A recent inquiry from a dealer-appraiser raised a pertinent question; with significant changes in the world over the past year, have rare book, manuscript, and map appraisals issued in the mid-2019s ought/should they be revised?
There are two answers.
Valuation is generally determined on long term trends but when there are tectonic shifts and if auction prices hew high and low, should appraisals reflect short term reality?
Research members have access to tools on the brown toolbar under Upcoming Auctions. Here are the choices:
Auction Home
Auction Calendar
Auction House List
Recent Auction Update[s]
Recent Reported Auction Results
Trends in Book Auction Prices
Charts and Analyses
Rare Book Top 500 Auctions
Charts and Analyses is a link to a series of year by year charts accessible while signed in as a paid member:
Using these charts it’s possible to examine 2019 month by month to compare the first 4 months [soon 5 months] of 2020 whether the market is holding firm.
And the answers are yes, yes, and not quite.
The pace of auction lots are holding, that said, the year over year norm has been that that number increases about 3.5% a year. So, because there is no current gain that’s a bit unusual.
The percentage of lots sold is also vital and it is a reasonable conjecture that the percentage of lots sold would be declining given the Covid crisis. This year the sell through rate has actually inched up from 80.4% in 2019 to 82.4% in 2020. This has been unexpected and frequently commented on in the Weekly Auction Updates.
And now for the not quite – and this may be meaningful. The median lot price is running soft. This is unsurprising because auction houses world-wide carefully manage low estimates to ensure success for all parties. So it’s logical that in this Covid period estimates are trending down. And said another way, when/if estimates begin to trend higher this will be a forward indicator that the auction market is believing the worst is behind us. Fingers crossed!
And a reminder that research members can also chart market expectations for any material in the Transaction Database. To do this run your search, select relevant records by marking them, then run the Get Current Estimate for a custom prepared report in 15 seconds.
Old World Auctions (Sept 16): Lot 11. Blaeu's Superb World Map on a Polar Projection (1695) Est. $5,500 - $7,000
Old World Auctions (Sept 16): Lot 702. Munster's Largest 16th Century Edition, with Over 220 Woodcut Maps (1598) Est. $18,000 - $20,000
Old World Auctions (Sept 16): Lot 101. Rare Jo Mora "Carte" Showing a NYC-to-Seattle Route through Panama Canal (1933) Est. $900 - $1,100
Old World Auctions (Sept 16): Lot 65. The Waldseemuller/Fries "Admiral's Map" (1541) Est. $8,000 - $9,500
Old World Auctions (Sept 16): Lot 46. Contains all 30 Plates from Atlas Coelestis in Full Original Color (1742) Est. $16,000 - $18,000
Old World Auctions (Sept 16): Lot 129. The First Map to Name New Scotland and Cape Cod (1625) Est. $8,000 - $9,500
Old World Auctions (Sept 16): Lot 663. The First Printed Map Devoted to the Pacific in Full Contemporary Color (1589) Est. $7,500 - $9,000
Old World Auctions (Sept 16): Lot 629. De Jode's Rare Map of Eastern Asia (1593) Est. $7,500 - $9,000
Old World Auctions (Sept 16): Lot 171. De Bry's Influential Map of Colonial North America (1591) Est. $11,000 - $13,000
Old World Auctions (Sept 16): Lot 691. Superb Hand-Colored Image of the Holy Trinity (1502) Est. $800 - $950
Old World Auctions (Sept 16): Lot 606. Important, Early Atlas of Japan with 75 Woodcut Maps in Printed Color (1837) Est. $2,000 - $2,300
Koller, Sep. 16: FRANZÖSISCHE REVOLUTION - ASSEMBLÉE NATIONALE - Extrait des Procès-Verbaux de L'Assemblée Nationale, Des 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26 Août & premier Octobre 1789.
Koller, Sep. 16: MOURADJA D'OHSSON, IGNACE. Tableau général de l'Empire Othoman, divisé en deux parties dont l'une comprend la Législation Mahométane, l'autre l'histoire de l'Empire Othoman [... ]
Koller, Sep. 16: BOTANIK - Blackwell, Elisabeth. A curious herbal, containig five hundred cuts, of the most useful plants, which are now used in the practice of physick.
Koller, Sep. 16: HAIMONSKINDER – Eyn schön lustig Geschicht, wie Keyser Carle der groß, vier gebrüder, Hertzog Aymont von Dordons Süne [...]
Koller, Sep. 16: KRÄUTERBÜCHER - HORTUS SANITATIS - [H]ortus Sanitatis. De herbis et plantis. De animalibus et reptilibus. De avibus et volatilibus. De piscibus et natalibus…
Koller, Sep. 16: GAUGUIN, PAUL, MALER (1848-1903). Eigenhändiger Brief mit Unterschrift und Couvert. An den Künstler und Freund Daniel de Monfreid in Paris.
