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Articles - December - 2025 Issue

News & Features

- by Susan Halas

News you may have missed from the world of books.

News you may have missed from the world of books.

One Bookstore, 3 Sisters and 100 Years

A Midtown Manhattan anomaly, the Argosy Book Store continues to thrive thanks to the dedication of the three women who have presided over it for decades. A profile of one of the book trade’s best known shops from the New York Times 11/1/25

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/01/nyregion/three-sisters-argosy-books.html?unlocked_article_code=1.x08.nRPb.0I9-DDE2bu1m&smid=url-share

 

Struggle over presidential authority between LOC’s Copyright Office and Trump Administration Continues ABC News,10/27/25

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to uphold the president's removal of the Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter from her influential post earlier this year inside the Library of Congress that oversees and enforces the United States' copyright system.

The request is the latest appeal to the justices over President Donald Trump's expansive view of presidential control over the federal government. Next month, the Supreme Court will consider the president's ability to fire members of independent federal agencies without cause; early next year, it will also examine the president's control over members of the Federal Reserve. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-asks-scotus-intervene-library-congress-copyright-office/story?id=126910844


President fires all six members of Arts Board responsible for reviewing his controversial White House Ballroom Guardian, 10/29/25

Donald Trump has fired all six members of an independent federal agency responsible for reviewing his controversial White House ballroom and planned “Arc de Trump” in Washington DC. A White House official told the Guardian: “We are preparing to appoint a new slate of members to the commission that are more aligned with President Trump’s America First Policies.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/29/trump-fires-arts-board-arc-ballroom

Baltimore County reinstates 14 part-time librarians after abrupt mass firings

CBS News, 11/15/25

https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/part-time-librarians-fired-baltimore-county-public-library/ 

 

PERSONNEL:

Alasdair North named new CEO for for viaLibri, Book Search Engine

Via press release, 10/26/25

Alasdair North, has been named CEO of viaLibri Ltd., the world’s largest search engine for rare, antiquarian and out-of-print books based in Cambridge, UK. North, formerly the company’s Chief Technology Officer, will replace Jim Hinck.

Hinck will remain involved in the company as retired Founder and Chairman of the Board.

According to the announcement the site will “continue investing in the tools that help dealers run successful businesses, make it easier for collectors to find those elusive titles, and ensure that researchers can access the information they need.”

https://blog.vialibri.net/vialibri-limited-announces-the-appointment-of-alasdair-north-as-ceo/

 

Christine Robinson Named Curator of Photography at University of Texas Ransom Center Via announcement Ransom Center Nov. 2025

https://harry-ransom-center.shorthandstories.com/welcoming-christine-robinson-the-ransom-centers-nancy-inman-and-marlene-nathan-meyerson-curator-of-photography/?mc_cid=daada216b4&mc_eid=54d4fb2905

Special Collections Librarian Gayle Cooper Celebrates 55 on the Job at the University of Virginia. UVA press office 10/28/25

https://news.virginia.edu/content/farm-typing-pool-uva-librarian-celebrates-55-years-job

 

FELLOWSHIPS, GRANTS, AWARDS

Jan. 16, 2026 Deadline for Bibliographical Society Major Grants

Every year, the Society awards a number of major grants to those engaged in bibliographical research with primary focus on the physical object as historical evidence. This might include book history, textual transmission, the making and use of manuscripts, publishing, printing, bookbinding, book-ownership and book-collecting. These awards are intended to support research that advances the understanding of book cultures from all parts of the World.

Complete applications and two letters of reference must be received by the Fellowships & Bursaries Committee Secretary ([email protected]) no later than 16 January 2026 at 11:59 pm (GMT). Incomplete applications or those missing any required references will be disqualified and not reviewed by the panel. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that both their referees submit references directly via email before the deadline. We expect to notify applicants of the results in late March. More information can be found on the Society's website: https://bibsoc.org.uk/fellowships/application-procedure/

 

2026 Grolier Club Library Helfand Fellowship Offered

 Each year, the Grolier Club Library offers a fellowship in the art and history of the book, named in honor of late Grolier Club benefactor and former president William H. Helfand (1926-2018). Awards of up to $3,000 are again available for research in the Library's areas of strength, with emphasis on the private collecting of books and prints, antiquarian bookselling, and the book and graphic arts. Fellowship awards may be used to pay for travel, housing, and other expenses. A research stay of two weeks is desired, and Helfand Fellows are expected to present the results of their research in a public lecture at the Grolier Club, or in an article submitted to the Club's journal, The Gazette of the Grolier Club.

