A year ago, in December, I had elective open-heart surgery. Congenital issues were in play and my doctors felt they could intervene to alter the pattern of early death by heart disease that is epidemic among men in my family. The procedure was partially successful and I’m reporting in from the warm side of the mortal coil.
Then in September, as if to pack as many difficult situations as possible into a single year, I was hit by a car while walking. So much for stop signs and crosswalks. The low speed, reported as 15-17 miles an hour, saved me. The driver was distracted and did not brake until I was thrown onto the hood of his taxi. He then jammed on his brakes, throwing me a dozen feet ahead. Over the next 6 days a debate raged as to what action should be taken. The triage center at San Francisco General found I was substantially intact except for my left leg that was broken in six places. Such multiple fractures can be complicated and my HMO declined to advocate a surgical solution. Another surgeon, introduced by a friend, suggested a complete recovery was possible using screws, ultimately 9, to put the leg and ankle back together, then to be followed by a month strapped to a motion machine to kept scar tissue from reducing the range of motion. This worked and 4 months later I have substantially resumed my daily walking regime. I’m walking 3 miles a day and hope to be back to 5 by spring.
As if in compensation for the car accident a long-time member of AE/Rare Book Hub, in late September asked what it was I most hoped to accomplish with the site, and I said “completeness”, the building of a complete record of book and manuscript auction lots back to the American Civil War. He then said he thought he had many early catalogues, they among material purchased in 1948 at the dispersal of unclaimed goods at a public warehouse in New Jersey. You see, he’s 84 and has been at this for close on seventy years.
A few days later he confirmed he still had them and they are now ours.
The health issues have been difficult but that chance conversation has set the course for an extraordinary 2016.
So I’m grateful. 2015 was a difficult year and ’16 is encouraging. What else can you ask for?
Sotheby’s Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana 27 January 2026
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: An extraordinary pair of books from George Washington’s field library, marking the conjunction of Robert Rogers, George Washington, and Henry Knox. $1,200,000 to $1,800,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: An extraordinary letter marking the conjunction of George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Benjamin Franklin. $1,000,000 to $1,500,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: Virginia House of Delegates. The genesis of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. $350,000 to $500,000.
Sotheby’s Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana 27 January 2026
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: (Gettysburg). “Genl. Doubleday has taken charge of the battle”: Autograph witness to the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, illustrated by fourteen maps and plans. $200,000 to $300,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: President Lincoln thanks a schoolboy on behalf of "all the children of the nation for his efforts to ensure "that this war shall be successful, and the Union be maintained and perpetuated." $200,000 to $300,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.
![<b>Sotheby’s, Jan. 27:</b> [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9d2762bc-9f26-47ef-96de-1c28070e19f6.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Jan. 27:</b> [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.")