The opportunities to find interesting material for the book collector have never been greater. Neither have the
options for bidding and buying been better. How you approach the holidays though depends on perspective. A
collector will consider all the options but when you buy for a collector it's more complicated. Here goes an
effort to simplify it.
If you are buying for a collector it is always a good idea to talk to them about it. "I'd like to buy you
something for the collection" expresses both interest and support and often they can point you in the right
direction. Collecting is after all an uncertain process even to the collector and support for the endeavor often
more important than any specific object. A collector's dealers will often have ideas, will appreciate your
interest and try to provide something appropriate. If you can contact them they will be helpful.
Relatively inexpensive gifts that are much appreciated are dealer, collector and auction house histories and
biographies. Reading about the chase is often as interesting as engaging in it and always less expensive.
The best biography of a book dealer ever written is Rosenbach, a Biography by Edwin Wolf 2nd with John F. Fleming.
Dr. A. S. W. Rosenbach [1876 - 1952] was an exceptional dealer in the exceptional era of book collecting in
America. Wolf and Fleming recreate his life and remember his significance. It is in itself, in the first
edition, a collectible book and an exceptional read. There is no better book to give. There are nine copies of
various editions available in the Books for Sale database right here on AE. See Books For Sale.
If you are looking for coffee table books think about Adventures in Americana 1492-1897. This is a selection of
books from the library of Hershel V. Jones. Two volumes describing 300 items, each illustrated, was issued in
1928. A checklist was offered as a third volume in 1938. At many levels this is an important set for collectors.
The material is both interesting and well illustrated and there are just enough errors to make the set an
intellectual challenge. The material, while American, is eclectic so there is a chance several items the collector
owns will be mentioned, at least in the third volume. This set is available as a reprint but I prefer the
original. The two volumes printed in 1928 are understood to be part of a limited run of 200. See Books For Sale.
One of the most useful resources extant is "A History of American Magazines" by Frank Luther Mott. Everyone who
collects encounters ephemera. When it's early magazines you find they can be difficult to understand and value. I
prefer the five volume version and am wearing out my set which was printed in 1957. Volume I covering magazines
printed in continental America between 1741 and 1850 is most useful but I also use volumes II and III. The later
volumes cover more recent material. In Books for Sale there is one very good set with dust jackets. See Books For Sale.
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.")
