Rare Book Monthly

Articles - March - 2012 Issue

In Pursuit of the Serious Collector

Derek McDonnell introducing Anthony Payne as Hordern's UK representative

Derek McDonnell introducing Anthony Payne as Hordern's UK representative

I asked several English dealers about it and they said essentially the same thing.  Europeans have their hands full these days.  Sales at home are down while sales overseas are up.  So they go on the road and from what we can tell are succeeding.  In April many of these dealers will also be exhibiting in New York at the ABAA or satellite fair.

Other countries were also represented at the Pasadena fair:

Australia

Hordern House Rare Books

Douglas Stewart Fine Books

Austria

Antiquariat Michael Steinbach

Canada

Aquila Books

Helen R. Kahn & Assoc., Inc

Wilfrid M. de Freitas, Bookseller

Denmark

Herman H. J. Lynge & Son A/S

Sophia Rare Books

France

Librairie Ancienne des Trois Islets

Libraire Alain Brieus

Rodolphe Chamonal

Germany

Antiquariat Michael Banzhaf

Antiquariat Reinhold Berg

Antiquariat Michael Kuehn

Antiquariat Hans Lindner

Antiquariat Manfred Nosbusch

Italy

Philobiblon Roma

The Netherlands

Antiquariaat Forum B.V.

Leen Helmink Antique Maps

For east coast book collectors these dealers and others coming to exhibit from around the world are each in themselves a good reason to attend the New York fairs.  Rare Books are not often offered anymore on Main or High Street.  These days book fairs are the main thoroughfares for booksellers.  The booksellers understand this very well.  The web is powerful but to connect with dealers the shows are essential.

Links to the two recent west coast fairs and the one coming up in April in New York:

SF Book Fair

ABAA Pasadena Fair

ABAA New York Fair

Rare Book Monthly

  • Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
  • Sotheby’s
    Book Week
    December 9-17, 2025
    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.
  • Heritage Auctions
    Rare Books Signature Auction
    December 15, 2025
    Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: Bram Stoker. Dracula. Westminster: Archibald Constable & Co., 1897.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
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