The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair is Coming Soon
- by Bruce E. McKinney
Soon you can see yourself here!
Soon book and collectible paper dealers worldwide will be organizing their material and scheduling staff for the New York book fair at the Armory on Madison Avenue. In the world of collectible paper this is where power meets power. This is where the greatest dealers, the greatest collectors and curators from the greatest institutions meet. This year’s 4-day event opens on April 30 and ends on May 3rd.
This year, its 66th, 170 exhibitors are scheduled to participate. They will be a diverse group. One hundred and six dealers from the United States, 30+ from the United Kingdom, 17 from France, and 16 from the balance of the globe altogether comprise the greatest concentration of important dealers both this year and every year. The New York fair is the field’s flagship event.
The chemistry of the fair is complex. The booth rentals are always going up while the market is experiencing a slow shift from marque material to less expensive maps and ephemera that takes quite a lot of space and generally commands much lower prices. The folks who arrive by limos will certainly be very well serviced but the emerging next generation of collectors who start with inexpensive purchases, need to come home with some victories too. The ABAA tries very hard to cater to both audiences. They do provide a $10 student admission.
Nearby, over Saturday, the 2nd, the Manhattan Fine Press Book Fair functions as an unofficial extension of the ABAA fair. This fair focuses on “the book as art” and is always popular and attracts rafts of less expensive material.
Some New York dealers offer special exhibitions and open houses. There you can see a significant portion of their holdings. Both James Cummins Bookseller and Bauman Rare Books are open throughout the weekend.
If you have the time before the fair opens, The Other Islands Book Fair, on April 25-26 at the Pfizer Building in Brooklyn will offer the “indie” alternative encouraging zines, local publishers and experimental artists.
If you’re feeling revolutionary, Printed Matter (Chelsea/St. Marks), is planning an exhibition of protest photography called as Flashpoint! Running through May 3rd.
The Main Event: 66th ABAA NY International Antiquarian Book Fair
This is the "anchor" of the weekend, held in the historic and cavernous Park Avenue Armory.
Address: Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue (between 66th & 67th Streets), New York, NY 10065.
Days & Hours:
Thursday, April 30: 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. (Preview Night)
Friday, May 1: 12:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 2: 12:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 3: 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
The Primary Shadow Fair: Manhattan Rare Book & Fine Press Fair
Located literally across the street from the Armory, this is the most common "second stop" for collectors. It is a one-day-only event.
Address: Church of St. Vincent Ferrer, 869 Lexington Avenue (at 66th Street), New York, NY 10065.
Day & Hours:
Saturday, May 2: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
The Indie Satellite: Other Islands Book Fair
This event takes place the weekend prior to the main ABAA fair, making it a great "prelude" if your story covers the lead-up to the big show. It focuses on independent publishing and art books.
Address: Pfizer Building, 630 Flushing Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11206.
Sotheby’s, July 14: Henry De La Beche. "Awful Changes," 1830. $6,000 to $9,000.
Sotheby’s, July 15: [Apollo 11]. Flight Plan, Complete Original Printing Signed by Buzz Aldrin. $5,000 to $8,000.
Sotheby’s, July 15: Thomas Alva Edison. Documents Establishing and Ending the Edison Electric Railway Company. $20,000 to $30,000.
Sotheby’s, July 15: Richard P. Feynman. Feynman's Lectures on Gravitation 1-16, Including the Original Transcriptions of Lectures 12-16 by Morinigo and Wagner, With Richard Feynman's Manuscript Notations, 1971. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, July 15: [Apollo 9]. A Group of Manuals and Mission Documents used by Stuart Roosa as a member of the Astronaut Support Crew. $5,000 to $8,000.
Sotheby’s, July 15: [BYTE: The Small Systems Journal]. A collection of early foundational issues of Byte: The Small Systems Journal, with rare hardcover editions. $5,000 to $8,000.
Forum Auctions The 10th Anniversary Sale Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper July 16, 2026
Forum, July 16: Inundation papyrus. P.Michael 4, the ‘Inundation papyrus’, a geographical account of the Nile near Canopus, in Greek, remains of two columns from a manuscript scroll on papyrus, Egypt, second century CE. £12,000-18,000
Forum, July 16: Book of Hours, use of Sarum, manuscript on vellum, 6 full-page miniatures, with famous Middle English inscriptions, Southern Netherlands for the English market, [c.1430]. £30,000-50,000
Forum, July 16: Qu'ran, Arabic manuscript on burnished, stencilled, and gold-flecked paper, 447ff., Sultanate Gujarat, Ahmadabad, [after 1411 but no later than 1442]. £15,000-20,000
Forum Auctions The 10th Anniversary Sale Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper July 16, 2026
Forum, July 16: Turner (William). A New boke of the natures and properties of all wines that are commonly vsed here in England, rare first edition of the first English book on wine, By William Seres, 1568. £20,000-£30,000
Forum, July 16: Spenser (Edmund). The Faerie Queene. first edition, Printed [by John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, 1590. £30,000-40,000
Forum, July 16: Shakespeare (William). The Comedie of Errors, extracted from the first folio, Isaac Jaggard and Edward Blount, 1623. £15,000-20,000
Forum Auctions The 10th Anniversary Sale Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper July 16, 2026
Forum, July 16: Fleming (Ian). Casino Royale, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author, 1953. £40,000-60,000
Forum, July 16: d'Agoty (Jacques-Fabien Gautier). Anatomie de la Tête, first edition, Paris, chez le Sieur Gautier, 1748. £10,000-15,000
Forum, July 16: Martial Arts.- Lee (Bruce). 'Praying Mantis style' Kung Fu book, containing numerous annotations, diagrams and graphs in Bruce Lee's hand, c. 1960. £50,000-70,000
Forum Auctions The 10th Anniversary Sale Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper July 16, 2026
Forum, July 16: Warre (Capt. Henry James). Sketches in North America and the Oregon Territory, first edition, rare hand-coloured issue, 1848. £30,000-40,000
Forum, July 16: Norie (John William). The Marine Atlas, or Seaman's Complete Pilot for all the principal places in the known world..., 1826. £30,000-50,000
Forum, July 16: Mao Tse-tung.- Kim Il-sung.-[Note book for visitors from China to Korea], signed by Mao and Kim, [Beijing, 1954]. £10,000-15,000
