Rare Book Monthly Articles - August - 2014 Issue

It sometimes comes to this

It sometimes comes to this

A bookshop is the outcome of a million decisions.  To open a shop and then what to sell are the early decisions that seamlessly lead to the turning on of the electricity, to the buying of shelves and a cash register.  Signs are then posted or painted onto the windows, and if the zoning permits, perhaps something larger and possibly gaudier appended on the outside to attract the passersby.   And then there are the decisions that will regulate and determine the everyday throb of the business.  Will we be open from 10 am to 10 pm 7 days or perhaps 9 am to 5 pm 5 days?  And what books will we p...

Head of German Auction House Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison in Girolamini Library Theft Case

Head of German Auction House Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison in Girolamini Library Theft Case

An Italian court has handed down a conviction and five-year prison sentence to the Executive Director of German auction house Zisska Schauer. Herbert Schauer was convicted of embezzlement in relat...

A Diamond in the Coal Mine

A Diamond in the Coal Mine

Recently, on eBay an item was offered that looked interesting.  The title, Guide Book to Lake Mohonk – New Paltz, Ulster Co., N. Y., and the date, 1875, marked it as very early in the history of th...

Fall Art Auctions Could Provide Over $100 Million to Botanical Library

Fall Art Auctions Could Provide Over $100 Million to Botanical Library

A privately owned botanical library is about to get a massive donation, thanks to the will of its extraordinarily wealthy founder. Sotheby's recently announced that it will be offering over 2,000 p...

Patricia Ahearn:  1937-2014

Patricia Ahearn: 1937-2014

Patricia Ahearn, wife of Allen and partner with him in Quill Brush and in their well regarded guides to book collecting and book values, passed away at the end of May.   The details of her and A...

Out with a Whimper – the All Hallows Sale

Out with a Whimper – the All Hallows Sale

The All Hallows library sale appears to have ended in a whimper. It's most notable item was earlier withdrawn, and what remained had little magic when it went up for auction. The amount received wi...

Anecdotal Information on the State of the Market

Anecdotal Information on the State of the Market

Recently the news from the hustings is suggesting the summer is a bit soft in the collectible paper field.  An article in the New York Times suggested that “Large Crowds Spend Little at Comic-Con,”...

The History of Paraguay, The Lying Fury of the Jesuits

The History of Paraguay, The Lying Fury of the Jesuits

My good friend the Lying Fury is an old dignified lady with many untold prophets. I unexpectedly came across one of them the other day, while reading Histoire du Paraguay; the author wrote extensiv...

Opportunities in Chicago:  August 6th at Leslie Hindman

Opportunities in Chicago: August 6th at Leslie Hindman

As you read this article the clock is clicking down for Leslie Hindman’s annual August auction of books, manuscripts and cartography.  The 406 lot sale is on the 6th, online viewing now ongoing and...

Major Poster Sale at Swann Galleries

Major Poster Sale at Swann Galleries

Wars have been going on as long as there have been humans; tennis not quite so long. However, they have one thing in common. Each is a featured topic in Swann Galleries' auction of Vintage Posters ...

Books in the News:  The First Million Dollar Sports Contract, Bookseller Reports Results, Apple “Agrees” to $450 Million Settlement

Books in the News: The First Million Dollar Sports Contract, Bookseller Reports Results, Apple “Agrees” to $450 Million Settlement

This is not the typical “work on paper.” Then again, the “Babe” was not an ordinary man. The most expensive sports contract ever sold hit the block at Goldin Auctions last month. It was the first t...

Auctions in August

August is the doldrums of the book, manuscript, map and ephemera field, or so it used to be.  But not so much anymore.   This August 51 sales are scheduled, up from 46 in 2013.  Less than 10 year...

10 New Catalogues Reviewed This Month

10 New Catalogues Reviewed This Month

This month we review ten new bookseller catalogues. Several are designed for travelers. The George S. MacManus Company and the William Reese Company offer catalogues that feature travel and explora...

