Rare Book Monthly

Articles - December - 2012 Issue

20 New Catalogues Reviewed This Month

20 new catalogues are reviewed.

20 new catalogues are reviewed.

This month we review 20 new bookseller catalogues. Pickering and Chatto offers a selection of English books and manuscripts. James and Devon Gray Booksellers, on the other hand, offers books in English, specifically from 1527-1728. Samuel Gedge Ltd. also offers a variety of material primarily in English, and mostly from the 18th century.

Librairie Thomas-Scheler has 13-20th century books and manuscripts. Philip J. Pirages Fine Books and Manuscripts has a 19-20th century miscellany. Knuf Rare Books offers books old and rare. David Schulson Autographs presents signed material.

Honey and Wax Booksellers, a specialist in literature, offers its first catalogue. On the other end of the spectrum, The Pages of Yesteryear presents a catalogue of 48 items to celebrate their 48th year in the business. Timothy Hughes Rare and Early Newspapers has a new selection of old newspapers.

Ian Brabner Bookseller offers a collection of manuscript, printed, and visual Americana. The William Reese Company focuses on the American Civil War. The George S. MacManus Company catalogue focuses entirely on Confederate President Jefferson Davis. For those who find America too mild, Gert Jan Bestebreurtje Rare Books has a catalogue of items pertaining to the Arctic, Antarctic, and whaling. Lorne Bair Rare Books offers a catalogue of graphic material pertaining to social and political movements of the late 18th and 19th century.

Peter Harrington presents a collection of children's literature. The Kelmscott Bookshop is focused on private press and other fine works. James Cummins Bookseller presents illustrated books and fine bindings. Simon Beattie offers 25 unusual items. Finally, Garrett Scott Bookseller has a new selection of works from odd and unusual, even strange authors, American, English and French. Viva la difference!

All of these latest reviews are available by clicking here now.

Rare Book Monthly

  • 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.
  • Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!
  • 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.

Article Search

Archived Articles