Philadelphia Inquirer July 23, 1934John Dillinger shot dead by FBI agents in Chicago
By Bruce McKinney
Recently we interviewed two AE members who have been selling on eBayfor the past five years: Steve Goldman of Stephen A. Goldman Historical Newspapers (SAGHN) and Frank Wood of DeWolfe and Wood. They both were willing to tell us something about their experiences and to give their perspective on this selling tool.
Dr. Stephen Goldman, a periodontist by training, began collecting historical newspapers more than thirty years ago. An allergy to latex led him in the mid-1990s to spend less time in his professional offices and more time with his then hobby which in 1996 he converted to a fledgling business, Stephen A. Goldman Historical Newspapers. After two years of selling by catalogue he began to sell historical newspapers on eBay.
Frank Wood has been selling used and rare books since the 1970s and in 1992 went into partnership with Scott DeWolfe, himself a dealer since the 1980s. Together they established DeWolfe & Wood. D&W has been selling on eBay since the late 1990s.
The need and desire for a larger market are common to both firms. DeWolfe & Wood is located in Alfred, Maine, a lovely place to visit but a long drive for 98% of the American population. Steve Goldman’s business is more centrally located – in the triangle between Philadelphia, Washington and Baltimore but just as dependent on the national and international markets. Both have found, in eBay, a way to reach the larger market.
This isn’t to say that both or either, for that matter, entirely rely on eBay for sales. Neither does. But what eBay provides is a way to sell certain types or material effectively. DeWolfe & Wood also sell via their own on-line site, in their store, through listing sites such as Abebooks, by catalogue and at shows. For them eBay is one of the arrows in their quiver. When they are assessing material they decide what will be the better selling alternative to use for a particular piece or a particular kind of piece. Once decided they send the item or items to that particular market. They have the inventory to back up this strategy: 100,000 items they have sorted and another 100,000 items that await their chance in the future.
At SAGHN the principal source of material is the more than thirty years accumulation of newspapers, news magazines, and other early news formats that Dr. Goldman has acquired. He and his business partner, Mr. Eric C. Caren (The Caren Archive), maintain an online site – www.historicalnews.com. SAGHN is in the business of selling old, rare and valuable newspapers on eBayin such volume that the firm enjoys “power seller” status, an honor that can only be earned, and, in this case, is based on more than $20,000 of sales monthly on eBay. Dr. Goldman and Mr. Caren also sell on their own web site and through individual requests for specific items. Dr. Goldman makes a distinction between popular and highly collectible material and tends to sell some of the more complicated items directly to sophisticated collectors and institutions or through catalog auction sales.. DeWolfe and Wood, incidentally, are also eBaypower-sellers.
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.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
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.
![<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.")
