Ephemera, the random debris of history, has long been considered insufficiently important and too difficult to identify to sell. Books almost always have a known author, title, place and date printed. They may be in demand or not, their subjects currently relevant or not, they usually have a history of transactions to guide buyers and sellers. For ephemera, not so much.
But the Internet has happened and one of the outcomes of the explosion of information on line has been to clarify ephemera that often used to be consigned to debris boxes. That’s changing.
When first collecting material related to Ulster County 65 years ago, the list of related books was brief, many of them close to impossible to acquire. Fortunately, Poughkeepsie had a busy auction house, Cal Smith’s, where you could paw through upcoming lots and try your luck. Known titles would be hawked and change hands for a few dollars. As for the ephemera, in Cal’s world, it was “Here’s a couple of boxes of junk! Oh pardon hysterians!! Let’s start the bidding at a dollar.”
When the old paper was appealing, Cal ever the enterprising auctioneer, would encourage you to dream your dream and hope you’ll find something worthwhile in the pile. The auctions were great entertainment and occasionally you found value. And if you bought the stuff you also bought yourself a demanding job.
Over the past 65 years I bought quite a bit of ephemera, a significant portion relating to the Hudson Valley. And now, I’m at the point that I need to dispose that which I have pursued those many years, now face the challenge to organize and explain this type of material to be quite different from books. In my case, it seems likely I’ll have to organize, lot and describe what will be, for most people, deeply arcane collectible paper.
I recently spent a month documenting my collection of Munselliana, that is material related to Joel Munsell, the 19th century Albany, New York printer. In his classic account of his printing career, he lists print jobs he produced during the period 1834-1871. Two thousand two hundred and sixty-eight jobs were identified and their print quantities given for 990 of them – making it possible for me to develop the theory of probability of reappearance.
As to how much of that stuff I have, about 500 items and I’ve created three databases relating to Joel’s books, pamphlets and almanacs. When my collection of Hudson River material is sold Munselliana will be one of the 400 lots in the sale.
Other categories will be letters, photographs, maps, ledgers, stock certificates, coins and paper money, postcards, objects, broadsides and company records. Some of those lots will be very complex.
Net net, consider my experience as a heads up about how to handle ephemera if you get seriously into the weeds. Expect you’ll be doing at least the preliminary cataloguing whether you send it into the rooms or to gift it to an institution. By building a collection of this arcane material you are also becoming its expert. Plan for it.
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.")
