Rare Book Monthly Articles - October - 2011 Issue

Congratulations are in order

Congratulations are in order

The sale of the Eric C. Caren collection:  How history unfolds on paper, Part I was held on September 15th at Swann Galleries in New York and the well conceived sale succeeded.  Eighty-seven percent of the lots sold and the sale over-all raised $657,108 against its aggregate high estimate of $791,750.  In its aftermath Mr. Caren pronounced himself well pleased.  An independent and original thinker, he years ago developed a fresh approach to collecting, seeking early and important materials, often ephemeral, that provided first evidence of new ideas.  He has done this for more than thirty ye...

Ephemera: Values and Interest on the Rise

Ephemera: Values and Interest on the Rise

One of the exceptions to the decline in antiquarian values is the increase in interest, sales and prices for ephemera. Though no two people seem to have exactly the same definition of what exactly ...

Amazon and California Reach Surprising Compromise on Sales Tax

Amazon and California Reach Surprising Compromise on Sales Tax

A long-running contentious and caustic battle over sales taxes between online retailer Amazon.com and the state of California came to a quick and unexpected resolution last month. Among those lined...

The Robert Jackson Auction October 18th

The Robert Jackson Auction October 18th

On Tuesday October 18th at Bohhams in New York and simulcast to Los Angeles The Robert H. and Donna L. Jackson Collection of 19th Century Literature [Part I] will be held.  For the Jacksons who hav...

BookFinder Lists The Top 100 Most Sought After Out-of-Print Books

BookFinder Lists The Top 100 Most Sought After Out-of-Print Books

BookFinder.com has released its annual report of the top 100 most sought after books on its book metasearch site. As a metasearch site, BookFinder searches multiple listing sites, such as AbeBooks,...

Book Fairs Upcoming

Book Fairs Upcoming

The recent announcement of the upcoming 21st Chelsea Antiquarian Book Fair in the Chelsea section of London, UK is a refreshing reminder that while the wheels on the rare book bus sometimes grind t...

Auctions in October

Auctions in October

Auction Sales will continue to be posted but most are now identified in the October Auction calendar.  Forty-six events are scheduled Here is the full list.  Link to the October Auctions page. Oct...

Making "Orphan Books" Available Digitally - the HathiTrust Inches Forward

Making "Orphan Books" Available Digitally - the HathiTrust Inches Forward

Copies of so-called "orphan books" will slowly begin to make their way to digital access beginning this month, albeit in a most limited way. "Orphan books" are those that are still under copyright ...

Judge Postpones Google Books Trial to July 2012 – But Settlement Could Come Sooner

Judge Postpones Google Books Trial to July 2012 – But Settlement Could Come Sooner

The oft delayed Google Books trial has been put off again – this time until July of 2012. However, parties to the suit are hopeful a settlement can be reached sooner. Then again, a settlement was r...

A Fish Story:  1906

A Fish Story:  1906

Diminutive size has its advantages or had its advantages, when the smaller than small town of Eddyville in Ulster County, New York in the shadow of Rondout [now deceased] decided to conceal from pu...

Major Outdoor Sports and Angling Collection Donated to Washington State University Library

Major Outdoor Sports and Angling Collection Donated to Washington State University Library

A major gift of sporting books was recently made to the department of Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections at the library of Washington State University. The collection was donated by Joan...

Blind Justice Was Not Always Just – An Exhibition at the Yale Law Library

Blind Justice Was Not Always Just – An Exhibition at the Yale Law Library

Blind justice is the focus of an exhibition taking place at the Yale University Law Library from now through December 16, 2011. The exhibition is entitled, The Remarkable Run of a Political Icon: J...

Eleven New Catalogues Reviewed

Eleven New Catalogues Reviewed

This month we review eleven new catalogues in Section II. Bestebreurtje Rare Books and the Antiquariaat Forum are focused on travel books. The Raab Collection and Joe Rubinfine offer signed histori...

Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby’s
    Book Week
    December 9-17, 2025
    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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  • Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 9, 2025
    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.
    Swann
    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.
    Swann
    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.
    Swann
    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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