The efficient way to buy old books is when they are being liquidated at unreserved auction. Better yet, buy them at a bankruptcy sale. Such sales do not occur often but when they do the prices can be very low. Such was the case in Oklahoma City recently where the assets of St. Gregory’s University, that committed the sin of insolvency, were disposed as efficiently as Marie Antoinette’s head was severed. For St. Gregory who, in the Catholic Church, is commonly known as Pope Saint Gregory, and who passed away in 1606 this recent sale of his name sake institution must have seemed like penitence [and probably was].
Religious institutions tend to get screwed at auction, probably because for centuries they distained ‘commerce’ as beneath them. That’s not a good approach now, if it ever was. Know what you have and carefully prepare. Leaving it to luck often doesn’t work out.
In this case the auctioneers were hired by a District Bankruptcy Court [THIS IS A TIP-OFF!] and the focus seems to have been on speed. Lest anyone reading this wonder if speed is important the answer is a resounding no. Description, promotion and timing are the crucial factors.
This sale on July 12th was complicated as the contents of the library and the rare book room had to share the marquee with exercise equipment, televisions, a hot dog roller & Bun Warmer, and other miscellaneous debris. As no expense was allocated for descriptions they are close to non-existent.
As for the outcomes, it is easy to guess but difficult to confirm if the prices made sense. The apparently most important book in the sale was a Koberger Bible, printed in 1477. It sold for $13,300, hopefully to the great bible collector who also actually lives nearby: David Green. If so, it will soon make its way to his Bible Museum in Washington, D. C.
Other printed material sold included:
A Plutarch book printed in 1538 sold for $425
A Plutarch book printed in 1579 sold for $350
A page from the Akin Bible (First Bible printed in the United States in 1782) sold for $625
The Theory of the Earth, by Thomas Burnett, printed in 1684, sold for $2,600
Legal book Francisci Nigri Cyriacl Ma Cyriacus Fancisc, printed in 1664, sold for $2,200
Religious contents of Martin Luther, dated 1556, sold for $2,200
A History of the Reformation 1715, and Book of Letters of St. Augustine 1517 A.D. Sold for $1,250
The rest of the university’s Rare Book Room, holding approximately 3,000 rare books, was sold for $16,900 and their roughly 12,000 Catholic and religious books released for $21,300. Finally, the 44,000-volume student library changed hands for an unknown sum.
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.
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>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.")
![<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.")
