Sample from sales rate chart accessible with free membership.
Our next chart looks at pricing by month and for the year. What was the average price for 2004? $2,965. The median price? $413. Why is the median price so much lower? The answer is those occasional million dollar items drive up the average price. The median, the midpoint or typical selling price, more accurately reflects what items are selling for. That's still a healthy price. I do not know what the typical price is on eBay, Abe, Amazon, or in the average store, but I'm quite sure it's nowhere near $413. You may well find some good bargains at the book auctions, but don't expect to find things that are cheap because they generally sell premium material. Most auction houses won't handle material not expected to bring some minimum price, or if they do, they will combine several books into a single lot until they think it will garner an acceptable bid. It just isn't worthwhile to spend the time on a cheap item. So if you are looking to find a thousand dollar book for $5, go to eBay or a yard sale. You probably won't, but it's theoretically possible. Look to the auctions for a $1,000 item that might slip by for $700, or look to the auctions to find a $1,000 item for $1,000 when others want $1,500. Auctions are the place to find fair value when others want more.
Again, if you click "2004 Auction Results" on the left sidebar (and you have signed up for a membership) you will have access to the detailed breakdown of these results, specifically, numbers by individual auction house. We have results both in local currency and converted to U.S. dollars for easier comparison. You will be able to see median and average prices at each auction house and into which price ranges most of their lots fall. It will give you a good heads up on what to expect at each house's auctions. If looking to sell, it will help you discern which is the appropriate auction. If your books are likely to be worth thousands of dollars each, they may be appropriate for houses like Sotheby's or Christie's. If more likely worth $100 or $200 each, they will not be of interest to these houses, but you will find many others who would undoubtedly welcome the opportunity to sell your collection.
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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. 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.
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: 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…
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
