Rare Book Monthly

Articles - November - 2014 Issue

Michaan's Auctions, A New Addition to AE and a Sale in November

Selections from Michaan's November Estate Auction

Selections from Michaan's November Estate Auction

This month AE welcomes a new auction house on to the site. Going forward, Michaan’s Auctions, based out of Alameda, CA, will have their auctions with printed material included in AE’s Upcoming Auctions and their prices realized added to the AED. Michaan’s is not a new player to the auction scene. Established in 2002, they’ve held up to thirty auctions per year covering a wide range of material that has included books, manuscripts, maps, and ephemera. With a large facility in Northern California, Michaan’s offers prospective buyers in the area the ability to preview and bid in person. Known for their low consignment fees and reasonable estimates, AE is happy to include them in the auction history contained with the AED.

The house’s biggest successes have been in the world of art, and now they look to further increase their presence in printed material. They begin that process immediately with a sale early in November.

On November 2nd Michaan’s Auctions will hold their November Estate Auction. With the expected variety of subjects covered in an estate sale, rare books and manuscripts represent a small portion of the 631 lot sale--the last 44 lots. While the books sold here are not of the highest profile, the estimates are conservative and there is a wide range of material. A few examples include:

  • Lot 598, Richard Wagner’s The Rhinegold and the Valkyrie, signed and illustrated by Arthur Rackham. Estimated $800 - 1,200.

  • Lot 614, first edition of Mark Twain’s The Innocents Abroad, or The New Pilgrims’ Progress. Estimated $400 - 600.

  • Lot 623, 15th Century Illuminated Manuscript, Adoration of the Magi. Estimated $800 - 1,000.

  • Lot 631, Manuscript Lead from the Schatzbehalter. Estimated $1,500 - 2,000.

The entire catalog of the sale is available in PDF format on Michaan’s website here. Also, online bidding is available through LiveAuctioneers here. Please register on LiveAuctioneers if you wish to bid online.

 

Rare Book Monthly

  • Heritage Auctions
    Rare Books Signature Auction
    December 15, 2025
    Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: Bram Stoker. Dracula. Westminster: Archibald Constable & Co., 1897.
    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…
  • Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!
  • 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.

Article Search

Archived Articles