Auctions in New York around the week of the Book Fairs
- by Bruce E. McKinney
The New York Book Fairs are honey to the book collecting community and the prospect of both three area fairs and four auction houses holding sales over the same period makes for an exceptional opportunity for the interested to find the interesting. This month many of the New York auction houses have sales scheduled in this period.
Swann runs sales throughout the year but they also pay special attention to dates of the three book fairs that occur in March and often schedule material for exhibition or sale while the crowds are in town. This year is no exception:
March 5th at 10:30 am to 1:30 pm: The Story Behind the Littmann Collection of German Expressionism & European Avant-Garde.
March 7th starting at 10:30 am: Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books
The Medical & Scientific Library of W. Bruce Fye. March 11th. 405 lots
Extraordinary Books and Manuscripts on March 12th. 158 lots
Heritage Auctions
Books, 6208 in New York 3/5-3/6
Doyle New York
Travel & Sport in India & Asia from the Library of Arnold ‘Jake’ Johnson. 300+ lots. This is an online only sale. It is available for bidding from February 28th until its close on March 14th. The material is available for inspection at 175 East 87th Street in Manhattan.
Both Sotheby’s and Christies will have sales in New York later in the spring.
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.")