One of the largest book auctions in recent memory took place in one of the smallest venues to ever see such an auction. Of course, this was no ordinary auction, but one of a large portion of the stock of noted bookseller and author Larry McMurtry's Booked Up shop in tiny Archer City, Texas. When the dust settled (there's lots of dust in this hot, dry, country near the Oklahoma border), between 250,000 and 275,000 books had changed hands. That's roughly 150 books for every resident of Archer City, but this does mean that these folks are unusually vociferous readers. Bidders came from all ove...
When Lewis and Clark went west, they did not go alone. They had a guide. When astronauts go into space, they have a team. They are not always sure what they will find but prepare for what they m...
My dad, the great book seller Morton “Jock” Netzorg, a dealer for well over 50 years, had all kinds of rules about how to make money selling books. But Netzorg’s #1 rule was: “What you pay for it h...
This month, September 3rd to be exact, marks the 10th anniversary of the posting of the Americana Exchange online. In the beginning AE specialized in documenting the history of Americana but has b...
“One day I and a very good friend of mine talked about old book stores and old books, and jokingly I said: 'if only there were a way to keep them alive, show people the value and beauty, and at the...
September arrives like a Hoyt Wilhelm or R. A. Dickey pitch, the speed slow, and the outcome uncertain. But we have been here before and know, by the end of September, that the month will resolve...
The heavy fall auction season is about to begin. This makes for perfect timing for a reminder of a free AE service that is virtually a necessity for anyone considering bidding at auction, or just l...
A suggestion a month ago that I look at Louis J. Dianni’s upcoming auction at West Point August 18th-19th prompted me to look over the upcoming sale and to bid on several items. The Dianni auction...
PART III : Hans Sloane, Milk Chocolate Live Animals…
Back to Jamaica, to explore a new prestigious book from the National Library ! I had already been through a copy of Thomas Gage’s account of t...
I write this article on web courtesy based on my own experiences online. They include instant message chats, chat rooms, discussion forums (as a user, moderator, and administrator, at varying times...
On September 30th in Amherst, New Hampshire, two of America’s 270 million guns will be sold. They aren’t just any guns, however. They are antiques, and they are known to be at least 78 years old....
Periodically, we report on a latest internet scam, as anyone who reads this article is, quite obviously, an internet user, and thereby a potential victim. Sure, you might think we all know enough n...
The fall book show in London, the Chelsea Book Fair, is set to take place on November 2-3. The Chelsea Fair is not a huge show like the spring London fair, but offers a more intimate setting where ...
This month, eight new catalogues arrived for review. James Kochan Fine Arts Antiques has a collection of material relating to the War of 1812 and the shaping of America. David Lesser Fine Antiquar...
ALDE, Apr. 8: GUEVARA (ANTONIO DE). Histoire de Marc-Aurèle, Empereur Romain, vray miroir et horloge des Princes. Paris, Pierre et Galliot du Pré, frères, 1565. €3,000 to €4,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: HEURES DE LA VIERGE. Horæ in laudem beatissimæ virginis Mariæ ad usum Romanum. Paris, Charles L'Angelier, 1556. €4,000 to €5,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: MONTAIGNE (MICHEL DE). Les Essais. Édition nouvelle, trouvée après le deceds de l'autheur… Paris, Abel L'Angelier, 1595. €6,000 to €8,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: [ROJAS (FERNANDO DE)]. Celestina, tragicomedia di Calisto et Melibea, tradotta de lingua castigliana in italiano idioma… Venise, 1531. €2,000 to €3,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: CAMÕES (LUÍS DE). Os Lusiadas. Lisbonne, Pedro Crasbeeck, 1613. €2,000 to €3,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Bruxelles, Roger Velpius & Huberto Antonio, 1611. €6,000 to €8,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: LA FONTAINE (JEAN DE). Fables choisies, mises en vers. Paris, Denys Thierry et Claude Barbin, 1678-1694. €6,000 to €8,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Madrid, Joaquin Ibarra, 1780. €3,000 to €4,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: DIDEROT (DENIS) ET JEAN LE ROND D'ALEMBERT. Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. Paris, 1751-1765. €15,000 to €20,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. LAMARTINE (Alphonse de). Les Laboureurs. Poème tiré de Jocelyn… Lyon, J. A. Henry, 1883. €8,000 to €10,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. Livre de prières tissé d'après les enluminures des manuscrits du XIVe au XVIe siècle. Lyon, [A. Roux], 1886. €5,000 to €6,000.
