Conversing with Mr. Americana: Talking Books With Bill Reese
William Reese Co.Catalogue No. 144
AT: Is there a way to predict which of the books that are inexpensive today will become valuable and collectible in the future, and vice versa? If so, how?
BR: [Laughs to self for a few moments.] If I knew the secret to that formula, I probably wouldn’t reveal it. No, I don’t think there is a way to predict which of the books that are inexpensive today will become valuable and collectible in the future, and vice versa. The history of book collecting is as complicated as stock picking. Fashions change. People’s tastes change. Also in my experience with more classic books, often prices have moved in plateaus and cliffs. The tendency is that there is an accepted notion of value that prevails for a long time, but this changes. I think it is easier to talk about the market in general. If you look at the Streeter versus the Siebert Sales, the observation you would have to draw is that books that brought most in the Streeter Sale were the ones which went up most in value [in the Siebert Sale]. These were the best things in both sales. If you have a broad based basket of material, using Streeter as a baseline, you would conclude that the book material has performed at least as well as the Standard & Poor’s 500 for that time period. It’s just that books are harder to liquidate.
I think it’s very difficult to recommend books as an investment to anybody. I think that books can be a good investment but that 20/20 hindsight is always accurate. For a private collector to think that they can beat me at the game of buying books as an investment would be like saying that you can beat Standard & Poor’s. I’m going to be able to do it [invest in books] better than someone who’s going to do it as a hobby in their spare time. Rare book dealers are professionals with skills and expertise. Books can be a very good investment, but to buy books solely as an investment is I think misguided. Although I must say that today rare books look like a lot better investment to me now than they did three years ago. This is largely because the stock market has been plummeting, and less people want to buy in the stock market.
AT: Tell our readers a bit about the upcoming sales at your firm. Can you tell us what factors make them important in your view? Also discuss some items you’d like to highlight, if possible.
BR: Our next catalogue in the works – due out in January – is on American State Papers, crucial documents from the Revolutionary, Federalist, and Jeffersonian eras. We are trying to do a series of focused subject-oriented catalogues. I also have always had a penchant for doing catalogues based on reference works, such as the Florida and Pacific Voyages catalogues – but I tend to use historical periods as a base. Our catalogues based on genre types
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 156: Cornelis de Jode, Americae pars Borealis, double-page engraved map of North America, Antwerp, 1593.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 206: John and Alexander Walker, Map of the United States, London and Liverpool, 1827.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 223: Abraham Ortelius, Typus Orbis Terrarum, hand-colored double-page engraved world map, Antwerp, 1575.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 233: Aaron Arrowsmith, Chart of the World, oversize engraved map on 8 sheets, London, 1790 (circa 1800).
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 239: Fielding Lucas, A General Atlas, 81 engraved maps and diagrams, Baltimore, 1823.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 240: Anthony Finley, A New American Atlas, 15 maps engraved by james hamilton young on 14 double-page sheets, Philadelphia, 1826.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 263: John Bachmann, Panorama of the Seat of War, portfolio of 4 double-page chromolithographed panoramic maps, New York, 1861.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 265: Sebastian Münster, Cosmographei, Basel: Sebastian Henricpetri, 1558.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 271: Abraham Ortelius, Epitome Theatri Orteliani, Antwerp: Johann Baptist Vrients, 1601.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 283: Joris van Spilbergen, Speculum Orientalis Occidentalisque Indiae, Leiden: Nicolaus van Geelkercken for Jodocus Hondius, 1619.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 285: Levinus Hulsius, Achtzehender Theil der Newen Welt, 14 engraved folding maps, Frankfurt: Johann Frederick Weiss, 1623.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 341: John James Audubon, Carolina Parrot, Plate 26, London, 1827.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue, inscribed by the author pre-publication. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Autograph sketchleaf including a probable draft for the E flat Piano Quartet, K.493, 1786. £150,000 to £200,000.
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.
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/00d5fd41-2542-4a80-b119-4886d4b9925f.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.")
