Rare Book Monthly Articles - December - 2010 Issue

A Sale on the Morrow

A Sale on the Morrow

By Bruce McKinney The human brain is in constant flux, caught between emotion and reason. On the day last spring I consigned my collection of the American Experience to auction at Bonhams for sale tomorrow, December 2nd, in New York, 'reason' was in charge. As the day, hour and minute approach it turns out that consignor emotions will be heard. They are now informing me that they weren't consulted and are now in an uproar. Oh well. Every consignor to auction faces a moment when the market will judge the material, house, timing, offer, estimates and reserves and if pleased leap to it...

Nancy Pearl:  America's Favorite Librarian

Nancy Pearl: America's Favorite Librarian

By Susan Halas Nancy Pearl - many readers, NPR listeners, library-goers and those who think fondly of librarians - already know her name. This is the Nancy Pearl who started the city-wide bo...

December to be a Busy Month for the Auctions

December to be a Busy Month for the Auctions

By Michael Stillman The first three weeks of December will be one of the busiest times we have seen in a while for the world of book and ephemera auctions. Then, the hammers will fall silent for...

The AED at Three Million

The AED at Three Million

By Bruce McKinney The Americana Exchange Database of Auction records, bibliographical notices, important dealer and collector catalogues has reached three million full text records. Over the ...

Keywords and the Future of Book Collecting

Keywords and the Future of Book Collecting

By Tom McKinney For those not familiar with Matchmaker, it is a service that lets Americana Exchange members input keywords phrases, and authors, titles dates, into our system. We then take yo...

A Book Theft Turns Deadly

A Book Theft Turns Deadly

By Michael Stillman A book theft that turned deadly may lead to homicide charges depending on the outcome of forensic evidence. The books at issue were actually comic books, but the results were...

Follow-up to Better World Books Article

Follow-up to Better World Books Article

By Susan Halas November's lead story on Better World Books of Mishawaka, Indiana, not only attracted a greater than usual number of readers, but also evoked quite a bit of response both directly...

A Positive Trend for Regional Auction Houses

A Positive Trend for Regional Auction Houses

By Bruce McKinney Leslie Hindman Auctioneers of Chicago struck gold with 3,129 words which they sold for $79,300 or $25.34 each. These words were written in 1880 by Samuel Clemens in his hand, ...

Portland Booksellers' Website - A Great Idea Not Quite Fulfilled

Portland Booksellers' Website - A Great Idea Not Quite Fulfilled

By Michael Stillman The Portland Area Used Booksellers Association (Portland, Oregon) two weeks ago announced the launching of a cooperative website for its members. According to PAUBA's Preside...

New Man at a Crucial Moment

New Man at a Crucial Moment

By Bruce McKinney One of the storied seats in all of book auction selling is going to be filled on January 3rd. The seat is as Head of Books Manuscripts at Sotheby's in New York. The person s...

Barnes & Noble Reaches Out to Children

Barnes & Noble Reaches Out to Children

By Michael Stillman Barnes Noble recently announced another new idea for its stores as the nation's number one bricks and mortar book retailer struggles to re-establish relevance in a changing ...

Skinner Sells a Declaration

Skinner Sells a Declaration

By Bruce McKinney Skinner, the Boston auction house, for the second time in two years, has sold a Declaration of Independence and the price of freedom continues to be high. This copy is attri...

New E-Readers Hit European Shelves

New E-Readers Hit European Shelves

By Michael Stillman The electronic reader knows no borders. The rapid rollout of Kindles and Nooks in America is being repeated with a group of locally produced electronic readers in Europe. On ...

Auctions Going Postal

Auctions Going Postal

By Bruce McKinney Antiquarian Auctions of Laguna Beach, California will be posting its first sale for bidding beginning on December 9th and concluding its first sale on the 16th. Ed Postal, o...

14 New Catalogues Reviewed This Month

14 New Catalogues Reviewed This Month

This month we are reviewing 14 new bookseller catalogues. The American West is featured in catalogues from Gene Baade's Books on the West and the Argonaut Book Shop, while the William Reese Company...

Rare Book Monthly

  • Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 26th
    Ketterer, May 26: Th. McKenney & J. Hall, History of the Indian tribes of North America, 1836-1844. Est: €50,000
    Ketterer, May 26: Biblia latina vulgata, manuscript on thin parchment, around 1250. Est: €70,000
    Ketterer, May 26: M. Beckmann, Fanferlieschen Schönefüßchen, 1924. Est: €10,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 26th
    Ketterer, May 26: A. Ortelius, Theatrum orbis terrarum, 1574. Est: €50,000
    Ketterer, May 26: M. S. Merian, Eurcarum ortus, alimentum et paradoxa metamorphosis, 1717-18. Est: €6,000
    Ketterer, May 26: PAN, 9 volumes, 1895-1900. Est: €12,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 26th
    Ketterer, May 26: Breviarium Romanum, Latin manuscript, 1474. Est: €15,000
    Ketterer, May 26: Quran manuscript from the Saadian period, Maghreb, 16th century. Est: €10,000
    Ketterer, May 26: E. Hemingway, The old man and the sea, 1952. First edition in first issue jacket. Presentation copy. Est: €3,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 26th
    Ketterer, May 26: Flavius Vegetius Renatus, De re militari libri quatuor, 1553. Est: €3,000
    Ketterer, May 26: K. Marx, Das Kapital, 1867. Est: €30,000
    Ketterer, May 26: Brassaï, Transmutations, 1967. Est: €6,000
  • Doyle
    The Collection of Mary Tyler Moore
    June 4, 2025
    DOYLE: Peter Max, Portrait of Mary Tyler Moore (Versions 1,2, 5, 6), 2001. Estimate $10,000-15,000
    DOYLE: The iconic screen-used wall-mounted "M" from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Estimate $5,000-8,000
    DOYLE: The Mary Tyler Moore Show by Al Hirschfeld. Estimate $4,000-6,000
    Doyle
    The Collection of Mary Tyler Moore
    June 4, 2025
    DOYLE: Annie Leibovitz presents Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke for Vanity Fair. Estimate $4,000-6,000
    DOYLE: Al Hirschfeld presents Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke in the CBS Wednesday Night Lineup. Estimate $4,000-6,000
    DOYLE: Richard McKenzie, Portrait of Mary Tyler Moore. Estimate $1,000-2,000
    Doyle
    The Collection of Mary Tyler Moore
    June 4, 2025
    DOYLE: Three Original Bill Hargate Costume Designs for The Mary Tyler Moore Hour. Estimate $600-800
    DOYLE: The famous Bonnie and Clyde "Wanted" broadside. Estimate $500-800
    DOYLE: Ticket to the Final Episode of the Mary Tyler Moore Show Estimate $400-600
  • Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: The Shem Tov Bible, 1312 | A Masterpiece from the Golden Age of Spain. Sold: 6,960,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: William Blake | Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Sold: 4,320,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD
    Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Sold: 1,920,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Machiavelli | Il Principe, a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR

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