Item 58 is New York State: Battle Ground of the Revolutionary War by Hamilton Fish. Fish is probably as interesting as his book. His great-great grandfather was a colonel in the Revolutionary War, and his grandfather, also named Hamilton Fish, was secretary of state under President Grant. Fish himself served as a congressman from 1921-1945, and was a conservative Republican and isolationist. He is part of the trilogy Roosevelt famously derided as “Martin, Barton and Fish.” Ironically, Fish represented Roosevelt’s home district, which must have galled the president no end. After finally being turned out of office in the year of Roosevelt’s final election, Fish went on to write many historical books, including this one. He had the time. Fish lived another 46 years, dying in 1991 at the age of 102. $30.
Catskill, NY Doctor and Hardware Merchant is a privately printed piece about the life of B.W. Dwight. In 1811, Dwight published his Dissertation on the Chronic Debility of the Stomach. Those of you possessing this work will undoubtedly want his biography as well. Item 192. $25.
Item 242 is M. Jagendorf’s The Marvelous Adventures of John Darling. Darling is described as the Paul Bunyan of the Catskill Mountains. In one tale he killed and skinned a woodchuck with one bullet. A woodchuck? Davy Crockett got himself a b’ar when he was only three, but a woodchuck? A fat, plant eating rodent that waddles away at the first sign of danger, and we’re making comparisons to Paul Bunyan? I guess this happens when your heroes are named “Darling.” $25.
Item 330 is the Poughkeepsie Primer, from 1920. This was a promotional pamphlet put out by the Chamber of Commerce. In it they say “our chances of being a city of 100,000 are certain.” Nestler knows Poughkeepsie, having once lived there. So did I, so I got the joke. 100,000 mosquitoes, maybe, but not people. Not until global warming makes it the new Miami (current population is around 30,000). $18
For those who want to collect New York State, but aren’t very particular about the specifics, there’s The Control of Grasshoppers in New York State. From 1917, item 226 is priced at $12. Or for those with an epicurean bend, there’s item 260, Dandelion as Food. Published by the Agricultural College at Cornell, it includes five luscious dandelion recipes. For $12, you can buy this book or a steak dinner. You choose.
Finally, for $20 is item 57, a Liberty Bell showerhead. Cast in Philadelphia, you can use it for your shower, but Nestler recommends it as a paperweight. I have racked my brain trying to figure out the connection to New York, or how this got in a bookseller’s catalogue. I give up.
Harold Nestler is an old time bookseller, so you won’t find him on the web. You may reach him by phone at 201-444-7413, but please don’t call Sundays or at night.
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.
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>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.")
![<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.")
