• Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: J. R. R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. London, 1954-1955.FIRST EDITIONS, FIRST IMPRESSIONS, ALL IN THE EXTREMELY RARE FIRST STATE DUST JACKETS.
    Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: Francesco Fontana. Novae coelestium terrestriumque rerum observationes... Naples: Gaffari, 1646. FIRST EDITION. Contains the first observations of spots on the surface of Mars.
    Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. London: Printed for W. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1776. FIRST EDITION of “the first and greatest classic of modern economic thought” (PMM).
    Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: Benjamin Franklin. Mémoires de la Vie Privée de Benjamin Franklin, écrits par lui-méme… Paris: Chez Buisson, 1791. FIRST EDITION OF FRANKLIN'S MEMOIRS IN THE PUBLISHER'S ORIGINAL WRAPPERS.
    Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: Samuel Johnson, Jr. A School Dictionary… New Haven, [Connecticut]: Edward O'Brien, [1798]. FIRST EDITION OF THE FIRST DICTIONARY IN ENGLISH BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR, AN EXCEPTIONAL RARITY.
    Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: Joseph Smith, Jr. The Book of Mormon. Palmyra: Printed by E. B. Grandin, for the Author, 1830. FIRST EDITION.
    Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: Miguel de Cervántes Saavedra. El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Madrid: Joaquin Ibarra, 1780. THE BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED IBARRA EDITION.
    Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: James Joyce. Ulysses. London: John Lane The Bodley Head, [1936]. FIRST ENGLISH EDITION, SIGNED BY JOYCE. Designated a “Presentation Copy” in ink beneath Joyce’s signature.
    Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: [Photoplay]. Delos W. Lovelace. King Kong. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, [1932]. FIRST EDITION of "a most sought after title" (Davis).
    Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: Ray Bradbury. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon & Schuster, [1993]. 40th Anniversary Edition. PRESENTATION COPY, INSCRIBED AND SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR TO HUGH HEFNER.
    Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: Neil Gaiman. Original manuscript for the "Neverwhere" BBC television miniseries. [London: Crucial Films, LTD., 1995-1996]. TYPESCRIPT "NEVERWHERE" WITH NEIL GAIMAN'S NOTES AND AMENDATIONS THROUGHOUT.
    Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: [DICTIONARY]. Noah Webster. An American Dictionary of the English Language... New York, 1828. FIRST EDITION OF WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY, UNCUT IN THE PUBLISHER'S ORIGINAL BOARDS
    Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: Stephen King. Full Dark, No Stars. Baltimore: Cemetery Dance Publications, 2010. WITH AN ORIGINAL TWO-PAGE COLOR ILLUSTRATION BY GLENN CHADBOURNE
    Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: George Orwell. Nineteen Eighty-Four. London: Secker & Warburg, 1949. FIRST EDITION, IN THE ORIGINAL DUST JACKET.
    Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: H. G. Wells. The Time Machine: An Invention. London: William Heinemann, 1895 [but 1897]. With a SIGNED PHOTOGRAPHIC POSTCARD laid in.
  • Old World Auctions (Oct. 10): Lot 1. Rare First Edition of Oronce Fine Double-Cordiform World Map (1531) Est. $50,000 - $60,000
    Old World Auctions (Oct. 10): Lot 2. French Edition of "Rudimentum Novitiorum" with Woodcut Maps of the World and Palestine (1543) Est. $27,500 - $35,000
    Old World Auctions (Oct. 10): Lot 3. Complete Edition of Munster’s Cosmographia with over 100 Maps & Views (1560) Est. $32,500 - $40,000
    Old World Auctions (Oct. 10): Lot 4. Purchas' Important Collection of Voyages with 88 Maps, Including John Smith Map of Virginia (1625-26) Est. $55,000 - $70,000
    Old World Auctions (Oct. 10): Lot 5. Complete First Latin Edition of De Bry's "Grands Voyages," Parts I-IX (1590-1602) Est. $120,000 - $150,000
  • Dominic Winter, Oct. 9: Lot 42 - Meyer (Dr. Hans). Across East African Glaciers, limited edition of 50, 1891. £3,000-5,000
    Dominic Winter, Oct. 9: Lot 2 - Agassiz (Louis). Etudes sur les Glaciers, 2 volumes, 1840. £1,000-1,500
    Dominic Winter, Oct. 9: Lot 234 - Bible [English]. [The Holy Bible, Imprinted at London by Christopher Barker, 1584]. £1,200-1,500
    Dominic Winter, Oct. 9: Lot 288 - Florio (John). A Worlde of Wordes, or most Copious, and Exact Dictionary in Italian and English, 1598. £2,000-3,000
    Dominic Winter, Oct. 9: Lot 289 - Cotgrave (Randle). A Dictionary of the French and English Tongues, 1st edition, 1611. £700-1,000
    Dominic Winter, Oct. 9: Lot 368 - Grahame (Kenneth). The Wind in the Willows, 1st edition, 1908. £700-1,000
    Dominic Winter, Oct. 9: Lot 52 - Phillimore (R. H.). Historical Records of The Survey of India, 4 vols, 1st edition, 1945-58. £1,000-1,500
    Dominic Winter, Oct. 9: Lot 92 - Albin (Eleazar). A Natural History of English Insects, 1st London, 1720. £2,500-3,500
    Dominic Winter, Oct. 9: Lot 99 - Leach (William Elford). Malacostraca Podophthalmata Britanniae, 1815-20 & 1875. £2,500-3,500
    Dominic Winter, Oct. 9: Lot 247 - Embroidered binding - Bible [English]. The Holy Bible, 1660. £500-800
    Dominic Winter, Oct. 9: Lot 282 - Nightingale (Florence). Notes on Nursing, 1st ed., 2nd issue, [1860], signed presentation copy. £1,000-1,500
    Dominic Winter, Oct. 9: Lot 66 - Ward (Rowland, editor). Great and Small Game of Africa, limited edition, 1899. £600-800
    Dominic Winter, Oct. 9: Lot 235 - Campo (Antonio). Cremona Fedelissima Citta, 1st edition, 1585. £2,000-3,000
    Dominic Winter, Oct. 9: Lot 355 - Jewish playing cards. Artistic Palestine Play-Cards, Jerusalem: Duchifat Press, circa 1920. £200-300
    Dominic Winter, Oct. 9: Lot 102 - America. Lea (P. & J. Overton). A New Mapp of America..., London: circa 1686. £1,000-1,500
    Dominic Winter, Oct. 9: Lot 161 - North America. Laurie (R. H.), Map of the Southern Dominions belonging to the United States, 1823. £500-800