Members of the Grolier Club are not eligible, nor are students enrolled in undergraduate degree programs, but all other interested persons are encouraged to apply.

There is no application form. Applicants should submit a curriculum vitae and a proposal, not to exceed 750 words, stating necessary length of residence, historical materials to be used, relevance of the Grolier Club Library collections to the project, a proposed budget, and two letters of recommendation. More information on the Library and its holdings can be found at www.grolierclub.org, under “Library” in the navigation menu.

The deadline for applications and letters of support is January 31st, 2026, and announcement of awards will be made by mid-March, 2026. Research terms can take place any time in the calendar year of 2026, but please note that the Club is closed, and library access is not offered, during the month of August.

Applications and questions about Grolier Club library collections should be emailed to Grolier Club Librarian, Jamie Cumby, [email protected].  

 

Awards and Grants in History of Medicine at Osler Library, McGill University  

Each year the Osler Library offers a number of awards and travel grants to local and international historians, physicians, graduate and post-doctoral students, and others whose research touches upon the history of medicine.

From now through 15 January 2026, we are accepting applications for the following awards/grants. Please note that for research travel awards, the award will typically be made as a reimbursement for travel and travel-related expenses.

  • Dr Edward H. Bensley Osler Library Research Travel Grant – Awarded to those whose project requires travel to Montreal to consult material in the Osler Library, such as rare books, archives, and artifacts. Each year up to $5,000 (CDN) in awards will be made available to one or more individuals who require a minimum of 2 weeks to carry out their research. https://www.mcgill.ca/libraries/locations/osler/awards/grant

  • Mary Louise Nickerson Travel Grant – This award is open to scholars who need to travel to Montreal to carry out research using Osler Library collections (e.g., rare books, archives, and artifacts). Awards totalling approximately $13,000 (CDN) are typically divided among a small number of scholars, whose individual awards depend upon need and duration of visit. https://www.mcgill.ca/libraries/locations/osler/awards/nickerson

  • Dr Dimitrije Pivnicki Award in Neuro and Psychiatric History – Awarded to one or more students and/or scholars wishing to carry out research utilizing the rich archival and monographic holdings at McGill University, such as the Osler Library (including the Penfield Archive), the Montreal Neurological Institute, and the McGill University Archives. Awards totalling approximately $13,000 (CDN) are usually divided among a small number of scholars, whose individual awards depend upon need and duration of visit.

 Please note that all research in this grant cycle must be completed during the next fiscal year, 1 May 2026 – 30 April 2027. We welcome all further inquiries at [email protected].https://www.mcgill.ca/libraries/locations/osler/awards/pivnicki

