This very day, he looked at my favorite item of the sale, a humble little book in its original wrappers, almost partly disbound. It is an in-16 volume of 72 pages only, printed in 1812 in Paris and baptized by Mr. Forgeot in the – as sumptuous as usual – catalogue of Pierre Bergé & Associés : An Anthology of Poetry for Confectioners. Pages are printed on first sides only, as they were supposed to be cut off. Each contains two or three short poems that, as the publisher wrote on the back of the title page, “ shall replace this year the sayings that usually come with candies.” The authors therein represented include Voltaire, Mlle Deshoulières and a few who hardly fit a child’s reading if you ask me, like Bussy-Rabutin or Mr. de Montreuil. The latter, for example, looks scornfully at an old lady who wants to be called “Mademoiselle”: No matter how old it gets, sniggers the poet, the Pont-Neuf (New Bridge, the oldest bridge of Paris, ndr) will always be called the Pont-Neuf. This little book (still a giant when compared to item # 83, a lovely edition of 30 mm x 20 mm, of... Tom Thumb !) has “ fortunately escaped the confectioner’s pair of scissors”, wrote Mr. Forgeot in the catalogue. And it sure looks sweet. It was sold for 900 euros.
Another book was pointed out by Mr. Chamonal as of an extreme rarity : Horloge Perpétuelle... by Hervier (Lyon, 1748). A small in-12 volume, very thin, a solar calendar for the year 1748 - a physician book (pic 2). “ The front cover itself will urge you to buy it ”, claimed the Mercure de France at the time it came out. The front cover ?! “This book is unique, said Mr. Chamonal. Not only are covers very rare at the time, but this one is what we call an instrumental-binding. In the catalogue, the expert explains : “ The plates are an instrument of calculation which use is explained inside the book itself.” The plates have been glued on regular end-papers - simple. “ A 18th century book with an instrumental-binding is almost nowhere to be found, said Mr. Chamonal. The National Library of France (NLF) has one copy, I guess.” As a matter of fact, the NLF used its right of pre-emption for this item after it had reached the price of 5,500 euros (before the commission).
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. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.
![<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.")
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9a74d9ff-42dd-46a1-8bb2-b636c4cec796.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.")
