An interesting collection of rare Los Angeles imprints and ephemera comes to market on December 2nd in a sale organized by Johns' Western Gallery of San Francisco. The official title is Los Angeles Imprints: 1843 - 1873. This material was accumulated over a lifetime by Glen Dawson of Dawson Books, the firm that recently celebrated its one hundredth anniversary. For fussy collectors of obscuranta this is an opportunity to purchase material that in many cases has been unknown and until now undocumented. Collectors tend to think of books and images when creating a collection but it is the ephemera of an area and period that brings a collection to life. For collectors of Los Angeles, southern California, emerging cities and life in the period, this is an exceptional opportunity to acquire otherwise unobtainable material. The estimates are low.
Item 1 is the earliest known "printing" in Los Angeles. It is an application to the prefect for 200 varas of vacant land in Los Angeles. It is estimated at $2,000 to $3,000. Today well over a million impressions come off Los Angeles presses every twenty-four hours. This is thought to be the first printed impression.
Item 4 is the marriage announcement of Serefino Covarrubias and Isabel Sepulbeda in Los Angeles dated June 5, 1852. It is estimated $300 to $400, a sum certainly larger than the value of gifts received to celebrate the occasion.
Item 13 is an invitation to "Baile de Solteros" and attributed to Los Angeles: 1854. It is estimated $400 to $700. You may have missed the dance but you can still get an invitation.
Item 16. What is the value of a receipt for $15? Because it is a billhead from the Los Angeles firm Butts & Wheeler for job printing and dated November, 1854 it is expected to bring $350 to $450. Keep your receipts! Your Visa bill for $1,200 this month, if it does as well, will be sold by your great, great grandchildren in 2156 for $360,000. I'm selling my bills for face value if anyone is interested.
Item 19 is an invitation to the Independence Anniversary Ball. If you are reading about it here you missed it. It took place on the 79th anniversary of American Independence [Los Angeles: 1855]. You can still get an invitation though it will probably cost you more than the entire affair did then. Estimates $500 to $800.
Item 27. Hollywood did not invent entertainment in Los Angeles. In fact Hollywood is the new kid in town. In 1856 the fortunate received this invitation: "You are respectfully requested to attend a Ball, to be given by the Los Angeles Brass Band." Eat your heart out Madonna! Life today in LA may be quiet, even sedentary but it is nice to know it wasn't always that way. It's estimated $350 to $450.
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.")
