Rare Book Monthly

Articles - March - 2004 Issue

March: On the Prowl on eBay

A very inexpensive example of an early Newburgh, New York book in original boards.

A very inexpensive example of an early Newburgh, New York book in original boards.


The next item was very interesting. Here is its description:

Catalogs of New England Colleges 1872-73

“This collection of 16 New England College Catalogs for the school year 1872-1873 are bound together in one large volume. These catalogs were collected by A.K.Tule and his signature is in the front of the book. The catalogs for colleges and universities are as follows: MAINE: Bates College, Bowdoin College and Colby University. NEW HAMPSHIRE: Dartmouth College. VERMONT: Middlebury College and The University of Vermont. MASSACHUSETTS: Amherst College, Boston College, Harvard University, College of the Holy Cross, Tufts College and Williams College. RHODE ISLAND: Brown University. CONNECTICUT: Trinity College, Wesleyan University and Yale College. All of these 132 year old catalogs are complete and in extremely good condition. The catalogs are bound in a 3/4 leather binding with raised spine and marbleized boards. The top board is detached. Otherwise the binding is in good condition. This rare collection of catalogs of New England colleges is in extremely good condition. Buyer pays shipping & insurance.”

I bought this sammelband for $67.00, a bargain.

The same seller had another sammelband. So what is a sammelband? It’s an anthology, miscellany or omnibus volume.

Collection of 24 Antique Sermons – American Churches

“This collection of 24 American Sermons are bound in one large volume. These sermons were bound together circa 1880 in a 3/4 leather binding with a raised spine and marbleized boards. Many of these sermons date from the early 19th century and the oldest was given and printed in 1804. Many of these sermons were given during the Civil War and most of the sermons in this book date from before 1865. In addition to the sermons there is an interesting booklet with a description of the Episcopal Church missions in Africa. This booklet dates from 1866 and comes with fold out maps and prints. All of the Sermons in this large book are in very good condition. This binding itself is in very good condition, with the exception of some minor wear around the edges. Buyer pays shipping & insurance.”

I paid $107.50. There were 9 bids. This was another bargain.

On the same day, the 12th, I bought “ MEMOIR OF THE EARLY LIFE OF WILLIAM COWPER, ESQ. WRITTEN BY HIMSELF... Newburgh Philo B. Pratt 1817 Second Edition Hardcover Very Good+. Second American Edition from the 2nd London Edition. Clean brown paper covered boards with black lettering. Tight, clean & intact copy. Rough cut page edges. The history of Cowper, as a man of letters and a poet. Autobiography. Religion; 16mo; 119 pages”.

The first edition of Lewis and Clarke in original boards, printed in Philadelphia the previous year, sells for about $250,000. This book, in original boards, sold for $15.55.

Rare Book Monthly

  • 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.
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