Rare Book Monthly

Articles - November - 2011 Issue

Auctions in November

Sixty-one events in November and more still to be posted

Sixty-one events in November and more still to be posted

The auction season moves into high gear this month with 61 scheduled events and a few more yet to be posted.   It has been a complicated year with the tone of the market certain to be confirmed over the next sixty days.  Auctions are typically scheduled well in advance because the preparation of descriptions, issuance of catalogues and waging of promotional campaigns take a minimum of three months to organize and can take a year.  Hence the recent stock market boom and bust cycles and the Perils of Pauline saga of Greece and the EU are not reflected in the estimates but will be reflected in the outcomes.  By month’s end we’ll know much more.

A distinct note of optimism is reflected in the steady increase in the median lot realization, that bottomed in April [ending a three year decline and drop of 27%], and has since recovered from $350 to $360.  Further increases seem likely.

Whether an active participant or armchair observer the auctions this month will provide excitement, opportunity and ultimately clarity.

The auctions in November:

November 1st Bonhams.  Photographs (19225)

                                    Rupert Toovey and Co.  Ephemera (994)

November 2nd Christie’s.  Photographs (3695)

November 3rd Hauff and Auvermann.  Rare Books, Autographs and Engravings (65a)

                                    PBA Galleries.  Natural History – Medicine – Cartography (446)

                                    Swann Galleries.  Autographs (2259)

November 4th Hauff and Auvermann.  Rare Books, Autographs and Engravings (65b)

                                    Librairie Loeb-Laroque.  Antique Maps – Old Books – Travel – Atlases (110411)

Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby’s
    Year in Review
    Sotheby’s Year in Review: A Rare Hebrew Bible with Micrographic Masorah. Sold: 1,514,000 USD
    Sotheby’s Year in Review: "The Freedman's Primer.” Sold: 241,300 USD
    Sotheby’s Year in Review: Smith, William. "The Map that Changed the World." Sold: 139,700 USD
    Sotheby’s Year in Review: Psalter, C13th. Illuminated Psalter. Sold: 330,200 GBP
    Sotheby’s Year in Review: Lincoln, Abraham. The abolition of slavery. Sold: 13,697,500 USD
    Sotheby’s Year in Review: Vergilius. Opera, Venice, Aldo Manuzio, 1501. Sold: 1,041,400 USD
  • Case Antiques
    2026 Winter Fine Art & Antiques
    January 31 and February 1, 2026
    Case Antiques, Jan. 31-Feb. 1: 1775 Map of Virginia, Fry and Jefferson, ex-John Tyler. $6,000 to $8,000.
    Case Antiques, Jan. 31-Feb. 1: Albrecht Durer Engraving, The Peasant Couple at Market. $3,400 to $3,800.
    Case Antiques, Jan. 31-Feb. 1: 1777 Map: Wm. Faden, British Colonies in N. America, ex. John Tyler. $2,000 to $2,400.
    Case Antiques
    2026 Winter Fine Art & Antiques
    January 31 and February 1, 2026
    Case Antiques, Jan. 31-Feb. 1: 30 Vols. George Eliot 1st Editions; Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner, Deronda, etc. $1,400 to $1,800.
    Case Antiques, Jan. 31-Feb. 1: Celestial Floor Globe c. 1800. $1,400 to $1,800.
    Case Antiques, Jan. 31-Feb. 1: Lewis Carroll: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, 1866 London MacMillan. $900 to $1,200.
    Case Antiques
    2026 Winter Fine Art & Antiques
    January 31 and February 1, 2026
    Case Antiques, Jan. 31-Feb. 1: President Andrew Jackson Signed Patent, 1831. $1,000 to $1,200.
    Case Antiques, Jan. 31-Feb. 1: Civil War Tintype of Calvin “Old Ballie” Walker, CSA 3rd TN Infantry, KIA, plus 3 Union Images. $800 to $1,000.
    Case Antiques, Jan. 31-Feb. 1: 1855 Georgia Pocket Map, W. G. Bonner. $800 to $1,000.
    Case Antiques
    2026 Winter Fine Art & Antiques
    January 31 and February 1, 2026
    Case Antiques, Jan. 31-Feb. 1: Audubon c. 1835 Birds of America Common Cormorant, Havell Edition. $800 to $900.
    Case Antiques, Jan. 31-Feb. 1: George Eliot, Middlemarch, 1st Edition in 8 Volumes. $600 to $800.
    Case Antiques, Jan. 31-Feb. 1: Four NASA Moon Survey Photos; 144M, 148M, 149M, 149H1. $400 to $600.

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