The California International Book Fair February 7th - 9th
- by Bruce E. McKinney
The 47th California International Antiquarian Book Fair
The every other year ABAA book fair in South California returns to Pasadena for a three-day engagement Friday February 7th through Sunday the 9th. This is the second time that the fair is being held in Pasadena. In alternate years an ABAA west coast fair is held in the Bay area. In recent years such fairs have assumed an increasing importance as rare book dealers continue to close their shops and increasingly rely on such event to meet their customers.
The fair organizers have gone to great lengths to provide a deeper experience than just wading through several acres of dealers. For those looking to be immersed there are the following opportunities:
Book Signing. Saturday, February 8th at 11:00 am. Nicholas Basbanes will be signing his latest book, ‘On Paper-The Everything of its Two-Thousand-Year History.”
What Shakespeare Ate. Dining in the Elizabethan Age Panel Discussion. Saturday, February 8th at 1:00 pm
A Talk: Printing the Declaration of Independence – and Selling it. Saturday, February 8th at 3:00 pm. A talk by Selby Kiffer, International Senior Specialist, Books and Manuscripts Department, Sothebys.
Seminar: Rare Books 101. Sunday, February 9th at noon. Presented by Katy Carter, Brad Johnson and Carol Sandberg. Noted rare booksellers will provide a speed course on the essentials you need to know to start collecting.
Discovery Day. Sunday, February 9th, 1:30 to 3:00 pm. Presented by the 47th California International Antiquarian Book Fair. Free appraisals on up to three books. Limited to first come, first served.
Still making notes? There is more.
“Book Arts. You won’t want to miss as local “book art” artists and organizations come together to create an interactive, informative, and entertaining special event area. Local libraries and universities will be exhibiting one-of-a-kind works from their collections. Calligraphers, bookbinders and a small press operator will once again be creating unique souvenirs for you to take home. Fun for all ages.
Join us in Celebrating Shakespeare’s 450th Birthday! Fine art books, posters, lobby cards, playbills and other collectibles will document Shakespeare’s enduring influence on literature and the arts. Participating organizations include the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Honnold/Mudd Library at the Claremont Colleges Library, Ella Strong Denison Library at Scripps College, Huntington Library, and University of California San Diego Library.”
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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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.
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/00d5fd41-2542-4a80-b119-4886d4b9925f.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.")
