If you have been wondering what a Howes “d” might be worth today here is one data point for your chart. Item 94 of the newest William Reese catalogue is Voyage Autour du Monde, Execute par Order de sa Majeste L’Empereur Nicholas 1st ..... Paris, 1835-36. For the few of you who don’t know Howes, it is a great single book reference guide to Americana for the period 1650-1950 and it contains ratings for rarity & importance on the following scale:
| a | Common but interesting (5,864 rated items) |
| aa | Less Common (3,687 rated items) |
| b | Uncommon (1,402 rated items) |
| c | Rare (290 rated items) |
| d | Very Rare (97 rated items) |
| dd | Very Very Rare (122 rated items) |
These ratings are not exactly how Wright Howes expressed it but they are close. Someone going to garage sales is going to find an ‘A’ from time to time and find an ‘AA’ mostly on dealer shelves marked anywhere from $250 up. The occasional ‘B’ shows up and they aren’t always quite as valuable as the grade suggests but $1,500 to $2,500 is in the ballpark. From ‘C’ on up it very much depends on its relevance to various collecting categories and whether it contains maps. In this case you have 4 volumes one of which is an atlas, described as “overall a very good, handsome set.” The price is $60,000.00.
Another intriguing item is # 46, The History of Trauayle in the West and East Indies... by Richard Eden and Richard Wiles printed in London in 1577. This title has been one of the few accessible books of stature relating the history of travel and voyages in the 16th century. Its price has been stable over the past 10 years although $16,500 won’t get you the same quality copy today it would then. Nevertheless it is remarkable that an essential book of the period remains in this price range as every travel and voyages collector needs a copy to declare themselves “serious.”
There are in total 164 items in this catalogue and some for less than $1,000 but this is an exceptional group of material, so expect to see the rarest material and prices that are as high as the recent snow was deep.
All in all, these are wonderful catalogues and you’ll enjoy each one of them.
