When dealers sell at the end of their careers a few are celebrated for their knowledge, intuition and judgment. When the sale or sales are at auction the ordinarily private process becomes a public one. One such dealer enjoying the acclaim of his peers, is Franklin Brooke-Hitching, the private English dealer now in his early 70’s, whose material has been the subject of two successful sales at Sotheby’s in London this year and the subject of two more in 2015. Mr. Brooke-Hitching, by all reports, sold many very good items during his career but the best examples he apparently kept for himse...
Recently, in a discussion with Bob Schwartz of Archives International Auctions, I mentioned that some of his upcoming material was going to be of interest to those who follow or subscribe to AE. O...
Well, for starters, you better begin with a lot of money. A recently decided appeals court case has been labeled a major victory for wealthy collectors with regards to reducing their estate tax lia...
A few years ago Heather O’Donnell of Honey Wax Books left her job selling rare books on Madison Avenue to launch Honey Wax Booksellers in Brooklyn. At that time she found “There was no establishe...
A bookshop recently announced it will be closing its location in an English shopping mall after almost 40 years at the same place. It plans to continue, but most likely only online and through the ...
The annual Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair returns to the Hynes Convention Center on November 14-16 this year. This ABAA sponsored show is likely the biggest such attraction on the east ...
At the turn of the 19th century, when printing went through major changes, one bookseller made a name for himself by publishing dozens of popular titles. Simple, short and of lower quality, they me...
Here is a book you will want to read if you are a bookseller, collector, or most of all, one of those in between – a collector contemplating a venture into the bookselling field. Bookseller Sheila ...
Not so long ago the gold standard for presentation in the collectible paper field was the printed catalog. Dealers prepared them and institutions, collectors and other dealers read them. But time...
It's the Erebus! The recently discovered ship that disappeared in Canadian Arctic waters over a century and a half ago is the Erebus, not its sister ship the Terror. As a pair, there are few ships ...
This month three auctions from Christie’s London pertain to AE’s focus on books, maps, manuscripts, and ephemera. Beginning with November 5th, Two Important Sporting Libraries will take place over ...
Among Sotheby's upcoming sales in November, Sotheby's Paris is holding one that should appeal to many of AE’s monthly readers and subscribers. Taking place November 6th in Paris, Bibliothèque Carlo...
Poulin Antique Company is a busy auction house that occasionally sells rare books. Their sales are well presented with estimates that tend to be on the low side as evidenced by their total realiza...
This month AE welcomes a new auction house on to the site. Going forward, Michaan’s Auctions, based out of Alameda, CA, will have their auctions with printed material included in AE’s Upcoming Auct...
For the month of November, as we enter the month, there are 124 auctions on the calendar. Others will be added over the next few weeks. The selections are broad and complex. All who look will fi...
This month we are reviewing 13 new bookseller catalogues. Many different subjects are featured this time around. Andersons Books and Prints has issued their first catalogue, and it's about time!......
Sotheby's Fine Books & Manuscripts Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: Balthus, Emily Brontë. Wuthering Heights, New York: The Limited Editions Club, 1993. 6,600 USD.
Sotheby’s: Charles Dickens. Complete Works, Philadelphia & London: J.B. Lippincott Company & Chapman & Hall, LD, 1850. Limited Edition set of 30 volumes. 7,500 USD.
Sotheby’s: John Lennon, Yoko Ono. Handwritten Letter from John Lennon and Yoko Ono to their Chauffer. 1971. 32,500 USD.
Sotheby’s: Winston Churchill. First edition of War Speeches, Cassell and Company, Ltd., 1941. Set of 7 volumes. 5,500 USD.
Sotheby’s: Andy Warhol, Julia Warhola. Holy Cats First Edition, Signed by Andy Warhol. 1954. 30,000 USD.
Forum Auctions Online: India Ends 19th February 2026
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 40 Ramasvami (Kavali Venkata). A Digest of the Different Castes of India, 83 charming hand-coloured lithographed plates, Madras, 1837. £5,000-7,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 50 Watson (John Forbes) & John William Kaye. The People of India: A Series of Photographic Illustrations...of the Races and Tribes of Hindustan, 8 vol., 480 mounted albumen prints, 1868-75. £4,000-6,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 53 Afghanistan.- Elphinstone (Hon. Mountstuart). An Account of the Kingdom of Caubul, first edition, hand-coloured aquatint plates, a fine copy, 1815. £2,000-3,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 57 [Album and Treatise on Hinduism], manuscript treatise on Hinduism in French, 31 watercolours of Hindu deities, Pondicherry, 1865. £3,000-4,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 62 Allan (Capt. Alexander). Views in the Mysore Country,
[1794]. £2,000-3,000
Forum Auctions Online: India Ends 19th February 2026
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 76 Bird (James). Historical Researches on the Origin and Principles of the Bauddha and Jaina Religions..., first edition, lithographed plates, Bombay, American Mission Press, 1847. £3,000-4,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 100 Ceylon.- Daniell (Samuel). A Picturesque Illustration of the scenery, animals, and native inhabitants, of the Island of Ceylon: in twelve plates, 1808. £5,000-7,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 123 D'Oyly (Charles). Behar Amateur Lithographic Scrap Book, lithographed throughout with title and 55 plates mounted on 43 paper leaves, [Patna], [1828]. £3,000-5,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 139 Gandhi (known as Mahatma Gandhi,) Fine Autograph Letter signed to Jawaharlal Nehru, Sevagram, Wardha, 1942, emphasising the importance of education in rural communities. £10,000-15,000
Forum Auctions Online: India Ends 19th February 2026
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 140 Gantz (John). Indian Microcosm, first edition, Madras, John Gantz & Son, 1827. £10,000-15,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 146 Grierson (Sir George Abraham). Linguistic Survey of India, 11 vol. in 20, folding maps, original cloth, Calcutta, Superintendent Government Printing, 1903-28. £2,000-3,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 195 Madras.- Fort St. George Gazette (The), No.276-331, pp.493-936 and Index to all of 1834 at end, modern half calf, Madras, 2nd July - 31st December 1834. £2,000-3,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 205 Marshall (Sir John) and Alfred Foucher. The Monuments of Sanchi, 3 vol., first edition, 141 plates, most photogravure, [Calcutta], [1940]. £3,000-4,000
Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: HAMILTON, Sir William (1730-1803) - Campi Phlegraei. Napoli: [Pietro Fabris], 1776, 1779. € 30.000 - 50.000
Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: [MORTIER] - BLAEU, Joannes (1596-1673) - Het Nieuw Stede Boek van Italie. Amsterdam: Pieter Mortier, 1704-1705. € 15.000 - 25.000
Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: TULLIO D'ALBISOLA (1899-1971) - Bruno MUNARI (1907-1998) - L'Anguria lirica (lungo poema passionale). Roma e Savona: Edizioni Futuriste di Poesia, senza data [ma 1933?]. € 20.000 - 30.000
Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: IL MANOSCRITTO RITROVATO DI IPPOLITA MARIA SFORZA. TITO LIVIO - Ab Urbe Condita. Prima Decade. Manoscritto miniato su pergamena, metà XV secolo. € 280.000 - 350.000