<i>In The News:</i> Declining Newspapers, Digitizing Books, Abe's Top 10
- by Michael Stillman
AbeBooks generated their latest top 10 highest prices for the month, this time September. The prices are a bit lower than we usually see, which may, or may not, reflect tightening economic conditions.
10. Bible Verse with illustrations by Mark Chagall, Vol. 8 No. 33-34. Chagall's Bible illustrations with 16 color lithographs. $3,916.
9. Songs of Central Australia, an interesting title since not many people live in the Outback. One of 1,000 copies by T.G.H. Strehlow, published in 1971. $4,000.
8. Voyage d'Italie, de Dalmatie, de Grèce, et du Levant, fait en 1675 & 1676,
by Jacob Spon and George Wheler. Three volumes published in 1678, of this journey to Greece and Asia Minor. $4,206.
7. Handbook of Theoretical and Computational Nanotechnology, a large set (10 volumes) about things very small. By Rieth Michael, published in 2006. $4,780.
5 (tie). Keraban-le-Tetu, an 1883 first illustrated edition inscribed by author Jules Verne in 1887. $5,000.
5 (tie). Lo Purgatorio di Dante Alighieri Fiorentino by Dante, one of 150 fine press copies of this 1904 edition by Nella Stamperia di Ashendene. $5,000.
4. Tibullus cum commentariis Cyllænii Veronensis by Tibullus, Catullus and
Propertius. This is a 1500 collection of the works of these poets, obviously in Latin. $6,527.
3. The Catalogue of the George Eumorfopoulos Collection by R.L. Hobson,
Laurence Binyon and W. Perceval Yettes. This is an 11-volume set pertaining to Asian pottery, porcelain, paintings, etc. $6,555.
2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, a book 504 years newer than the Latin collection, but higher priced anyway as it is a first deluxe edition signed by J.K. Rowling at the Edinburgh Book Festival. $6,958.
1. Administration des Haras. Atlas statistique de la production des chevaux
en France... a beautiful, illustrated 1850 work by Eugene Gayot concerning various breeds of horses in France. $7,000.
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.")
