2023 Rare Book Hub Monthly in Review

The Rare Book Hub Monthly is the free portion of RareBookHub.com. On the first of each month we publish a selection of articles and briefs. Here are some of our stories from 2023.

Some of the leading topics were the strength of the auction market, at least a few eye-popping prices realized for everything from a true Harry Potter first to an ancient Bible; books stolen and returned; books banned and unbanned; libraries closed and reopened; the ongoing debate on digital vs hard copy which seemed to run on a parallel track with who, when and how to deaccession.

We also published a variety of reminiscences and personal experiences from those in the trade and mourned the passing of leading lights. In addition there were frequent notices of post-Covid book fairs. Each month we also took a look at catalogs received.

Regular contributors were our Editor, Mike Stillman (El Paso); Publisher, Bruce McKinney (San Francisco); Correspondent, Susan Halas (Maui) and our roving European reporter Thibault Ehrengardt. To that list we added from time to time, a guest writer or two.

January

https://www.rarebookhub.com/articles/monthly/2023/1

In January we highlighted the top 500 prices paid at auction during the prior year, which included some multi-million dollar prices realized for vintage comics and a whopping $12.6 million for the 1952 rookie card of baseball great Mickey Mantle originally issued as a bonus in a Topps bubble gum package.

Did you know that palimpsest is a term for one manuscript written over another? Our article Lurking Deep Under the Print of an Ancient Manuscript Lies an Even Older, Missing Astronomical Masterpiece filled in the details on that one. We also noted that our RBH database of auction records passed the 12 million mark and was still growing.

February

https://www.rarebookhub.com/articles/monthly/2023/2

In February our lead story again turned to auctions; it noted more than a billion dollars in aggregate annual sales. Christie’s South London got the nod as the house with the highest average prices paid, while Heritage in Dallas had the most lots go under the hammer. Veteran bookman Clarence Wolfe contributed some wry observations of book scouts and other denizens of the book world past. The Boulder, CO library found it was contaminated with meth. There was also news on increasing censorship in various locales with announcements that librarians who did not tow-the-line might face jail time. We took another look at the still mysterious Voynich Manuscript. A separate article gave a few tips on the ins and outs of selling books on consignment. There was a tribute to Joyce Meskis, the bookseller and activist from Denver’s Tattered Cover following her death.

March

https://www.rarebookhub.com/articles/monthly/2023/3

March brought the announcement that the Codex Sassoon, considered the world’s oldest near complete Bible, would be coming to auction in May, and with it the possibility of a huge increase in value. There was more coverage of censorship – this time draconian measures being proposed in Duval County, Florida. From Victoria, BC came word of the unlikely thief who stole $55,000 in rare books and was caught on the same day.

April

https://www.rarebookhub.com/articles/monthly/2023/4

The upcoming auction of the Codex Sassoon was still the top story. The continuing wave of book censorship was not far behind, as works by Dr. Seuss and Roald Dahl continued to get unfavorable critical comment. We reported that prison letters by Mary Queen of Scots written in code had been found and deciphered.

May

https://www.rarebookhub.com/articles/monthly/2023/5

May brought ABE's list of the 15 highest prices paid in the first quarter of 2023. It was headed by Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. The true first, one of only 500 copies, sold for $85,620. We reported on legal wrangling in Texas over censorship. Similarly, the ALA documented the growing threat of censorship nationwide, saying there was a double digit increase in demands to censor library books and books by and about minority groups. This action was increasingly coming from organized groups attempting to ban a long list of books. The Codex Sassoon was still hanging in there with a teaser about its forthcoming sale at Sotheby’s New York. The controversy on books vs. digital copies was in the news as Vermont State University first decided to remove all books from its library and later reversed the decision.

June

https://www.rarebookhub.com/articles/monthly/2023/6

“The Torah had a Good Day” was how we headlined the Sassoon Codex sale on May 17. The work, reportedly the earliest and most complete ancient Bible, was believed to be produced around 800 AD. It did indeed strike gold when it brought $38,126,000. It went to the Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv.

Book banning continued front and center as we published a list of the ten most censored titles headed by Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, the autobiography of a nonbinary person. In interesting, but less controversial news we also noted that an overdue book came back to the St. Helena Library in the Napa Valley only 96 years later.

July

https://www.rarebookhub.com/articles/monthly/2023/7

There was more on censorship in a story about attempts to restrict free speech with examples from Hong Kong, Japan, China and Spain. We also previewed a spectacular collection known as the T. Kimball Brooker Library of Renaissance Books and Bindings to be auctioned at Sotheby’s NY in October.

August

https://www.rarebookhub.com/articles/monthly/2023/8

ABE's top prices for the period April through June was headed by Colonia Leopoldina in Bahia - Helvecia by Jean-Frederic Bosset de Luze, a 19th century watercolor showing a major coffee producing plantation in Brazil, worked primarily by slaves. It sold for $27,745. An article about changing demographics in the world of books suggested that women are playing an increasing role both as writers and collectors.

September

https://www.rarebookhub.com/articles/monthly/2023/9

We reported a fourth stolen Columbus letter had been recovered and returned to St. Mark's National Library in Venice, Italy. The work of Ludwig Bemelmans caught our eye, especially when a 46 page mock up of the children’s classic Madeline created ca. 1938-39 brought $190,500 at auction in July. If you’ve grown weary of real books we also carried news that “fake books” have become a thing, supposedly because “It makes you look intelligent.” Owen Gingerich, best remembered for his pursuit of De Revolutionibus by Nicolaus Copernicus, died at 93.

October

https://www.rarebookhub.com/articles/monthly/2023/10

In October it was official: Rare Book Hub acquired OldMaps.com from Curt and Marti Griggs. As they wrote in their goodbye note, “The OldMaps database has grown to include information on the antique map market from hundreds of dealers and auctions across the globe. We believe the Rare Book Hub is the ideal business to continue the legacy of OldMaps.com and the Antique Map Price Record.”

Both the Boston Book Fair and the Boston Shadow Fair were back live and in-person this year after their pandemic absence. There was lots of auction news including another round of books from the legendary collection of magician Ricky Jay scheduled to be auctioned by Potter and Potter.

November

https://www.rarebookhub.com/articles/monthly/2023/11

The strange and convoluted story of the impending bankruptcy of Denver’s iconic Tattered Cover book stores was front and center in November. Also in the news The Batley Library in Wales, U.K., saw dozens, maybe hundreds of books taken from its shelves in a bizarre misunderstanding that turned a library bag sale into wholesale theft. The ABE Books third quarter report on top sales named The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde as its top seller. The book published in 1891 was sold by Shapero Rare Books for $46,875. This copy was the large paper “edition de luxe,” #115 of 250 signed by Wilde.

December

https://www.rarebookhub.com/articles/monthly/2023/12

RBH publisher Bruce McKinney reminisced about his career in the book world and also noted that over the year the number of auction records at RareBookHub.com had grown to over 13 million. Our European correspondent, Thibault Ehrengardt, filled in interesting details related to Mutiny on the Bounty found in the French edition of Lt. Bligh’s narrative. A major theft valued at over $500,000 from the University of Warsaw Library revealed that large-scale library theft was not limited to America and Western Europe. The Rare Book Fair returned to Philadelphia, and the ABAA hosted an on-line holiday event.

Find all of our Rare Book Hub Monthly archives dating back to 2015 at https://www.rarebookhub.com/articles/archive

RBH Monthly welcomes your comments and contributions. Got a story suggestion or article you’d like to submit? Send your query to Mike Stillman - Editor at mstillman@rarebookhub.com

Here’s wishing you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year.