Sotheby’s, Nov. 6-20: Tory, Geoffroy. L'Art et science de la vraye proportion des Lettres. Paris 1549. Seconde édition. In-8. Reliure de P.L. Martin. €7,000 to €9,000.
Sotheby’s, Nov. 6-20: Gauguin, Paul. Lettre autographe signée à son ami Émile Bernard. [Le Pouldu août 1889]. Illustrée d'un croquis original. €10,000 to €15,000.
Sotheby’s, Nov. 6-20: [Portulan — Joan Martines, attribué à]. Carte portulan de la côte atlantique de l'Amérique du Sud. [Messine, vers 1570-1591.] €15,000 to €20,000.
Sotheby’s, Nov. 6-20: Zamora, Alonso de. Historia de la provincia de San Antonio del nuevo reyno de Granada... Barcelone, 1701. €10,000 to €15,000.
Sotheby’s, Nov. 6-20: [Chastenet de Puységur, Antoine]. Détail sur la navigation aux côtes de Saint-Domingue... Paris, 1787. €5,000 to €7,000.
Freeman’s, Nov. 13: HEMINGWAY, Ernest. Three Stories and Ten Poems. First edition, inscribed to his cousin, Ruth White Lowry. $60,000-80,000
Freeman’s, Nov. 13: CURTIS, Edward S. The North American Indian... Portfolio and two text volumes. $20,000-30,000
Freeman’s, Nov. 13: A Superb Illuminated Manuscript of Tennyson’s Le Morte d'Arthur, ca. 1910, by Alberto Sangorksi and in an exceptional Riviere binding. $40,000-50,000
Freeman’s, Nov. 13: A Remarkable Epistle from Robert Burns to Frances Dunlop, containing all lines of the first version of "Written in Friars Carse Hermitage" and 12 lines of the first version of "First Epistle to Robert Graham Esq." $20,000-30,000
Freeman’s, Nov. 13: FAULKNER, William. Go Down, Moses. First edition, limited issue, one of 100 copies signed by Faulkner. $10,000-15,000
Freeman’s, Nov. 13: MAUGHAM, W. Somerset. Of Human Bondage. First English edition, presentation copy, inscribed by Maugham, in the rare suppressed dust-jacket. $40,000-50,000
Freeman’s, Nov. 13: An Excessively Rare First Issue and Previously Unrecorded Copy of Shakespeare’s Third Folio. $40,000-60,000
New Blood in an Old Trade: Elizabeth Svendsen – Walkabout Books
- by Susan Halas
Elizabeth Svendsen, owner of Walkabout Books in Xenia, Ohio.
The old school antiquarian book trade is alive and well and living in Xenia, Ohio. Meet Elizabeth Svendsen, 43, who entered the trade less than ten years ago as an online seller in 2004. She did well on the internet and in 2006 added Blue Jacket Books, a bricks and mortar used book store, which became a popular local hang out.
Aiming a little higher she sold the store to a customer in 2011 and upgraded to a traditional antiquarian dealership, Walkabout Books, complete with a second story showroom and a brand new ABAA membership.
Talk about old school, her specialty, the oldest of the old school niches – Exploration and Travels – and her first catalog devoted to Africa, is available by request. (books@walkaboutbooks.net)
While dealers in the past often came to the trade by working in or scouting for the dusty shops of a bygone era this is the generation came of age on line. Svendsen recalled her first forays into bookselling came by listing her books from graduate school.
As for the shop, as her on line business grew she needed a place to store her inventory and “in Xenia the difference in what it costs to rent a store and what it costs to rent storage was not substantial.”
She estimated it took her about five years “to actually earn a living” from her book selling efforts, and now with her transition into to the upper echelon of the field, she thinks “it might take that long again to get established.”
University Archives Rare Autographs, Manuscripts & Books Now through Nov. 19
University Archives, Nov. 19: Lot 308 - Bob Dylan Handwritten & Signed Lyrics to "Just Like a Woman" With Jeff Rosen & JSA Authentication
University Archives, Nov. 19: Lot 455 - Isaac Newton Admiration For Judaism & Moral Continuity With Christianity! 350+ Words in his Hand - Extraordinary Content!
University Archives, Nov. 19: Lot 219 - 371g Moon Meteorite, Incredible Find - Laâyoune 002
University Archives Rare Autographs, Manuscripts & Books Now through Nov. 19
University Archives, Nov. 19: Lot 448 - Scarce Einstein AM on Unified Field Theory, 180+ Words & 11 Equations in His Hand! From His Published Article, "A Generalization of the Relativistic Theory of Gravitation"
University Archives, Nov. 19: Lot 159 - Woodrow Wilson Baseball Signed for WWI Red Cross Fundraiser, Ex. Forbes & PSA Authentic - Finest Known!
University Archives, Nov. 19: Lot 84 - Lee Harvey Oswald ALS to Brother, Trying Desperately to Get out of Russia! Highly Important
University Archives Rare Autographs, Manuscripts & Books Now through Nov. 19
University Archives, Nov. 19: Lot 152 - George Washington Signed Discharge for MA Soldier Whose Regiment Was at Bunker Hill!
University Archives, Nov. 19: Lot 88 - Abraham Lincoln Fully Signed Military Appointment for Mexican War Vet & Respected Cavalryman
University Archives, Nov. 19: Lot 188 - Apollo XI Astronauts & Their Wives Signed Photo, Plus Crew Signed Cover, From Apollo XI Presidential Goodwill Tour Era, Pre-Cert Zarelli
University Archives Rare Autographs, Manuscripts & Books Now through Nov. 19
University Archives, Nov. 19: Lot 265 - Martin Luther King, Jr. TLS Re: "Stride Toward Freedom" Film Rights To Literary Agent Marie Rodell
University Archives, Nov. 19: Lot 324 - John Lennon Signed Apple Records Check, PSA GEM MT 10! Possibly Finest Known
University Archives, Nov. 19: Lot 79 - John & Jacqueline Kennedy Signed WH 1963 Christmas Gift Inscribed to Close Friend Joan Braden, PSA Authentic
Bonhams, Nov. 3-13: Presentation Copy of a Whitman "Holy Grail." Whitman, Walt. $10,000-$15,000.
Bonhams, Nov. 3-13:Endymion in Original Boards. Keats, John. $8,000-
Bonhams, Nov. 3-13: Association Copy of the Privately Printed Edition of The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Potter, Beatrix. $8,000-$12,000
Bonhams, Nov. 3-13: Christina Rossetti's Own Copy of Her First Book. Rossetti, Christina G. $8,000-$12,000
Bonhams, Nov. 3-13: The Borden Copy of The Life of Merlin in an Elaborate Binding by Riviere. Heywood, Thomas, Translator. $6,000-$8,000