Review of Reviews: Articles on Collecting Stock Certificates, Las Vegas Booksellers, from AbeBooks
- by Michael Stillman
Bauman Rare Books and Amber Unicorn Books in Las Vegas.
Meanwhile, down the road, Amber Unicorn Books is located in a far less ostentatious location - a strip mall. Myrna and Lou Donato specialize in cookbooks. They have 18,000-20,000 of them. However, they also stock science fiction, fantasy, and other genres. Their store is frequented by many local collectors, yet it still manages to draw in plenty of tourists and convention attendees despite not being located on the strip. While business is down a little with the economy, they do not feel it is anything to worry about, nor are they concerned that the internet will destroy their business.
For those with a canine collection, Abe also has an interview with a specialist in dog books. Click here. Another article discusses the "Biggles" books, novels of the fictional wartime fighter pilot James Bigglesworth, created by Captain W.E. Johns. Click here.
AbeBooks issued its Top 10 list of most expensive books sold in February. Here they are:
10. The Colonization Scheme Considered, in its Rejection by the Colored People, by Samuel E. Cornish & Theodore S. Wright. These African-American clergymen in 1840 rejected a plan to colonize Africa with American blacks. $3,500.
9. Le Maitre-d'Hotel Francais, Traité des Menus a servir a Paris, a St-Pétersbourg, a Londres et a Vienne, by Marie Antonin Carême. The author cooked meals for King George IV, Czar Alexander I and Emperor Francis I of Austria. Now you can see how the other half eats. $3,588.
8. Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing. Eighty bound issues of the scientific journal about... you guessed it - plasma. $3,999.
7. An 18th or 19th century Persian hunting manuscript decorated with ten paintings. $4,004.
6. De Urbibus, Arcibus, Castellisque Condendis, ac Muniendis Rationes Aliquot, Praesenti Bellorum Necessitati ac Commodatissimae, by Albrecht Dürer. And you thought that French title was difficult! $4,200.
5. Forever Odd, by Dean Koontz, one of 26 signed copies. $4,550.
4. Peter Beard: Art Edition, by Owen Edwards, a 2006 elephant folio photo book signed by Beard. "Limited" edition of just 2,250 copies. $5,495. Hm... $5,495 x 2,250 = $12,363,750. Who says there isn't still money to be made in publishing?
3. Summa Theologiae, pars Secunda, by Antoninus Florentinus, a 1496 work on economics and ethics. $6,218.
2. Dreams From My Father, by Barack Obama, now better known as President Barack Obama, a signed first edition, first printing. $8,500.
1. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger. A first edition, first printing of this old standby appears at the top of the list. $11,000.
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.")
