When last month began, with much of the world under lock down, we didn't know what to expect. With storefronts closed, and people shut in their homes all day, would booksellers issue more catalogues to reach customers where they were and with time on their hands? Would they, instead, cut back on the expense of printing catalogues as their own income declined, and many people lost their jobs? We now have our answer. They cut back, drastically. This month we have but two new catalogues. In reality, only one is new. The one from Shapero was actually published a couple of months ago, but was received with some other of their catalogues reviewed earlier. The printed catalogue has seemingly disappeared. Will it come back as the pandemic drags on? Will it come back once the crisis is over? We don't know. Time will tell. Meanwhile, electronic catalogues are still alive and well.
The one newly published catalogue comes from The Veatchs Arts of the Book. Its title is New Acquisitions, Books Printed in Greek, Leaf Books, Typographic Treasures, Etc. The Veatchs' catalogues are filled with material pertaining to the book arts. The other newly reviewed catalogue comes from Shapero Rare Books. It has a much shorter title – Ottomania. It pertains to lands of the old Ottoman Empire, or as the subtitle explains, Travels through the Levant and the Middle East.
You will find both of these reviews if you click here now.
Freeman’s, August 20. President Washington Reaffirms the US Treaty of Friendship and Peace with Morocco, the Longest Unbroken Treaty in US History. $50,000 – 80,000.
Freeman’s, August 20. Weeks After Victory at Yorktown, Benjamin Franklin Promises Repayment of a French Loan that Funded the American Revolution. $200,000 – 300,000.
Freeman’s, August 20. Rare First Edition of the Foundational Text of the Mormon Church. $100,000 – 150,000.
Freeman’s, August 20. President Washington Sends the First Major Law Passed by Congress, the Tariff Act of 1789. $100,000 – 150,000.
Freeman’s, August 20. A Scarce Example of Audubon's Depiction of a Brown Pelican, Plate CCLI from his Birds of America. $30,000 – 50,000.
Freeman’s, August 20. The Official and First Obtainable Broadside Printing of the Lincoln's Final Emancipation Proclamation. $30,000 – 50,000.
