We recently received our first catalogue from the venerable Maggs Bros. Ltd. of London, though it is number 1397 in their long-running series. Maggs Bros. is one of the oldest and most celebrated of bookselling firms in the world. In the field of bookselling, the firm is a legend. So are many of their catalogues. For example, their "Bibliotheca Americana" catalogues from the 1920s are among the resources in the Americana Exchange's database of records, as they are major bibliographic resources in the field of Americana to this day. Rather amazing considering Maggs is...
We recently received Catalogue I from U.K. bookseller Samuel Gedge, Ltd. Recently established in Mundesley, Norfolk, Samuel Gedge and Ernesta Campaner apply their expertise ...
By Michael Stillman
This month we review our first catalogue from Ken Lopez Bookseller, of Hadley, Massachusetts. If you are looking to find Hadley, think of Springfield, not Boston. This is Lope...
By Michael Stillman
This month we review our first catalogue from James Pepper Rare Books of Santa Barbara, California. This is an intriguing group of books, but Pepper does not provide us with a...
Michael Brown Rare Books of Philadelphia recently issued their catalogue number 42 of Printed and Manuscript Americana. This catalogue contains over 200 items either from o...
By Michael Stillman
A pamphlet of Recent Acquisitions has just been received from John Michael Lang Fine Books. This could be described as a general listing, since the books do not follow a parti...
"It is the fate of those who toil at the lower employments of life, to be rather driven by the fear of evil, than attracted by the prospect of good; to be exposed to censure...
By Michael Stillman
The most recent catalogue from Frits Knuf Antiquarian Books has just arrived in the New World. Knuf is a Vendome, France, bookselling firm that specializes in antiquarian book...
By Michael Stillman
The latest from Plaza Books, List 21, recently arrived. It offers 40 items of interest to those who collect Latin America, Mexico and Central America in particular. Not surpri...
By Michael Stillman
Chapel Hill Rare Books has now issued Part II of its catalogue of The William Hobday Collection of Confederate Military History. The first section of this extensive collection...
By Michael Stillman
James Cummins Bookseller has issued a new catalogue of Autographs and Manuscripts. This is a most diverse collection, save for the common theme of the writer's autograph. Repr...
By Michael Stillman
This may be a bit late for a November Holiday Catalogue from Bauman Rare Books, but as they say, this is better than never. Besides which, it is a very special catalogue, and...
By Michael Stillman
This catalogue is for collectors of William Blake, the 18th-19th century artist-illustrator-engraver-poet whose admirers are among the most passionate known to man. Blake is ...
By Michael Stillman
The latest catalogue from Oak Knoll Books is a specialty within their specialty of book arts and books about books. Catalogue 280 is titled A Selection of Books Related to Gr...
By Michael Stillman
The Antiquariaat Forum of Utrecht issued a Short Title List of works they brought to the recent Salon International de la Bibliophilie held in Brussels. This is a collection ...
By Michael Stillman
The latest offering from Bernard J. Shapero Rare Books is more a picture catalogue than one of books. In fact, despite their name of "rare books," this catalogue is strictly ...
By Michael Stillman
David Lesser Fine Antiquarian Books has issued their latest edition of Rare Americana -- A Catalogue of Significant and Unusual Imprints Relating to America. Lesser regularly...
By Michael Stillman
As the title of this catalogue suggests, it is intended for those proficient in the Spanish language. That eliminates this reviewer. Generally, catalogues from Libreria de Ant...
ALDE, Apr. 8: GUEVARA (ANTONIO DE). Histoire de Marc-Aurèle, Empereur Romain, vray miroir et horloge des Princes. Paris, Pierre et Galliot du Pré, frères, 1565. €3,000 to €4,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: HEURES DE LA VIERGE. Horæ in laudem beatissimæ virginis Mariæ ad usum Romanum. Paris, Charles L'Angelier, 1556. €4,000 to €5,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: MONTAIGNE (MICHEL DE). Les Essais. Édition nouvelle, trouvée après le deceds de l'autheur… Paris, Abel L'Angelier, 1595. €6,000 to €8,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: [ROJAS (FERNANDO DE)]. Celestina, tragicomedia di Calisto et Melibea, tradotta de lingua castigliana in italiano idioma… Venise, 1531. €2,000 to €3,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: CAMÕES (LUÍS DE). Os Lusiadas. Lisbonne, Pedro Crasbeeck, 1613. €2,000 to €3,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Bruxelles, Roger Velpius & Huberto Antonio, 1611. €6,000 to €8,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: LA FONTAINE (JEAN DE). Fables choisies, mises en vers. Paris, Denys Thierry et Claude Barbin, 1678-1694. €6,000 to €8,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Madrid, Joaquin Ibarra, 1780. €3,000 to €4,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: DIDEROT (DENIS) ET JEAN LE ROND D'ALEMBERT. Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. Paris, 1751-1765. €15,000 to €20,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. LAMARTINE (Alphonse de). Les Laboureurs. Poème tiré de Jocelyn… Lyon, J. A. Henry, 1883. €8,000 to €10,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. Livre de prières tissé d'après les enluminures des manuscrits du XIVe au XVIe siècle. Lyon, [A. Roux], 1886. €5,000 to €6,000.
Sotheby’s Books, Manuscripts & Objects from Three Important Collections Open for Bidding 2-17 April
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: [Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun]. Le Roman de la Rose, [Geneva or Lyons, c.1481], first printed edition of the most important medieval French vernacular poem. £200,000 to £300,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Castiglione. Il libro del cortegiano. [Venice], April 1528, first edition, in a magnificent binding by Jean Picard for Jean Grolier. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Jacobus de Cessolis. Schachzabelbuch, Strasbourg, 1483, von der Lasa copy. £50,000 to £70,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: World Championship, 1972. A collection of 84 press photographs of the famed match between Spassky and Fischer. £2,000 to £3,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Ben Franklin. Autograph letter signed, to Lord Shelburne, British Prime Minister, during peace negotiations, November 1782. £15,000 to £20,000.
