

Ok, so my 9th single owner auction of "How History Unfolds on Paper from The Eric C. Caren Collection" has come and gone...but that is the small news.   The big news is that Sotheby's sold 2 news...

Don Henley of the Eagles Band Sues for Return of Original Lyrics to Hotel California

Don Henley of the Eagles Band Sues for Return of Original Lyrics to Hotel California

In the continuing saga of the rock band the Eagles co-founder Don Henley's attempt to obtain the handwritten lyrics to songs in their hugely successful Hotel California album, Henley has gone to co...

Herman Darvick (1938-2024):  his auctions will be remembered

Herman Darvick (1938-2024): his auctions will be remembered

Herman Darvick was a Brooklyn, New York third grade teacher at P.S. 248 in the 1960’s  who found documents and signatures interesting.  In time he entered the auction field after Charles Hamilton’s...

AbeBooks Releases Their List of the Ten Most Expensive Books for the Second Quarter of 2024

AbeBooks Releases Their List of the Ten Most Expensive Books for the Second Quarter of 2024

AbeBooks has released their list of the Top 10 most expensive books purchased on their site for the second quarter of 2024, April-June. Collectors weren't holding back, the dollars flowing freely f...

« Ça ira, ça ira... » France and the Robespierre’s complex.

« Ça ira, ça ira... » France and the Robespierre’s complex.

For the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games that took place last July in Paris, France offered a show that revealed her complex relationship with her past.     The opening ceremony of the Oly...

Some Idaho Libraries Transitioning to ‘ADULTS Only’ in Response To Recent Draconian Legislation

Some Idaho Libraries Transitioning to ‘ADULTS Only’ in Response To Recent Draconian Legislation

A new Idaho law that took effect July 1, may result in state libraries transitioning to “adults-only,” according to a detailed report from the Idaho Capital Sun. “Under the new rules, library staf...

The Internet Archive/Open Library Appeals Court Ruling in Favor of Book Publishers in Dispute over “Controlled Digital Lending”

The Internet Archive/Open Library Appeals Court Ruling in Favor of Book Publishers in Dispute over “Controlled Digital Lending”

The Internet Archive and representatives of book publishers went to court recently to argue the IA's appeal of a lower court ruling against them. The case involves what is known as “controlled digi...

Short Takes For August

Short Takes For August

FRANKENSTEIN BRINGS A MONSTER PRICE AT HERITAGE  What’s not to like about an auction that brings together three of the great works of fiction and gets top dollar for them all. Here’s a brief repor...

Uri Geller Returns Library Book 47 Years Late

Uri Geller Returns Library Book 47 Years Late

We've encountered many stories about long overdue library books, sometimes a century late, finally being returned. They generally involve a book being found in a parent or other long-deceased relat...

Spencer Stewart: Collecting Insights

Spencer Stewart: Collecting Insights

COLLECTING INSIGHTS https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/collecting-insights-october-2024-3513409   For October 2024, Collections Advisor and author of Contemporary Issues in Rare Book Manuscript Coll...

Three New Catalogues Reviewed

Three New Catalogues Reviewed

This month we review three recently published bookseller catalogues. Clavreuil of Paris and London has created a catalogue of important French literary works. David M. Lesser Fine Antiquarian Books...

