The Clavreuils describe it as "Premiere et rarissme edition latine do la letter de Christophe Colomb annoncant las decouverte de L'Amerique." Strictly speaking he didn't say that. L'Amerique was added about 20 years later. Colomb actually thought, or hoped, he was in the Indies because he told Isabella that's where he was going.
The price of this item, nicely bound as only the French can do, is P.O.R. Other items in the catalogue are priced and they run to EURO 500,000 so we know this one is higher. The appropriate way to learn about it is to visit Paris for an inspection and discussion.
Then there is a copy of Marco Polo printed in Venetia by Mathio Pagan in 1555. For support in purchasing this book collectors of the New World will find aid and support from none other than Joseph Sabin who includes Marco Polo in his Bibliotheca Americana and says:
"The travel of Marco Polo in the East claim a place in an American collection in consequence of the remarks of distinguished geographers that they were persuaded by Columbus, and that the revelations made by him of the wonders of Cathay and Zipanga stimulated the great navigator to accomplish through the sea, what the Venetian traveler had by land." It is priced at EURO 35,000.
For the same price there is a sumptuous copy of Joao de Barros' translation of Ulloa's first two decades of Travels and Conquests. Sabin mentions this book as well. This copy was printed in Venetia in 1562 and was bound for Giacomo Boncampagni, Duc de Sora. It is a sumptuous example.
For those whose thirst for things French was not quenched in high school and particularly for those enamored of Rabelais there is the opportunity to acquire "Les songes drolatiques de Pantagruel...", printed in Paris by Richard Breton in 1565. This is the original edition so students who latter suffered at the hands of Rabelais can trace their pain to this date. It is illustrated. The binding is exceptional as is the price EURO 135,000.
Then there is Argote de Molina's Libro la Monteria que mando..." printed in Seville in 1582. This is the first Spanish treatise on hunting and includes material on lion and tiger hunting in Mexico and ostrich hunting in Peru. EURO 50,000
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.
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>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.")
