Getting a personalized Top 500 off the ground is easy — dialing it in takes more experimentation
For many years we have prepared annual reports for the top 500 auction lots that have included books, manuscripts, maps and ephemera for the past year. And it’s always among the most widely read articles - leading us to wonder what the readership would be if we could provide the tool[s] to create your personal annual top 500.
Certainly the 500 most expensive lots for the entire collectible paper field is interesting, but collectors and collecting institutions think about their subjects in very different ways. For them the number and value of lots within their scope is close to essential reading and it turns out we have some tools to create such lists.
Here is how you do it.
Be logged in as a paid services member [anything from a 10 day Visitor to Folio]
Click on Advanced Search [to the right of the Keyword Search]
Type our search term, ephemera, in the Keyword field.
Type in 2023 in the Source Year field
Click Search and you find there were 4,056 lots that contained that term in 2023.
To sequence the results by price click Three times on PRICE on the results header.
Now you have a list in price order of the 4,056 lots.
We suggest you then select the page size that suits your purpose. The default size is 25 lots, but you can adjust to 50, 100 and 500 per screen
Here are some examples based on top 50 lots, while it is equally easy to create top 25s and 100s.
We have the data but initially these early versions will need to be straightforward. Here are some examples.
Search
Number of Records
Price Range
Poughkeepsie
68
$89 - $25,400
Poetry
3,047
$15,120 - 355,600
Judaica
656
$2,500 - $38,126,000
Chicago Fire
102
$360 - $100,000
Music
5,949
$64,346 - $38,126,000
Australia
3,646
$11,400 - 254,500
Maps
15,867
$40,320 - $1,744,000
This initial process is imperfect. We have to clean up the currencies. COP 960,000 converts into $243.51.
As well, if/when we add the Boolean search you will be able to include/exclude terms to narrow searches. The outcomes will really reflect your personal 25, 50, 100 or 500.
To try it, we’re providing some snapshots to help you get the hang of it.
Sotheby’s Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana 27 January 2026
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: An extraordinary pair of books from George Washington’s field library, marking the conjunction of Robert Rogers, George Washington, and Henry Knox. $1,200,000 to $1,800,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: An extraordinary letter marking the conjunction of George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Benjamin Franklin. $1,000,000 to $1,500,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: Virginia House of Delegates. The genesis of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. $350,000 to $500,000.
Sotheby’s Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana 27 January 2026
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: (Gettysburg). “Genl. Doubleday has taken charge of the battle”: Autograph witness to the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, illustrated by fourteen maps and plans. $200,000 to $300,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: President Lincoln thanks a schoolboy on behalf of "all the children of the nation for his efforts to ensure "that this war shall be successful, and the Union be maintained and perpetuated." $200,000 to $300,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.
![<b>Sotheby’s, Jan. 27:</b> [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9d2762bc-9f26-47ef-96de-1c28070e19f6.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Jan. 27:</b> [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.")