Rare Book Monthly

  • Fonsie Mealy’s
    Rare Books & Collectors’ Sale
    April 30th & May 1st
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Taylor (Geo.) & Skinner (A.) Maps of the Roads of Ireland, Surveyed 1777. Lond. & Dublin 1778. €500 to €750.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Messingham (Thos.) Florilegium Insulae Sanctorum seu Vitae et Acta Sanctorum Hibernia, Paris 1624. €350 to €500.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Heaney (Seamus). The Haw Lantern, L. (Faber & Faber) 1987, First Edn., Signed and dated. €225 to €350.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Valencey (Lt. Col. Chas.) Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis, Vols. I-IV, 4 vols. Dublin 1786. €400 to €600.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Powerscourt (Viscount). A Description and History of Powerscourt, Lond. 1903. €350 to €500.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Moryson (Fynes). An Itinerary ... Containing His Ten Yeeres Travel Through the Twelve Dominions of Germany, Bohermerland, Sweitzerland…, Lond. (John Beale) 1617. €700 to €1,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: After Buffon, Birds of Europe, c. 1820. Approx. 120 fine hd. cold. plts., mor. backed boards. €125 to €250.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Dunlevy (Andrew). An Teagasg Criosduidhe De Reir Ceasda agus Freagartha... The Catechism or Christian Doctrine by Way of Question and Answer, Paris (James Guerin) 1742. €400 to €700.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: The Georgian Society Records of Eighteen-Century Domestic Architecture in Dublin, 5 vols. Complete, Dublin 1909-1913. €500 to €750.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Scale (Bernard). An Hibernian Atlas or General Description of the Kingdom of Ireland, L. (Robert Sayer & John Bennet) 1776. €625 to €850.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: [Johnson (Rev. Samuel)]. Julian the Apostate Being a Short Account of his Life, together with a Comparison of Popery and Paganism,L. (Langley Curtis) 1682. €300 to €400.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Nichlson (Wm.) Illustrator. An Almanac of Twelve Sports, Lond. 1898. €300 to €400.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Heaney (Seamus) trans. The Light of the Leaves, 2 vols., Mexico (Imprenta de los Tropicos/Bunholt) 1999. €1,500 to €2,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Fleming (Ian). Moonraker, L. (Jonathan Cape) 1955. €1,500 to €2,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Heaney (Seamus) & Egan (Felim) artist. Squarings, Twelve Poems, D. (Hieroglyph Editions Ltd.) 1991. €1,750 to €2,250.
  • Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: ANDERSEN'S EXTREMELY RARE FIRST APPEARANCE IN PRINT. "Scene af: Røverne i Vissenberg i Fyen." in Harpen, 1822.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: FIRST ISSUE OF THE FIRST THREE FAIRY TALE PAMPHLETS, WITH ALL INDICES AND TITLE PAGES. Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. 1835-1837.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: THE FIRST FAIRY TALES WITH A SIGNED CARTE DE VISITE OF ANDERSEN AS FRONTIS. Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. 1835-1837.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: KARL LAGERFELD. Original pastel and ink drawing in gold, red and black for Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes (1992), "La cassette de l'Empereur."
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: PRESENTATION COPY OF THE SIXTH PAMPHLET FOR PETER KOCH. Eventyr, Fortalte For Børn, Second Series, Third Pamphlet. 1841. Publisher's wrappers, complete with all pre- and post-matter.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN RARE AUTOGRAPH QUOTATION SIGNED IN ENGLISH from "The Ugly Duckling," c.1860s.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: HEINRICH LEFLER, ORIGINAL WATERCOLOR FOR ANDERSEN'S SNOW QUEEN, "Die Schneekönigin," 1910.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: FIRST EDITION OF ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES IN ENGLISH. Wonderful Stories for Children. London, 1846.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: ANDERSEN ON MEETING CHARLES DICKENS. Autograph Letter Signed ("H.C. Andersen") in English to William Jerdan, July 20, 1847.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: PRESENTATION COPY FOR EDGAR COLLIN. Nye Eventyr og Historier. Anden Raekke. 1861.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: DOLL HOUSE FURNITURE BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSON, DECORATED WITH FANTASTICAL CUT-OUTS, for the children of Jonna Stampe (née Drewsen), his godchildren.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: PRESENTATION COPY FOR GEORG BRANDES. Dryaden. Et Eventyr fra Udstillingstiden i Paris 1867. 1868.
  • Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: The New-England Primer Improved. For the more easy attaining the true reading of English. Boston: Printed and Sold by John Boyles, 1770. EXTREMELY RARE AMERICAN PRIMER.
    Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: Lansford W. Hastings. The Emigrants’ Guide to Oregon and California. Cincinnati. George Conclin, 1845. THE VERY RARE FIRST EDITION IN THE SCARCE ORIGINAL PRINTED WRAPPERS.
    Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: J. D. Salinger. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston, 1951. first edition, a fine copy, in an unrestored first issue dust jacket.
    Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas. London: Chapman & Hall, 1843. THE VERY FINE A.E NEWTON COPY.
    Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: J. K. Rowling. Only known complete set of full unbound imposed sheets for the First Edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. London: Bloomsbury, 1997.
    Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: Jane Austen. Sense and Sensibility: A Novel in Three Volumes. By a Lady. London: for the author by C. Roworth and published by T. Egerton, 1811. FIRST EDITION IN A CONTEMPORARY BINDING.
    Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: J. R. R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. First Editions, First Impressions. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1954-1955. A VERY FINE SET.
    Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: Declaration of Independence. In: The Pennsylvania Ledger: Or the Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New-Jersey Weekly Advertiser. Philadelphia: James Humphreys, No. LXXVII, 13 July 1776.
    Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: William Shakespeare. Mr. William Shakespear's Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies. London, 1685. THE FOURTH FOLIO.
    Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: Frank Herbert. Dune. Philadelphia and New York: Chilton Books, 1965. FIRST EDITION, SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR.
  • Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: The Shem Tov Bible, 1312 | A Masterpiece from the Golden Age of Spain. Sold: 6,960,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: William Blake | Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Sold: 4,320,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD
    Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Sold: 1,920,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Machiavelli | Il Principe, a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR

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