In Southern California, over the weekend of September 9th and 10th, The Santa Monica Book, Print,
Photo & Paper Fair sought to welcome, under a single banner, collectors of various persuasions.
Books of all types, ephemera, images and manuscripts were on display. The following weekend, the
Thirteenth Annual Antiquarian Book Fair was staged in Sacramento. This month the 2006 Seattle
Antiquarian Book Fair & Book Arts Show will be held on the 1962 Seattle World's Fair grounds on the
14th and 15th. The fall west coast show season is underway. Shows are an integral and important
aspect of the book business and their performance mirrors the changes and upheaval in the world of
collectibles.
In Santa Monica the show, with 82 participants, was promoted by Bustamante Enterprises who have
successfully staged collector events for years and as recently as June staged a successful Antiques
fair at Pasadena. This effort however fell short of many participating dealers' expectations for
sales and traffic. Reasons are difficult to gauge. The venue was good and the parking plentiful.
Even to out-of-towners the site was easy to find.
Many dealers, even if disappointed, have a sanguine view as shows are hardly the only sales channel
that has been increasingly difficult in recent years. Every aspect of the business, from finding
attractive material to connecting with motivated buyers, has become more challenging. Ken
Karmiole, an experienced generalist who exhibited successfully, explained it this way. "At shows I
hope to meet new customers but I expect to make most of my sales to other dealers whose clients
will want my material." John Howell, a new comer, had a tougher time and explained it this way.
"I've worked for other dealers and worked their booths in past years. This year I'm on my own.
Saturday was quiet so on Sunday I adjusted my prices and closed enough deals with dealers to pay
the tuition on my ongoing dealer education."
In Sacramento the following Saturday Bill Ewald staged The Thirteenth Annual Sacramento Antiquarian
Book Fair as a one day event September 16th. This show had a much more upbeat feel. Fifty
dealers, selling material of every description, found happiness while making show visitors
genuinely pleased. The show had a more blue collar feel than Santa Monica but the material and
prices offered was a good fit with the receptive audience. Four hundred and ninety-four admissions
were recorded.
At this fair AE conducted an exit survey of 30 random buyers who agreed to spend a few minutes
talking about this show, their motivation for attending, and their approach to collecting. What we
learned is worth discussing.
If dealers are frustrated in their efforts to find buyers they are not alone. Collectors feel
exactly the same way. More than half those surveyed said they attended prior incarnations of this
fair and indicated they were prompted about this year's fair by the promoter's postcard mailing.
About 25% said they learned of the fair in the Sacramento Bee, the local daily newspaper. A few
said they saw an advertisement that day and came over for a look.
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.")
