Paying Tribute to an Honorable Legacy: A Visit to the Firm of H.P. Kraus, Inc.
Courtesy of H. P. Kraus
Another nice purchase that we made was that we bought the remaining Horblit collection, which consisted of books on the history of science and navigation. There were about 800 books in all and they yielded a good cross section of scientific manuscripts and printed books.
Frankly, the best place for interested parties to check out the high spots of our stock is on the internet, on the sites we mentioned earlier in this conversation.
AT: [Looking at watch.] Well, I can see it’s getting late and you two have given me a generous and ample amount of your time. Is there anything you’d like to say about H.P. Kraus, Inc. or about the book business to our readers that hasn’t already been said?
JL: Just that it’s a very traditional business. The ways in which it changes are only in terms of the kinds of materials that we deal with. As certain fields become unavailable, we move on to other, newer fields.
The manner in which our business is carried on is as it was in the Renaissance. The internet is just a means of communication between people. But the way our essential business is carried out is just the same as it was before the internet, only now we have this new tool for communication at our disposal as well. The way the business functions is the same as it always was.
THE TOUR:
At this point Mrs. Folter excuses herself as she, naturally, has work to attend to. Mr. Lipton offers to give me a tour of the premises and I jump at the chance – I have been eagerly eyeing their shelves ever since I arrived some two hours ago. We start with the ground floor – the floor we’re on – where I learn some surprising pieces of information. These include the facts that the conversation we’ve just completed has taken place in what was Mr. Kraus’s private office, and the astounding fact that the shelves – which are literally stuffed to the brim with vellum and calf and morocco bindings – contain books arranged in size order: to find a particular title or author or subject one must rely on the staff’s memory and their crack computer cross-referencing system. Then I learn a third and to me, most shocking, detail: all of H.P. Kraus, Inc.’s stock is contained on the ground floor of this five story building. (This stock is supplemented by what’s kept in their interior metal vault, which we’ll get back to later, and by what’s kept off premises in a safe deposit box or boxes somewhere.)
The implications of this are stupendous. Although there must be literally thousands of books and manuscripts in stock on the ground floor, this means that the majority of the other floors contain reference materials, I surmise. It turns out that my guess is correct. When we get to the second floor (we take the in-house elevator) I am toured through one
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.")