Rare Book Monthly

  • Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Galileo Galilei. Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo tolemaico, e copernicano. Firenze, 1632
    Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Saverio Manetti. Storia naturale degli uccelli. Firenze, 1771-76
    Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Fortunato Depero. Depero futurista. Rovereto, 1927
    Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Nicolas Visscher. Atlas minor sive totius orbis terrarum contracta delineat ex conatibus. Amsterdam, circa 1649-95
    Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Andreas Vesalius. Anatomia. Addita nunc. Antiquorum Anatome. Venezia, 1604
    Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Tristan Tzara and Salvador Dalì. Grains et Issues. Parigi, 1935
  • Bonhams, June 14-23: Franklin D. Roosevelt Presentation Gold Pocket Watch. Estimate: $20,000 - 30,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Presentation Copy of the First Issue of the Lincoln Douglas Debates Signed by Abraham Lincoln in Pencil to a Sangamon County Illinois Republican. Estimate: $150,000 - 250,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: A Senate Resolution Signed in the Tense Days After the Union's Humiliating Defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run. Estimate: $80,000 - $120,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Seven Passages to a Flight, an Artists Book with a Story Quilt by Faith Ringgold, the Publisher's Own Copy. Estimate: $80,000 - 120,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: A New Charter for Virginia, A Response to the First Armed Rebellion in the American Colonies. Estimate: $15,000 - 25,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Earliest obtainable printing of the Bill of Rights. Estimate: $8,000 - 12,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Edward Curtis Orotone. Estimate: $7,000 - 9,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Owned by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: A Butter or Dessert Plate from FDR's State Dinner Service. Estimate: $3,000 - 5,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: An Early Large-Format Plan of the City of Washington. Estimate: $1,500 - 2,500
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Containing the First Map to Name the Hudson River. Estimate: $20,000 - 30,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: America's First Major Novelist, a Complete Chapter in Autograph Manuscript by James Fenimore Cooper. Estimate: $15,000 - 20,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: The Only Full-Length Book by Jefferson, with the Justly Famous Map. Estimate: $12,000 - 18,000
  • June 25, 2026
    Doyle, June 25: Houdini's biography, boldly signed. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Doyle, June 25: A volume from Abraham Lincoln's library, signed just before heading to Washington for his inauguration. $20,000 to $30,000.
    Doyle, June 25: A very early Confederate recruiting manual belonging to the chief commissary in Lee's Army. $600 to $800.
    Doyle, June 25: Rare hand-colored lithographs of the life of Napoleon. $20,000 to $30,000.
    Doyle, June 25: The "Holster Atlas" of the American Revolution. $5,000 to $8,000.
    Doyle, June 25: Jewish ceremonies in fine hand-colored engravings. $7,000 to $10,000.
    Doyle, June 25: A very rare work on Turkish military costume. $1,000 to $1,500.
    June 25, 2026
    Doyle, June 25: The most important illustrated work on the Mexican-American War. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Doyle, June 25: The finest illustrated book on Afghanistan. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Doyle, June 25: Henry Justice Ford St. George rescues the Princess from the horrible Dragon. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Doyle, June 25: A rare work of Prussian Army uniforms under Frederick William II, with exquisite hand-colored engravings. $800 to $1,200.
    Doyle, June 25: Lenny Bruce typed letter signed to a Village bohemian during his obscenity trials, with a manuscript note and drawing. $300 to $500.
    Doyle, June 25: Schiff's scarce Shanghai Sketchbook. $300 to $500.
    Doyle, June 25: The first accurate published representation of the American flag. $2,000 to $4,000.
  • Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 123. Celebrate 250 Years of Independence with Original Stars and Stripes (1790) Est. $1,400 - $1,700
    Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 20. Keulen's Spectacular Chart of the World Featuring California as an Island (1728) Est. $12,000 - $15,000
    Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 42. Schedel's Ancient World Map with Fantastic Humanoid Creatures (1493) Est. $14,000 - $17,000
    Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 591. Matching Set of 3 Stunning Globe Gores of Eastern Asia from Coronelli's 3.5 Foot Globe (1688) Est. $5,500 - $7,000
    Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 9. Speed's Popular World Map with Allegorical Representations of the Elements (1651) Est. $14,000 - $17,000
    Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 168. First Separate Map of Kansas & Nebraska Territories (1854) Est. $5,500 - $7,000
    Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 43. Only Macrobius Map with Britain Attached to Europe (1515) Est. $800 - $950
    Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 250. Rare Map of Boston and One of the Earliest Maps of the Revolutionary War (1775) Est. $2,000 - $2,300
    Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 79. Schenk's Uncommon Map Featuring Two Figurative Title Cartouches (1696) Est. $1,200 - $1,500
    Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 681. Hand-Colored Image of the Annunciation to the Shepherds (1502) Est. $800 - $950
  • Sotheby's Book Week
    2 June - 9 July
    Sotheby’s, June 25: Smith, Adam. The Wealth of Nations, on its 250th anniversary. $180,000 to $250,000.
    Sotheby’s, June 17: Fontana, Lucio. Concetto Spaziale. 1967. Leporello en papier doré. Bel exemplaire signé. €4,000 to $€,000.
    Sotheby’s, June 25: Fitzgerald, F. Scott. "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past”. $150,000 to $200,000.
    Sotheby’s, June 25: Washington, George (as First President). Washington decries “an ostentatious imitation, or mimickry of Royalty” in his Presidency. $250,000 to $500,000.
    Sotheby’s, June 17: Lope de Vega. Rare manuscrit autographe signé de la préface dédicatoire de "El Cardenal de Belen" (le cardinal de Bethléem), pièce composée en 1610. €40,000 to €60,000.

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