Rare Book Monthly

  • Forum Auctions
    Natural History: The remaining stock of Antiquariaat Junk, 1899-2026
    25 March 2026
    Forum, Mar. 25: Botany.- Andrews (H.C.) Coloured Engravings of Heaths, 4 vol. in 2, first edition, [1710,--94]-1802-1809-[1830]. £10,000 - £15,000.
    Forum, Mar. 25: Butterflies.- Cramer (Pierre) and Caspar Stoll. De Uitlandsche Kapellen voorkomende in de drie Waereld-Deelen…,, 5 vol., Amsterdam & Utrecht, 1779-91. £8,000 - £12,000.
    Forum, Mar. 25: Voyages.- Darwin (Charles) and others. Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure and Beagle, 3 vol. in 4, including Appendix to vol.2, first edition, 1839. £8,000 - £12,000.
    Forum, Mar. 25: Butterflies.- de Graaf (Willem Diederik Vincent). [Inlandsche Kapellen in beeld], 170 fine original watercolours, [Enkhuizen], [1800-40]. £8,000 - £12,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Natural History: The remaining stock of Antiquariaat Junk, 1899-2026
    25 March 2026
    Forum, Mar. 25: Birds.- Dresser (Henry Eeles). A History of the Birds of Europe, 9 vol., including supplement, first edition, by the author, 1871-96. £6,000 - £8,000.
    Forum, Mar. 25: Zoology.- Felines.- Elliot (Daniel Giraud). A Monograph of the Felidæ or Family of the Cats, first edition, for the Subscribers, by the Author, [1878]-1883. £25,000 - £30,000.
    Forum, Mar. 25: Birds.- Frisch (Johann Leonard). Vorstellung der Vögel Deutschlandes, 2 vol., first edition, Berlin, Friedr. Wilhelm Birnsteil, [1736]-1763. £40,000 - £60,000.
    Forum, Mar. 25: Birds.- Gould (John). The Birds of Great Britain, 5 vol., first edition, by the author, 1862-1873. £30,000 - £40,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Natural History: The remaining stock of Antiquariaat Junk, 1899-2026
    25 March 2026
    Forum, Mar. 25: Pomology.- France.- Poiteau (A.) Pomologie Française. Recueil des Plus Beaux Fruits cultivés en France, 4 vol., Paris, 1846. £30,000 - £40,000.
    Forum, Mar. 25: Botany.- [Robin (Jean)]. Histoire des Plantes, nouvellement trouvées en l'Isle Virgine…,, 1620; with Geoffrey Linocier L'Histoire des plantes, second edition, 1619-20. £3,000 - £4,000.
    Forum, Mar. 25: Asia.- Japan.- Siebold (P.F. von). Nippon. Archiv zur Beschreibung von Japan, 7 parts in 6 vol., first edition, Leyden, [1832]-1852. £35,000 - £45,000.
    Forum, Mar. 25: Asia.- Valentijn (Francois). Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indiën..., 5 vol. in 8, first edition, Dordrecht [&] Amsterdam, 1724-26. £8,000 - £12,000.
    Forum, Mar. 25: Botany.- Australia.- Redouté (P.J.).- Ventenat (Étienne Pierre). Jardin de la Malmaison, 2 vol.,, Paris, 1803-04[-05]. £30,000 - £40,000.
  • Books & Autographs
    Wednesday 25 March
    Koller, Mar. 25: KAFKA, FRANZ, SCHRIFTSTELLER. Eigenh. Brief mit Unterschrift. Prag, 20. Oktober [19]15. CHF 30,000-40,000.
    Koller, Mar. 25: EINSTEIN, ALBERT. Zwei eigenhändige Briefe an Ernst Gabor Straus, unterschrieben "A.E" bzw. "A. Einstein". [Princeton], [19]45. und [1950]. CHF 30,000-40,000.
    Koller, Mar. 25: HORTENSE DE BEAUHARNAIS, MUTTER VON NAPOLEON III. Album aus ihrem Besitz mit 69 Aquarellen und Pinselzeichnungen in Sepia oder Grau… CHF 14,000-18,000.
    Koller, Mar. 25: ZOOLOGIE - ORNITHOLOGIE - Seligmann, Johann Michael. Verzameling van uitlandsche en zeldzaame Vogelen. Teile 1-8 (von 9) in 2 Bänden. Mit 421 prächtig altkolorierten Kupfertafeln. CHF 14,000-20,000
    Koller, Mar. 25: BOTANIK - Berlèse, Lorenzo und Johann Jakob Jung. Iconographie du genre camellia... 3 Bände. Mit 300 Farbstichtafeln "a la poupée.” Paris, [1839-]1841-1843. CHF 12,000-18,000.

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