Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - November - 2005 Issue

Oak Knoll Offers The Inventory Of Questor Rare Books

Oak Knoll offers a collection of titles from Questor Rare Books.

Oak Knoll offers a collection of titles from Questor Rare Books.


By Michael Stillman

Oak Knoll Books
has issued its catalogue number 266, but in a way, this is someone else's catalogue. You see, Oak Knoll has purchased the inventory and reference books of its quirky English counterpart, Questor Rare Books. Oak Knoll reports that Questor's owner, John Walwyn-Jones, has decided to move to the auction world at Bonham's, and therefore has discontinued his bookselling business after 25-plus years. Catalogue 266 is the first of three catalogues which will be based on the inventory from Questor's.

Questor, like Oak Knoll, specialized in the field of "books about books." This covers anything from the commonly collected field of bibliography, to books about book history, collecting, printing, binding, and papermaking. It also includes more obscure topics like type specimens, watermarks, marbling, bookplates, and even forgeries. This latest Oak Knoll catalogue will be a trove of interesting material for those who collect within the field of the book arts, and particularly those with an interest in British and European texts within this area.

It is impossible to provide representative samples of what is in the typical Oak Knoll catalogue. A typical Oak Knoll item is in a very targeted niche, but there are many such niches when it comes to the book arts. Nevertheless, we will describe a few items in the hope it provides a little of the flavor of this catalogue. However, the examples will be small, as there are 882 items offered herein.

Here is an example of a niche bibliography from Mark Holstein. With a name like that, you're probably expecting a bovine bibliography, but no, this is entitled Some Famous Prison Books. It is one of only 149 copies privately printed on handmade paper in 1930. It is taken from a speech the author presented to the Quarto Club about famous literature which was written while its author was in prison. Today, you might expect prison literature to be written by some horrific criminal trying to reap financial rewards from his crime. However, if you go back to 1930 and earlier, the author-prisoner was more likely some voice for a cause, imprisoned for being a threat to the establishment rather than a threat to the people. Item 371. Priced at $45.

Rare Book Monthly

  • 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
  • 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

Review Search

Archived Reviews

Ask Questions