Rare Book Monthly Articles - June - 2012 Issue

The Last Book Sale – Larry McMurtry to Auction 300,000 Books

Keep your eyes open for an enormous book auction in a very small town this summer. On August 10 and 11, Addison Sarova Auctioneers will be conducting an on-site sale of inventory from Larry McMurtry's Booked Up store in Archer City, Texas. Before anyone gets disheartened over Mr. McMurtry leaving the business, he isn't. As he explains, he is “just downsizing.” At the age of 75, he believes it's time to share the stock, although even after reducing it by two-thirds, he will still have one of the larger inventories in the book trade. Currently, the Booked Up inventory is housed in four larg...

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Collecting Possibilities Beyond Books

Collecting in the works on paper category has over the years become both easier and more complex.  What was for many collectors once the collecting of rare books has become the collecting of rariti...

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Sendak’s Death Spurs Interest in His Works

Not many creators of books for children get a front page obituary in the New York Times; but then there aren’t many who could match Maurice Sendak, the multi-talented illustrator and writer, who di...

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Trends in Book Auction Prices Updated

AE has updated its “Trends in Book Auction Prices” providing evidence the muted recovery, as measured by median lot realizations, that took hold in March 2009 continues to find traction today.   Th...

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For Sale – George Washington's Personal Copy of the Constitution and Bill of Rights

On June 22, Christie's in New York will be auctioning one of those amazing pieces of Americana one would not ever expect to see up for sale. It is George Washington's personal copy of the United St...

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A Deep Collection of English Church History to sell on June 3rd

An intense and very defined collection of English Church Architecture books, some of them folios with plates, will be sold without reserve at Carlsen Gallery in Freehold, New York on June 3rd.  Man...

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Travel in Jamaica - Exploring the National Library in Downtown Kingston, in the year 2012

PART I : meeting Thomas Gage, the villain in a religious suit. Jamaica, home of Bob Marley and Usain Bolt, is a dream for many American tourists. It is also a nightmare for some of its inhabitant...

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Is this any way to run an airline?

Software and site development is incremental accompanied once every two or three years with a major remake/rewrite.  During the past month we’ve been made several incremental changes worth noting. ...

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Newspapers Receive a Heady Endorsement – from Warren Buffet

Newspapers, the long-suffering stepchild of the printing industry, received a surprising vote of confidence from one of the most successful investors ever – Warren Buffet. Buffet, generally believe...

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The AED at 3.5 Million Records

The Americana Exchange Database of auction, bibliographic and dealer records of books, manuscripts, maps and ephemera crossed another threshold the other day:  3.5 million records.  Comparative sea...

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Fine Books & Manuscripts at Bonhams June 19th

Book auctions have been for some time on an unfamiliar trajectory, arcing toward the ever-evolving nexus of old material, new tastes and evolving methodology.  This is not a world our Grandfathers ...

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The War of 1812 - Observing Its 200th Anniversary

We saw great celebrations around the land when America observed the 200th anniversary of the Revolution. Similar events have been featured at notable anniversaries of Civil War events. This month, ...

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Sixteen New Catalogues Up for Review

For June, we have 16 new catalogues up for review. M S Rare Books has a selection of early American works. The William Reese Company focuses on American manuscripts, while David Lesser Antiquarian...

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AE Monthly:  Interesting eCatalogues in Section III

This month Section III of AE Monthly includes 16 presentations from dealers in North and South America, Europe and Australia.  These catalogues neatly fit between the world that was, the printed ca...

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Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Winston Churchill. The Second World War. Set of First-Edition Volumes. 6,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard. A Collection of The Pooh Books. Set of First-Editions. 18,600 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Salvador Dalí, Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Finely Bound and Signed Limited Edition. 15,000 USD
    Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die. First Edition. 9,500 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Series. Finely Bound First Printing Set of Complete Series. 5,650 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms. First Edition, First Printing. 4,200 USD
  • Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    Starting 10AM CST
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [RUTH, George Herman “Babe” (1895-1948)]. Signed photograph. Circa 1930s. 191 x 248 mm. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HARRISON, Benjamin. Document signed (“Benj Harrison”) as governor of Virginia, certifying the service of Daniel Cumbo, a Black Revolutionary soldier. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: ONE OF THE FIRST PRINTED ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    Starting 10AM CST
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: FIRST PRINTING OF LINCOLN’S IMMORTAL GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HIGHLY IMPORTANT MORMON ARCHIVE. ALLEY, George. Archive of 23 Autograph Letters Signed by Mormon Convert George Alley to His Brother Joseph Alley. $10,000 to $20,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [AVIATION]. [ARMSTRONG, Neil A.] Aviation Hall of Fame Gold Medal MS64 NGC, Awarded to Neil Armstrong in 1979. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    Starting 10AM CST
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: NEWLY DISCOVERED FIRST PRINTING OF "WITH MALICE TOWARDS NONE... " FROM THE ONLY NEWSPAPER ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN LINCOLN’S SECOND INAUGURAL PROCESSION. $4,000 to $8,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: THE MOST IMPORTANT GEORGE WASHINGTON DOCUMENT IN PRIVATE HANDS; GEORGE WASHINGTON’S COMMISSION AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF, 1775, ONE OF ONLY TWO ORIGINALS. $150,000 to $250,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: A VERY RARE ACCOUNT OF BLACKBEARD’S DEATH AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIRATE ITEMS EXTANT. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    Starting 10AM CST
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: EDISON, Thomas. Patent for Edison’s Improvements on the Electric-Light, No. 219,628. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. Patent Office], 16 September 1879. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [VIETNAM WAR]. The original pen used by Secretary of State William P. Rogers to sign the Vietnam Peace Agreement, Paris, 27 January 1973. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: SONS OF LIBERTY FOUNDER COLONEL BARRÉ ANNOTATED TITLE-PAGE, “WHICH OUGHT TO ROUSE UP BRITISH ATTENTION”. $4,000 to $6,000.

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