Recounting my experience with rare books.
How does someone becomes a book collector? In this recounting I retrace my career with old books from the moment of my first awareness through to the present, the traditional world of books and book collecting for me a receding memory, the electronic world of dealer catalogues and offers, eBay and auctions now every day emerging. And juxtaposed against this flow a database that captures and contextualizes material permitting me to quickly understand what passes into view. This no doubt is the greatest era for book collecting and it is an extra...
Prices in the books, manuscripts, map and ephemera markets have generally been falling for some time and there is widespread agreement among dealers that their competitors' books are in trouble. T...
A long ago and virtually forgotten book theft finally has been solved. The major losses were discovered back in 1975 when a librarian at the Lambeth Palace Library realized some major items were mi...
The release of the latest film edition of The Great Gatsby was the second most important news pertaining to author F. Scott Fitzgerald to come out over the past few weeks. The more important news c...
The Lilly Library, ranked as one of America’s top university libraries, has a new director.
Joel Silver, 62, was named to the post effective April 1, 2013. He is a 30 year veteran of the Lilly st...
A “comprehensive review” of U.S. copyright law was recently announced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (he really should be Chairman of Starbucks). U.S. copyright law has been st...
RR Auctions of Amherst, New Hampshire recently sold at auction an annotated copy of the final draft of Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The winning bid was $306,000. Revisions and correcti...
Serious students of early-modern women writers surely know Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle (Essex, 1623 – Welbeck Abbey, Nottingham, 1673). A prolific producer in almost all 17th century l...
Masterpiece London is scheduled for its fourth annual appearance this year from June 27 – July 3. Set on the South Grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, London, this annual fair brings in exhibito...
Monika Schiavo, Director of Marketing at Quinns Auction in Falls Church, Virginia recently confirmed that Dale Sorenson who developed Waverly Auctions and sold the firm to Quinn’s in 2004 and remai...
The Digital Public Library of America went live in April, and it provides one more online resource for those looking to do historical research. It is not the first such digital resource, nor will i...
A breach of trust has been charged by the FBI in a case of stolen historical letters from the Buffalo, New York, area. The technical charge is mail fraud, which is why the FBI is involved, but the ...
There are a Hundred Auctions in June [so far], vs. 86 in 2012. During the month others will be added.
Sat. June 1st Galerie Bassenge. Prints [101k]. 316 lots
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This month we review 12 new catalogues from booksellers. Ken Lopez Bookseller offers a selection of modern literature and some ephemeral items. Raptis Rare Books also has a selection of literature ...
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.
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/00d5fd41-2542-4a80-b119-4886d4b9925f.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.")
