In a few days the gates will swing open and advocates and adherents of the rare book trade will hurry up the steps of the Park Avenue Armory at 67th and Park in New York. Their pace will quicken as they enter, those with coats and briefcases turning to the right to swap their possessions for a claim check. Those prepared to enter the great hall will sweep to the left to join the queue of mostly men, well dressed, most on their phones, a few exchanging notes, the majority hoping to buy, a few hoping to sell. The fair will open shortly.
Inside the hall more than 200 book dealers are pr...
As you read this story many have already boarded planes or are driving to New York City. 48.8 million visitors will do so this year, some number measured in thousands will be heading for the Ameri...
Catalog No. 150: Icons of Western Civilization
Catalogues tell stories, some complex and others simple. Book catalogues, not so long ago, were all or mostly books. Today, while books remain ...
On April 7th at Bonhams in New York the next disposition of important material from The Caren Archive will be sold. This is the third and highest-valued auction in the series and the first one at ...
In one of those library theft cases that is something of a head-scratcher, a Leicester, Massachusetts, man has been ordered to pay restitution. Joseph G. Heath, 53, was charged with receiving stole...
Here is a feature that will help subscribers to the AE Bibliographic Database (or future subscribers) get a better handle on values. The AE Database is a compilation of records, mostly priced aucti...
History is a wild battlefield where myths and truth fight an everlasting battle, embracing each other in a raging waltz of love and hate. Of course, books stand predominant on this battlefield. The...
Perhaps institutional book collections are not growing at the rate they once did. Tight budgets, increased access to content through digital copies, space limitations and such have been a hindrance...
William Morris perhaps one of the most influential figures in western decorative arts and architecture, not to mention a book designer and typographer of considerable note, celebrated his 180 birth...
As has become usual, spring is a great time for buying rare books and printed material at auction. If you’re a collector of Americana, look no further than April 8th at Swann Auction Galleries. The...
As promised, Apple has filed a blistering appeal against a federal court decision that held it had participated in a conspiracy with book publishers to fix the prices of electronic books at artific...
For the month of April 107 auctions are scheduled in the books, manuscripts, maps and ephemera categories. About half of these sales are scheduled in New York during the first 10 days to coincide ...
Usually, we react to the passing of an old friend with shock and sorrow. Once in awhile, however, it is with astonishment, as in “I didn't know he was still alive.” Such is the inevitable reaction ...
This month we received seven new catalogues from booksellers to review. Donald Heald Rare Books has created a selection of fine books and manuscripts, including Americana and Canadiana, travel, col...
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.
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.
![<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.")
