The show felt like a main street, actually an upscale neighborhood, in the world of serious books. The disappearance of the rare book shop, long a trend, has transformed the occasional book fair from an option into a necessity for both booksellers and book buyers for this is now one of the few places where the two sides can meet without the embedded expectations of an appointment. Because fairs by default are replacing open shops the book fairs also need to provide more information on and about collecting. True, the shows are organized to sell but collectors can feel the ground shifting without necessarily understanding the tectonic changes that are turning serious collecting into something far more complex than buying costume jewelry. Dealers often ask high prices and it's logical a person writing a check for $5,000 or $50,000 is going to believe, and I think expect, the price to be justified by something more than "this is the best copy I've ever handled" or "you won't see it again." Such information however potentially undermines credibility and prices and so is approached gingerly. This is after all a selling fair, not a college course.
The show in fact struck me as two separate events, one for the pro and the other for the amateur. The less serious, I suppose casual, collector would more readily accept the asking price and be taken with pristine [although not always original] appearance. The serious collector, focused on connection and appropriateness, condition, provenance and price, if asked sotto voce, might suggest a price they would pay.
I sat with a serious amateur collector for fifteen minutes while waiting for the doors to open Saturday morning. He explained that he buys for fun and satisfaction and I said most collectors begin that way but time has a way of altering perspective and he should expect to someday care if his collection has made economic sense. "You'll have more options and fun if you collect well" I told him. He said he's thinking about it and headed off, anxious to scratch his collecting itch. The challenge for him today is acquisition. For serious collectors parsing the titles while chatting up the booksellers, it’s the rarity and value.
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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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.
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
