Early Tuesday morning we are off to the Old Editions Book Shop to see what a Buffalo rare book store has. It's early and also quiet. In this establishment you can buy both a cup of coffee and a book. On the second floor we meet Ted Manch who shows us Buffalo ephemera and explains that "better material is in other areas and accessible only under the supervision of the owner Ron Cossi" who isn't in. This, it turns out, is an open shop with only restricted access and we won't see the better material today. The place is nevertheless intriguing. Depending on who you speak to the inventory is 40,000 or 400,000 but there is no disagreement about what's online: 3,000 items or thereabouts. I speak with Ron by phone and learn he expects to have the full inventory on line in 5 years. Until then, if you want to see this material you have to come to Buffalo and have an appointment. The next time I'll make one. It's interesting.
Our afternoon appointment is with Tom Cullen, an ABAA specialist in manuscripts with a backdrop of very good books. He does business as the Rockland Bookman. Google Maps says it takes 59 minutes but we reach Orchard Park in 30. If the town name sounds familiar think NFL and the Buffalo Bills, Jack Kemp and Jim Kelly. Their stadium is nearby. We cruise N. Buffalo Ave and stop at Francie's Village Restaurant. No, they don't have Buffalo wings, the local delicacy, but they have great sandwiches, reasonable prices and come over to check that the food tastes good. For $10 here you get a generous lunch for two and a smile. On the way in we passed Custard Lite, a 50's rendition of the iconic ice cream shop and double back for a fix. Jenny wants a small cone and her wish is granted. I say I'll have a serious large and the teenage attendant responds with a full foot of ice cream. I graduated from Colgate in 1968 and experienced the ongoing question in class after class: Is God Dead? Today I see evidence of God and he issues ice cream cone challenges.
Tom is just around the corner. He's been selling books for much of his life although his bookselling was only ever a pinky among a fist of possibilities. He's a chemist by training and his family's business is banking so he's had choices. It's fair to say Tom is a dealer, not a collector as has been evidenced by his ability to acquire and sell inventory. His relationship to his material is mainly that he owned, not that he owns inventory. He has sold a great deal and today maintains a lean inventory- about 5,000 items with an emphasis on manuscripts where he years ago sought safety against the rising tide of internet book inventory. He brings a businessman's perspective to his book business, looking for unique and unusual material that he prices to sell. He issues 2 to 3 well written catalogues a year and sells about half his material quickly to an active mailing list of almost 600. He also does shows. Of all the people we visit this week he has the leanest inventory although the material is strong.
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.")
