Rare Book Monthly

Articles - June - 2003 Issue

Looking at Auctions with the MatchMaker Software

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If you wish to change your keywords at anytime you can click on "View, Edit, Delete Keyword(s)" on the Control Panel. This allows you to make adjustments to the Auction Keyword Search whenever you wish.

For example, recently I had wanted to find auction lot records that contained books written by Mark Twain. For my first search I simply entered “Mark” in line one and “Twain” in line two. For my second keyword search I entered “Samuel” in line one and “Clemens” in line two. Several hours later, I received matches in the Auction Keyword Matches page. Of course using two versions of one person’s name is going to find duplicate matches. But it insures that I see every related item and I didn’t have to read each auction catalogues from cover to cover to find them. Presto. I found them all.

In total, I found 199 lots that were matches from 12 different auctions. As I sifted through the results of the Auction Keyword Matches, I found more than just titles by Samuel Clemens. The results also included letters written by Clemens to his family, books with references to Mark Twain’s writings, and biographies of Samuel Clemens. Although I initially began my search just to find titles by Samuel Clemens, I was impressed by the amount of material that was returned from the search. And, without having to make a super-human effort, I could see the entire Samuel Clemens – Mark Twain world quickly. This is simply a much better way to follow the flow of auction material.

The MatchMaker Software’s Auction Matches and Auction Keyword Matches can greatly enhance your quest for books and ephemera that are available in current auctions across the world. With the Auction Matches Module, you can find titles, authors and subjects to match your own custom determined preferences. With the Auction Keyword Matches, you can create your very own keyword query to search for these materials of interest. With the information gathered from these two MatchMaker modules, you can also compare lots, estimated and actual prices in order to make the most informed decision as a buyer.

In summary, MatchMaker’s Auction Matches and Auction Keyword Matches are tools to view and navigate a larger world of books and ephemera on any topic of interest. Because these modules search the whole text of auction listings, you will find materials related to author, title and subject. This in turn will bring you a broader range of sources from which to choose. It’s a new idea and it works and it makes following the world of book auctions easy, exciting and effective.

Rare Book Monthly

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    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 156: Cornelis de Jode, Americae pars Borealis, double-page engraved map of North America, Antwerp, 1593.
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 206: John and Alexander Walker, Map of the United States, London and Liverpool, 1827.
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 223: Abraham Ortelius, Typus Orbis Terrarum, hand-colored double-page engraved world map, Antwerp, 1575.
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    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 9, 2025
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 233: Aaron Arrowsmith, Chart of the World, oversize engraved map on 8 sheets, London, 1790 (circa 1800).
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 239: Fielding Lucas, A General Atlas, 81 engraved maps and diagrams, Baltimore, 1823.
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 240: Anthony Finley, A New American Atlas, 15 maps engraved by james hamilton young on 14 double-page sheets, Philadelphia, 1826.
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    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 9, 2025
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 263: John Bachmann, Panorama of the Seat of War, portfolio of 4 double-page chromolithographed panoramic maps, New York, 1861.
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 265: Sebastian Münster, Cosmographei, Basel: Sebastian Henricpetri, 1558.
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 271: Abraham Ortelius, Epitome Theatri Orteliani, Antwerp: Johann Baptist Vrients, 1601.
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    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 9, 2025
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 283: Joris van Spilbergen, Speculum Orientalis Occidentalisque Indiae, Leiden: Nicolaus van Geelkercken for Jodocus Hondius, 1619.
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 285: Levinus Hulsius, Achtzehender Theil der Newen Welt, 14 engraved folding maps, Frankfurt: Johann Frederick Weiss, 1623.
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 341: John James Audubon, Carolina Parrot, Plate 26, London, 1827.
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    Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue, inscribed by the author pre-publication. £100,000 to £150,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Autograph sketchleaf including a probable draft for the E flat Piano Quartet, K.493, 1786. £150,000 to £200,000.
    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.
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    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: Bram Stoker. Dracula. Westminster: Archibald Constable & Co., 1897.
    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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