This month, Hamburg-based auction house Ketterer Kunst is hosting a sale of Rare Books that features an interesting array of material. With atlases, manuscripts, photographs, and of course, books, collectors of many subjects and mediums will find interesting material in the sale. Rare Books takes place November 20th.
Beginning the highlights with an atlas, lot 28 is Henri Abraham Châtelain’s Atlas historique, ou nouvelle introduction à l’histoire, à la chronologie & à la geographie ancienne & moderne, printed between 1718 and 1720. The volume contains 284 mostly double page copper plate maps and plates and is estimated €20,000.
As for medieval manuscripts, look no further than lot 3, which is an illuminated French vellum manuscript produced in Paris around 1380 or 1390. This particular item is a calendar, “endowed with vignettes of the occupations of the months and signs of the zodiac,” and is a very rare item. Lot 3 is estimated €50,000.
Lot 34 is quite different from the two highlights so far, and it’s also quite a bit newer. Knud Rasmussen is widely considered the father of Inuitology. This lot is a collection of original photographs, glass slides, typoscripts and map material that belonged to the famed Danish Greenlandic explorer. The material comes from the estate of Rasmussen’s longtime friend, secretary, and fellow adventurer, Emmy Langberg. The archive is estimated €28,000.
Less well known than Audubon’s Birds of America or Gould’s Birds of Great Britain is Joachim Johann Nepomuk Anton Spalowsky’s Beytrag zur Naturgeschichte der Vögel, which translates to “Supplement to the Natural History of Birds.” Offered as lot 26, the first four volumes of the original six are present and contain 178 (of 182) colored copper plates and 8 colored and engraved armorial plates. Spalowsky’s work predates both of the aforementioned ornithological books and would be an excellent addition to any bird-centric collection. It won’t come particularly cheaply, I’m afraid, as it is carries an estimate of €20,000.
Ketterer Kunst’s sale of Rare Books takes place November 20, 2017 in two sessions, beginning at 11 am and 5 pm (GMT+1) at the auction house’s location in Hamburg. Previews of the sale will take place: Nov 08-10, 2017, 11:00 am - 5:00 pm Nov 13-17, 2017, 11:00 am - 5:00 pm Nov 19, 2017, 11:00 am - 5:00 pm
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.
![<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.")
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9a74d9ff-42dd-46a1-8bb2-b636c4cec796.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.")
