Rare Book Monthly

Articles - July - 2022 Issue

Four Big July Book Fairs in the MidWest - St. Paul, St. Louis, Detroit & Chicago Celebrate Books

 July 8-9 (Friday & Saturday)

Minnesota Antiquarian Book Fair

Schoenecker Arena, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN. 

This fair caters to both experienced and beginning collectors. It hosts vendors who have decades of experience in bookselling offering items of major historical and literary significance. Many of these dealers also pride themselves on their selection of books and manuscripts connected to underrepresented groups in the historical record. A list of participating exhibitors can be found at: https://minnesotaantiquarianbookfair.wordpress.com/our-booksellers/

 

The in-person portion of the Minnesota Antiquarian Book Fair runs from 3 to 7 p.m.on Friday, July 8th, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 9th. Tickets are $7 good for both days. Free admission for kids under 12, as well as St. Thomas students and faculty. 

 

The fair takes place in the Schoenecker Arena at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. The Arena is in the Anderson Athletic Complex and Recreation Center. For map and parking information go to: https://minnesotaantiquarianbookfair.wordpress.com/about/

 

A panel discussing the Antiquarian Book Seminar, is scheduled for 1 pm on Saturday the 9th. At that time three graduates of the CABS-Minnesota will discuss what CABS means to them and to the rare book community at-large. The panelists will also discuss current efforts towards increasing the inclusivity of the book trade.

  

Panelists this year are: Ken Sanders - noted Salt Lake City, UT rare book specialist; Kara McLaughlin - proprietor of Little Sages Rare Books and Paper of Longmont, CO and Jaime Harker - founder of Violet Valley Bookstore, in Water Valley, Mississippi. She is a professor of English and director of the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies at the University of Mississippi. 

 

General email contact for the two day event is tcantiquarianbookfair@gmail.com

 

For those who can not make it to Minnesota in person, a virtual incarnation is presented online at https://mnabf.getmansvirtual.com/

 


 

July 14-18 (Thurs. through Mon.)

 

St Louis Book Fair

 

Kennedy Recreation Center, 6050 Wells Rd, St. Louis, MO

 

The 2022 edition of the St. Louis Book Fair bills itself as the Midwest’s largest charity book event. Since 1950, this book fair has been a favorite destination of book lovers and collectors nationwide. Volunteers work year-round gathering over one million new, gently used, and rare items from individuals, estates, businesses, and other organizations. Fair proceeds assist local education and literacy programs with operational expenses, student aid, and other financial needs.

 

In addition to general interest material the fair also features rare and collectible items. To learn more about what is available visit https://stlouisbookfair.org/rare-collectible-books/

  

For dates and times see the schedule at: https://stlouisbookfair.org/the-book-fair-details/

 

Admission is FREE Friday through Sunday.

 

There is a paid preview on Thurs., July 14, for details see the website.

 

Payment options for preview admission and all items purchased include cash, check, or credit card (Mastercard & VISA accepted)

 

The last hours of the fair are reserved for pre-registered St. Louis non profit organizations who can take what is left at no charge. Non-Profit Day is closed to the public and limited to pre-registered 501(c)(3) organizations.

 

Interested in being a volunteer? Late in June (when this article was written) there were still open slots; for info https://stlouisbookfair.org/volunteer/

 

For questions about the event which are not answered at the site call: (314) 993-1995 or Email: info@stlouisbookfair.org

 

 

 

July 17 (Sunday) FREE

 

Detroit Festival of Books 

 

Eastern Market, Shed 5, Detroit, MI 

 

The Book Club of Detroit presents the 5th Annual Detroit Festival of Books on Sunday July 17. The free day long event is the largest book show in Michigan. Vendors from all over the US and Canada will showcase their wares including: used, rare, antiquarian, authors, children’s, new, unusual, ephemera, comic books, vinyl LP records, creative arts, and more. Fair hours are 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.(rain or shine) in Shed #5 of Detroit’s Eastern Market (2934 Russell St.)

 

Visit the Bookfest’s website https://detroitbookfest.com/  for details including parking, bathrooms, food, music and beer.

 

Sponsors include longtime Detroit book dealer John K. King Used & Rare Books, DBusiness Magazine and the City of Detroit. It also notes that there will also be a virtual Bookfest from July 15-17 and gives application information. 

 

July 29-31 (Friday-Sunday)  FREE

 

Newberry Library Book Fair

 

Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton St.Chicago, IL. 

  

Chicago’s most popular used-book sale is back! Browse through thousands of books in dozens of genres, including fiction, philosophy, history, art, cooking, children’s literature, and much, much more. Many items are priced at $3 or less. Everything for sale at the volunteer-led Book Fair is generously donated, and all proceeds help further the Newberry’s mission to foster a deeper understanding of our world through research and learning.

  • Book Fair is cashless: only debit and credit cards accepted.

  • Please bring your own shopping bags.

  • Public transportation to the Book Fair is recommended, as street parking is limited.

 

The Newberry offers a Preview Day on Thurs. July 28: Members of the Newberry Associates at the Authors level and above ($100 or more/year) are invited to Book Fair Preview Day on Thursday, July 28. To learn more about the benefits of supporting the Newberry, or to make a gift, please visit Annual Support and Membership or contact the Development office at (312) 255-3581 or via email at contributions@newberry.org.

 

Sat. July 30- Free Chicago Storytelling in Bughouse Square coincides with the 2022 Newberry Book Fair. This free outdoor in-person event is on Saturday in Washington Square Park (“Bughouse Square”) across the street from the Newberry from 1-4. It celebrates the power of storytelling and its role in shaping our city.

 

People from across Chicago and beyond are invited to listen to a series of authors and storytellers, and even share their own stories in facilitated Story Circles. See the schedule at https://www.newberry.org/07302022-chicago-storytelling-bughouse-square

 

The festivities will also include the presentation of the Newberry’s first annual Pattis Family Foundation Chicago Book Award. The award will be presented to Dawn Turner, author of Three Girls from Bronzeville.

 

Throughout the afternoon in the park, food trucks will provide sustenance, and the Newberry Book Fair may provide inspiration. Visitors can make their way inside the Newberry to browse thousands of used books in dozens of categories.

 

Explore other events taking place in Bughouse Square this summer, including Make Music Chicago 2022, 50-Minute Hamlet, and Bughouse Square: A History in Song and Story.

 

Rare Book Monthly

  • 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: Bram Stoker. Dracula. Westminster: Archibald Constable & Co., 1897.
    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…
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