Analysis: Is the Internet Making the Book Fair Obsolete?
New York Book Fair
The AE/NYABF Survey:
Here is a simple spreadsheet which conveys the results of our survey. (Where there are blank lines in the rating scale table, these indicate that the dealer declined to assign a specific number to a factor.) Generally dealers spoke openly after requesting partial or complete anonymity. When appropriate we asked for a simple one-line comment about specific issues they felt important.
1
2
3
4
Impact of
Impact of
Impact of
Impact of
Weather
War
Economy
Transition to the Internet
1
Large Dealer
A
3
2
4
2
B
3
3
7
0
C
9
7
4
2
D
7
5
8
3
E
7
2
7
2
F
5
5
6
7
G
Declined to Rate
Declined to Rate
Declined to Rate
Declined to Rate
Total Average
5.6
4
6
2.6
2
Small-medium Dealer
a
Declined to Rate
3
8
5
b
1
6
8
10
c
3
7
5
Declined to Rate
d
5
8
8
7
e
3
7
7
3
Total Average
3
6.2
7.2
6.2
Ten large dealers participated. Another refused to participate in the survey altogether. Some refused to make comments but did rate factors and many declined to be identified. Of these 10 large book dealers 7 exhibited at the fair and 3 didn’t attend at all. Those who didn’t attend are not included in the show survey, but their perspectives are reflected in our quoted comments and conclusions.
Eight medium to small book dealers participated. One bookseller declined to rate the factors but did give a quote. Of these 8 dealers, 4 exhibited at the show, 1 attended but did not exhibit, and 3 did not attend. Many cited the cost of attendance and travel as a reason for not participating. Again, those who didn’t attend are not reflected in this spreadsheet, but their perspectives are reflected in our quoted comments and conclusions.
Here are rough averages of the factors they rated, broken down into dealer category and by factor:
For Large Bookdealers, the average # for the Weather was 5.6; for the War, 4; for the Economy, 6; and for the Transition of Bookbuying and Selling to the Internet, 2.6. (Interestingly, many Large Bookdealers were willing to discuss the impact of the internet in off-the-record comments and/or in their on-the-record quotes but refused to rate it on the scale with a higher number.)
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…
Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!
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.")
