The Æ is an intensely interesting project. It is also one that makes substantial demands. There are deadlines for the Æ Monthlyand there constant requirements for new material for the Æ Database. Nevertheless, with some planning it was possible to take ten days for my son Tom and me to travel to the East Coast. My goal was to visit book dealers, purchase potential material for the Æ Database, visit libraries and meet librarians. Tom’s goal was to visit a variety of colleges (he’ll be a senior at the Urban High School in San Francisco this fall) to get a feel for the advantages and disadvantages of small and large schools in rural, suburban and urban settings. Given the breathtaking cost of college educations these days it is very important to make an informed decision.
On June 15th we flew to Cleveland, Ohio. We hadn’t been on a flight since 9/11 and were expecting the airport experience to be arduous. It wasn’t. At the Oakland, California Airport there were more checks and procedures than in the past but it was smooth and professional. Air travel is never going to be perfect but everyone we encountered was courteous. Courtesy, often the first star to disappear in the night sky, shown brightly at every stage and step of the trip and that says something very good about America.
We flew first to Cleveland to see John Zubal of Zubal Books (www.zubal.com ) John is an original. He runs a substantial book business out of two department store sized buildings on Cleveland’s south side. I know and like the smell of old books but I never knew the scent could be so pleasantly deep. If you have ever opened a box of old books and felt you were breathing the air of 200 years ago (and liked it) you will understand what I mean. The Americana Exchange covers a relatively small portion of the broad sweep of printed material. John’s inventory covers virtually its entire range. A tour of the warehouses suggests that John is the legitimate heir to the great book collectors of the 19th century, though the material simply passes through his hands on its way to libraries, collectors and dealers around the world. Zubal Books is a Harvard Business School study in the making, itself a piece of future ephemera that no doubt will pass through Zubal Books many times at reasonable if rising prices.
This is a family business and his wife, Marilyn, daughter Jean Marie and sons Michael and Thomas are all actively involved. The business is electronic and the marketplace is the internet. Orders arrive online and are sent first to the picking and then shipping departments. They employ a numbering system to identify items in inventory that allows item number 46789 and 234564 to be equally easily located. Scale demands efficiency and they have figured out how to do it.
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.")
