In eBay Matches this is a typical screen. Move the pop-up windows as needed.
I also bought another piece: A Hudson Valley Volunteer Fireman’s Association book on the #8th Annual Convention Proceedings held at Poughkeepsie in June, 1927. I’ll admit I paid a lot more for this one. Math wizards already know I paid $12.50.
The entire process is very easy. I use my Octavo MatchMaker account on Æ, $17.50 a month or $199.50 a year. This subscription lets me create KEYWORDS that are searched against eBay listings. Æ checks once a day and reports all matches in my MatchMaker account. When I click on any “match” it opens a pop-up window in the upper left hand corner of my computer screen. If it’s of interest I scroll to the bottom of the MatchMaker screen and click on ABE and enter some details about this piece to see if it’s for sale there. The ABE screen opens in the lower right corner of my screen. If it logically could be in the ÆD I then click on “AED Quick Check” and this opens a window in the lower left corner. I learn plenty if the book is in the ÆD and I learn something if it is not. Pricing history is very helpful. What has been said and who said it are important. But I particularly love the book that should be there and isn’t. Many sellers think that books that aren’t mentioned in primary reference sources are automatically unimportant. I buy many of them.
Having now done my research I’m now ready to bid. If the opening or continuing bids are below what this book, in the same or inferior edition and condition is selling for on ABE, I may make a bid. If the item is on ABEfor much less than the opening or current bid, and I like the book, I may negotiate with a seller on ABE.
Currently I’m using 19 keywords in my MatchMaker account and I can see that this number is going to increase. Almost every week I find more terms to try. I can delete Keywords at any time but I find I’m only adding, not editing. I’ll edit when I hit the maximum lines of keywords permitted in my subscription, 35 for Octavo, or I’ll upgrade to the next level – Quarto – and have one hundred Keywords to use. The cost will increase from $17.50 to $25.00 a month or $285 annually. I can, if I become an eBay junkie, actually use 200 keywords with a Folio subscription and two secretaries to manage my matches.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue, inscribed by the author pre-publication. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Autograph sketchleaf including a probable draft for the E flat Piano Quartet, K.493, 1786. £150,000 to £200,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
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Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 156: Cornelis de Jode, Americae pars Borealis, double-page engraved map of North America, Antwerp, 1593.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 206: John and Alexander Walker, Map of the United States, London and Liverpool, 1827.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 223: Abraham Ortelius, Typus Orbis Terrarum, hand-colored double-page engraved world map, Antwerp, 1575.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 233: Aaron Arrowsmith, Chart of the World, oversize engraved map on 8 sheets, London, 1790 (circa 1800).
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 239: Fielding Lucas, A General Atlas, 81 engraved maps and diagrams, Baltimore, 1823.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 240: Anthony Finley, A New American Atlas, 15 maps engraved by james hamilton young on 14 double-page sheets, Philadelphia, 1826.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 263: John Bachmann, Panorama of the Seat of War, portfolio of 4 double-page chromolithographed panoramic maps, New York, 1861.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 265: Sebastian Münster, Cosmographei, Basel: Sebastian Henricpetri, 1558.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 271: Abraham Ortelius, Epitome Theatri Orteliani, Antwerp: Johann Baptist Vrients, 1601.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 283: Joris van Spilbergen, Speculum Orientalis Occidentalisque Indiae, Leiden: Nicolaus van Geelkercken for Jodocus Hondius, 1619.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 285: Levinus Hulsius, Achtzehender Theil der Newen Welt, 14 engraved folding maps, Frankfurt: Johann Frederick Weiss, 1623.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 341: John James Audubon, Carolina Parrot, Plate 26, London, 1827.
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/00d5fd41-2542-4a80-b119-4886d4b9925f.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.")