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 24th September 2026
Forum, Sep. 24:A Plan of the Cities of London and Westminster and Borough of Southwark, 1746 [bound with] A Plan of the Cities of London and Westminster, [c.1755]. £30,000 - £50,000
Forum, Sep. 24: Gafurius (Franchinus). De Harmonia Musicorum Instrumentorum Opus, first edition, Milan, Gotarto da Ponte, 1518. £20,000 - £30,000
Forum, Sep. 24: Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, first edition, first impression, 1937. £10,000 - £15,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 24th September 2026
Forum, Sep. 24: Stackelberg (Otto Magnus v). Costumes et Usages des Peuples de la Grece Moderne, first edition, Rome, 1825. £15,000 - £20,000
Forum, Sep. 24: Piranesi (Giovanni Battista). Le Antichita Romane, 4 vol., Rome, Bouchard and Gravier, 1756. £10,000 - £15,000
Forum, Sep. 24: Henry VIII's Primer.- Church of England.- The Primer, set foorth by the Kynges maiestie and his clergie…,, first edition, by Richard Grafton printer to the Princes grace, 1545; bound with 2 others, similar. £10,000 - £15,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 24th September 2026
Forum, Sep. 24: Darwin (Charles). On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, fifth edition, ink inscription in the author's hand laid down to half-title, 1869. £6,000 - £8,000
Forum, Sep. 24: Siebold (P.F. von) J.G. Zuccarini and F.A.W. Miquel. Flora Japonica, 2 vol., first edition, Leiden, for the author, 1835-70. £6,000 - £8,000
Forum, Sep. 24: Illuminated manuscript facsimile.- Constitution Of India (The), Dehra Dun, Survey of India Offices, [c. 1950]. £3,500 - £5,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 24th September 2026
Forum, Sep. 24: Mao Tse-tung. Quotations of Chairman Mao, prototype edition, Shenyang, compiled and printed by the Political Department, Air Force Division of Shenyang Military Region, 1963. £3,000 - £4,000
Forum, Sep. 24: Richardson (John). Fauna Boreali-Americana; or the Zoology of the Northern Parts of British America, 4 vol., first edition, Norwich, Josiah Fletcher, 1829-37. £4,000 - £6,000
Forum, Sep. 24:Mite (The), the printer/publisher's own copy with the original type and printing blocks for all three of its editions (1891, 1893 & 1896), Grimsby, Ernest A. Robinson, 1891. £3,000 - £4,000.
Leland Little, September 11: Kenneth Claiborne Royall (1894-1971), Large Archive with Letters from Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Leland Little, September 11: Harry S. Truman, Scarce Autograph Letter Signed as 33rd U.S. President.
Leland Little, September 11: Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) (1835-1910), Autograph Quotation Signed.
Leland Little, September 11:The History of North America, the Extremely Scarce Deluxe "Edition of the Presidents."
Leland Little, September 11: Scarce First Edition of Krafft's The American Distiller.
Leland Little, September 11: Inscribed First Edition of James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room.
Leland Little, September 11: A Signed Limited Edition of Love in the Time of Cholera.
Leland Little, September 11: The Extremely Scarce Limited and Extra-Illustrated Edition of The Works of Charles Dickens.
Leland Little, September 11: A Beautifully Bound Limited Edition of Émile Zola's The Rougon-Macquart.
Leland Little, September 11: The Elaborately Bound and Extremely Scarce The Shakespeare Gallery.
Leland Little, September 11:Hunting, Hawking, Shooting, A Signed Limited Edition Four Volume Set.
Leland Little, September 11: Signed Limited Edition of Salmon-Salmon with a Chapter on Iceland.
Sotheby’s Original Film Posters 10 September 2026
Sotheby’s, Sep. 10: The Invisible Man (1933). Extremely Rare US Leader Press One Sheet. £20,000 to £26,000.
Sotheby’s, Sep. 10: You Only Live Twice (1967). Italian Advance Quattro Fogli. £10,000 to £15,000.
Sotheby’s, Sep. 10: A Dog's Life (1918). Extremely Rare US One Sheet. £50,000 to £70,000.
Sotheby’s, Sep. 10: La Belle et la Bête/Beauty and the Beast (1946). French Style A Grande. £12,000 to £18,000.
Sotheby’s, Sep. 10: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). US Lenticular Prototype One Sheet. £10,000 to £15,000.
Sotheby’s, Sep. 10: Théâtre d’Ombres (1897). Exceptionally Rare French Poster. £8,000 to £12,000.
