Birthday wishes are in order as the old Texas dame the Texas State Historical Society celebrates its 110th birthday on
March 2nd and stages its Gala and Texana Sale in Austin on March 4th at the Convention Center. This year's gala honors
Bill Hobby for public service, Horton Foote for a career of artistic achievement, Roger Clemens for his achievements on and
off the mound; Clayton Williams for business and First Lady Laura Bush for her achievements on behalf of education. The
Gala is the culmination of the TSHA's annual 3-day meeting.
The auction, which benefits the Society, includes "works of art, books, manuscripts, maps, furniture, dinners & excursions,
and specialty items." This year's auction includes online bidding that has been arranged through the generous support of
Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas. The sale is online at
http://americana.heritagegalleries.com/common/auction/catalog.php?SaleNo=644. Whether you are attending or not
you can directly participate by registering and making bids online at any time up until the live auction begins. A hit
movie, twenty-one years ago, seems to sum up precisely the sale of old material in a thoroughly modern way: Back to the
Future. The sale includes 183 lots. A grace period of six months to pay is also being offered. The link to the auction
details also includes information about signing up to bid online. It will also be possible to bid by phone so long as
arrangements have been made in advance. The highest online bid on each item will be entered as the starting bid in the
live auction.
Among the lots are items with no reserves right on up to one reserved at $250,000. For that sum you are bidding not for a
piece of history but rather for a place in it. Read on --
Lot 1002. The Texas State Historical Association has been given the opportunity to auction the right of a donor to select
a State approved institution to exhibit for five years the Republic of Texas Legation to Washington, D. C. Papers from the
period 1836 -- 1839, after which the collection will be deposited in the permanent care of the Texas State Library and
Archives Commission. The donor will receive all appropriate recognition for his or her role in securing this Texas treasure
for the benefit of the people of Texas.
There are also included, sprinkled among the lots, an interesting selection of broadsides and ephemera that are modestly
reserved, and in some cases, unreserved. Such material is attractive, displays well and is one of the nicest ways to
experience the collecting of history. Among the ephemera are letters, paper money, printed documents, an engraved Texas
bond, photographs and tintypes, warrants and certificates. There are also maps, paintings, toys, and of course, because no
Texas sale would be complete without them: saddles and spurs.
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. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
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>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.")
