<b>AE</b> Bibliographic Database Passes 1.5 Million Records
- by Michael Stillman
Item detail from one “Lewis and Clark” record.
The AE has been adding auction records from around the globe to the AED since 2002, but 2 1/2 years ago, we began covering virtually every notable book auction worldwide, over 100 auction houses in total. All of their book sales have been entered into the database, be they Americana or anything else. There is no picking and choosing of records to enter. Over 200,000 were entered from 2006 alone. And there is no waiting for year's end to see new prices. Most auction records are entered within days of the auction taking place. This is an always-current resource. What's more, these are not scanned, facsimile records, amenable only to keyword searches. Items such as author, title, description, and year of publication are parsed into separate fields, making it actually possible to find what you seek, rather than being presented with a needle that is still in its haystack.
Along with current auction results, more of which are added practically everyday, the AE contains records for many historical auctions. Among these are auctions of many important collections. These not only provide pricing, but some of the most thorough and quotable descriptions ever written. There is a wealth of bibliographic material within the auction records. Complete descriptions from the auctions are entered into the AED, not abridged descriptions designed to save space, but lacking the full detail.
Now you may find the pricing on older records somewhat "dated." Obviously a 1935 auction price is not indicative of current value, but we've come up with an answer. The AED includes a current price estimator, which converts those old prices into current dollars based on average book appreciation. It may not be as perfect as a recent auction price, not all books appreciating equally, but it does provide a good start, particularly when combined with prices over multiple years.
Along with the auction and bibliographic records you will also find hundreds of thousands of records from classic bookseller catalogues. You can see a momentarily complete (but constantly growing) list of what is in the AED here: click here to see.
So there it is -- a quick primer on the AED. Can the AED help you? Of course it can. Unlike some of our services, such as the search engine for new auction listings, this one does have a price. It isn't very much. Access costs $14.75 per month, or $141.60 for a year. You can give it a test run for a week for $7.95. Compare this to other sources for auction records or bibliographies and it is beyond a bargain; it's a steal. For another $100 per year, you can gain access to a suite of additional services, including the amazing MatchMaker book locator and the right to post books in the search engine friendly, commission-free Books For Sale. We need to charge a little as gathering and posting all of this data doesn't come free to us either, but we believe the AED is one of the greatest deals you will find in the book world. You can sign up here: Click here to sign up.. And thank you for listening!
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. 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.
![<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.")
![<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.")