Rare Book Monthly

Articles - July - 2022 Issue

Fireproof copy of The Handmaid’s Tale sells at Sotheby’s for £103,000

Author Margaret Atwood helping PEN, which advocates for free expression around the world.

Author Margaret Atwood helping PEN, which advocates for free expression around the world.

NEW YORK — Margaret Atwood years ago imagined apocalyptic disaster, Dystopian government and an author faking her own death. But until recently she spared herself the nightmare of trying to burn one of her own books using a flamethrower.

It didn’t burn but made headlines with the effort.

Recently, a unique unburnable version of her “The Handmaid’s Tale”, made with a specially treated aluminum product, was donated for PEN America's annual gala auction, fetching £103,000.

 

The connection to fire with Miss Atwood’s 1985 best seller is that fire was an important aspect of the plot.  To understand it, buy a copy.  However, if you have no burning desire to read the book on Abe Books and Alibris you can buy a shortcut called Cliff Notes [Yup, the same folks who got you through college!].

 

In the meantime, you can follow a video prepared by the donors to entice bidders. If you are less than mesmerized with the attached advertisements preceding the video there is a tasteful link on the lower right corner to skip messages from their sponsors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpsMsAMY4eM

 

Recently most hot books are those that were stolen.  If needed, we’ll consider to add a new category to Transactions+; i.e. “Rare Books, Manuscripts, Maps, Ephemera, and Fireproof Books" OR "Rare and Fireproof Books, Manuscripts, Maps, and Ephemera".

 

We respectfully request your opinion.

 

Proceeds are being donated to PEN, which advocates for free expression around the world.

Rare Book Monthly

  • RareBookBuyer.com
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    RareBookBuyer.com
    We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
    ABAA Dealer
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    Specialized in Purchasing
    Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
    RareBookBuyer.com
    We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
    ABAA Dealer
    RareBookBuyer.com
    Specialized in Purchasing
    Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
    RareBookBuyer.com
    We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
    ABAA Dealer
  • Gonnelli
    Auction 54
    Books, Autographs & Manuscripts
    October 8th-10th 2024
    Gonnelli: Menù di gala per l'incoronazione di Nicola II Romanov e di Aleksandra Feodorovna. Moskva, 1896. Starting price 1000 €
    Gonnelli: Raccolta di 38 albumine, molte colorate a mano, di vedute della Cina, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Giappone e vari ritratti, 1880. Starting price 340 €
    Gonnelli
    Futurism
    Gonnelli: Lucio Fontana. Milan: Achille Mauri, 1968. Starting price 400 €
    Gonnelli: Mucha Alphonse, Documents décoratifs, 1901-1902. Starting price 10000 €
    Gonnelli: Christie Agatha, The Mysterious Affair at Styles. A detective story. London: John Lane, 1921. Starting price 460 €
    Gonnelli: Alberti Leon Battista, Ecatonphyla. Venice: Bernardino da Cremona, 1491. Starting price 10000 €
    Gonnelli: Menabrea Luigi Federico, Sketch of the analytical engine invented by Charles Babbage Esq. London: Richard and John E. Taylor, 1843. Starting price 5000 €
    Gonnelli: Bardi Giovanni, Memorie del calcio fiorentino. Florence, 1688. Starting price 1000 €

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