Change is now embedded in the fields of rare books, manuscripts, maps and ephemera. Knowledge continues to increase, even explode, and as it does, the value and relative importance of material changes. Add to that an evolving collector base and heavy dealer inventories and it sometimes seems to be a blur.
We will be trying to support you this year, be you a collector, institution or dealer. How can we best do this? Tell us what you see as the problems and opportunities for the field. We will try to address them.
Do so by adding your comments to this article and/or emailing me directly at bmckinney@rarebookhub.com.
Begin your replies with I’m a dealer, dealer-collector or someone associated with an institution.
How long have you been involved in the field?
What do you have? Could be books, manuscripts, maps and ephemera, Also paintings, other artwork and furniture. Or other and if so, what?
If buying, selling or both, how do you do this? On listing sites, from catalogs, at shows, at shops, or at auction?
You stock or collection is probably worth about?
Your expectations for the next 10 years?
About Rare Book Hub
Do you regularly use our services? Which ones and how often?
What would you like to see more of or more often? We are open to your ideas.
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.")