If it is April it is again time for the New York Antiquarian Book Fair, this the largest such event in the book collecting world. This year’s four day fair at the Park Avenue Armory, that features more than 200 American and international dealers, begins on Thursday April 7th and continues through Sunday the 10th. For they who are active as dealers or who buy primarily from dealers this is the single best moment in the year, four days of viewing, discussion and negotiation. Many dealers bring fresh inventory and every year a fresh attitude about price and negotiation. The market changes and the players adjust.
For both highly rare and highly important materials, by all reports, prices continue to be firm. For material that is less rare and/or less important such examples may be negotiable but dealers understand this and tend to bring their best. It is in fact a free-for-all.
The great material will be on the floor on Thursday at 5:00 pm when the show opens. Experienced buyers will be there moving briskly in search of memorable acquisitions. It’s more expensive to obtain a Thursday night pass but well worth the cost.
As is always the case for exhibitors the New York Antiquarian Book Fair is sold out. Dealers talk about cutting back but rarely miss New York. It is simply too important. This fair, that also includes ILAB members, will have many of the premier dealers from around the world participating.
Main Fair Days and Hours:
Thursday April 7th 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Friday April 8th noon to 8:00 pm
Saturday April 9th noon to 7:00 pm
Sunday April 10th noon to 5:00 pm
Location:
Park Avenue Armory
643 Park Avenue [between 66th and 67th Streets]
New York, New York 10065
The Other Fairs [both nearby]
On Saturday two book and ephemera fairs will vie for attention. The first is the New York City Book and Ephemera Fair on Park Avenue at 83rd Street in the Wallace Hall at St. Ignatius Loyola. The other is the Manhattan Vintage Book & Ephemera Fair and the Fine Press Book Fair that share a hall at the Church of St. Ferrer at 869 Lexington Avenue at 66th Street [across from the Armory Show].
The hours for both shows are 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Because the Armory Show does not open until noon these shadow fairs are invariably busier in the morning. Last year many preregistered visitors were able to see both shows before the main fair opened. Links to all shows are provided at the end of this piece.
Abe Books, in conjunction with the New York City Book and Ephemera Fair at 980 Park Ave, is providing free shuttle service to and from the ABAA Fair throughout the day.
For active book buyers these fairs are somewhat akin to the Wild West. The relatively brief exhibition period and competition with the main fair tends to make sellers encourage offers. This gives these events “a now or never” urgency that adds excitement.
Altogether, more than 325 dealers will be exhibiting at the three shows. It’s a special moment for they who love collectable printed paper. It does not get better than this.
Sotheby’s, July 14: Henry De La Beche. "Awful Changes," 1830. $6,000 to $9,000.
Sotheby’s, July 15: [Apollo 11]. Flight Plan, Complete Original Printing Signed by Buzz Aldrin. $5,000 to $8,000.
Sotheby’s, July 15: Thomas Alva Edison. Documents Establishing and Ending the Edison Electric Railway Company. $20,000 to $30,000.
Sotheby’s, July 15: Richard P. Feynman. Feynman's Lectures on Gravitation 1-16, Including the Original Transcriptions of Lectures 12-16 by Morinigo and Wagner, With Richard Feynman's Manuscript Notations, 1971. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, July 15: [Apollo 9]. A Group of Manuals and Mission Documents used by Stuart Roosa as a member of the Astronaut Support Crew. $5,000 to $8,000.
Sotheby’s, July 15: [BYTE: The Small Systems Journal]. A collection of early foundational issues of Byte: The Small Systems Journal, with rare hardcover editions. $5,000 to $8,000.
Forum Auctions The 10th Anniversary Sale Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper July 16, 2026
Forum, July 16: Inundation papyrus. P.Michael 4, the ‘Inundation papyrus’, a geographical account of the Nile near Canopus, in Greek, remains of two columns from a manuscript scroll on papyrus, Egypt, second century CE. £12,000-18,000
Forum, July 16: Book of Hours, use of Sarum, manuscript on vellum, 6 full-page miniatures, with famous Middle English inscriptions, Southern Netherlands for the English market, [c.1430]. £30,000-50,000
Forum, July 16: Qu'ran, Arabic manuscript on burnished, stencilled, and gold-flecked paper, 447ff., Sultanate Gujarat, Ahmadabad, [after 1411 but no later than 1442]. £15,000-20,000
Forum Auctions The 10th Anniversary Sale Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper July 16, 2026
Forum, July 16: Turner (William). A New boke of the natures and properties of all wines that are commonly vsed here in England, rare first edition of the first English book on wine, By William Seres, 1568. £20,000-£30,000
Forum, July 16: Spenser (Edmund). The Faerie Queene. first edition, Printed [by John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, 1590. £30,000-40,000
Forum, July 16: Shakespeare (William). The Comedie of Errors, extracted from the first folio, Isaac Jaggard and Edward Blount, 1623. £15,000-20,000
Forum Auctions The 10th Anniversary Sale Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper July 16, 2026
Forum, July 16: Fleming (Ian). Casino Royale, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author, 1953. £40,000-60,000
Forum, July 16: d'Agoty (Jacques-Fabien Gautier). Anatomie de la Tête, first edition, Paris, chez le Sieur Gautier, 1748. £10,000-15,000
Forum, July 16: Martial Arts.- Lee (Bruce). 'Praying Mantis style' Kung Fu book, containing numerous annotations, diagrams and graphs in Bruce Lee's hand, c. 1960. £50,000-70,000
Forum Auctions The 10th Anniversary Sale Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper July 16, 2026
Forum, July 16: Warre (Capt. Henry James). Sketches in North America and the Oregon Territory, first edition, rare hand-coloured issue, 1848. £30,000-40,000
Forum, July 16: Norie (John William). The Marine Atlas, or Seaman's Complete Pilot for all the principal places in the known world..., 1826. £30,000-50,000
Forum, July 16: Mao Tse-tung.- Kim Il-sung.-[Note book for visitors from China to Korea], signed by Mao and Kim, [Beijing, 1954]. £10,000-15,000
