The AE Book Collector Survey Conducted at the Recent ABAA Show in San Francisco
- by Bruce E. McKinney
The 36th ABAA International Book Fair
Maps and travel and voyages tended to be answered together so there is some double counting. Books with images tended to be doubled up with maps as well. Many people didn’t know what Americana is. Because we stood by a sign that read “Americana Exchange” it seems likely that people with an interest in Americana probably stepped forward to be interviewed while people who knew this wasn’t their interest may have stepped back.
We also asked if the respondent had a fondest wish for the book business. Most didn’t. A few hoped that more catalogues would be issued. They enjoy them. Others hope there will be more shows. A few wished for more and better online book sites. Overall it seems to be a transitional period with no one trend or wish apparent.
The single most salient fact seems to be the lack of new people entering this interesting field. San Francisco is probably near the top in terms of exposure to the net so results at this fair may not be duplicated in other locations. Northern California is also suffering disproportionately from the national economic slowdown and may be more affected by it than other parts of the country.
This show was surprisingly local. While billed as a national, even international show, almost 90% of respondents were from California. We counted a few people from the State of Washington, a few from the Midwest but no collector from east of the Mississippi. Dealers of course came from all over the United States, Canada and Europe.
This survey seemed to find the traditional book world in a state of flux. A few dealers tried to stop us from conducting this survey, a sign that anxiety is not far from the normally placid surface of the rare book world. The world is changing and some book dealers seem to feel as if they are on the outside of the curve, certainly being asked/required/demanded to adjust to a pace of change they do not willingly accept. Few book dealers were thinking of Bob Dylan when they entered the field but he may have been thinking of them when he wrote, “If you’re not busy being born, you’re busy dying...”
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…
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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.
![<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.")
