Rare Book Monthly « October - 2015 « Rare Book Hub - Rare Books, Book Auctions, Antiquarian Book Collecting

Rare Book Monthly Articles - October - 2015 Issue

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Clearing the Backlog

Weakness at the lower levels of the rare book market is widely discussed. The market tends to take solace from the continuing strength at the upper end while generally avoiding, for lack of a solution, the significant declines below $600. I want to make a proposal.

At a guess some 99% of all rare and collectible books are worth $600 or less. Ninety-five percent of these books, maps, pamphlets and ephemera are worth $150 or less. They may once have been worth more but there are too many items and too few buyers to maintain current prices.

So how will...

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10 More Tips from an e-Bay Power Seller

Here are 10 bookish tips for those who sell books and antiquarian paper online. Perhaps the best way to summarize these suggestions is by saying anyone can have a book, magazine, map, photo or othe...

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Libraries and Booksellers Take On the NSA

The battle against spying by the NSA (National Security Administration) recently brought organizations representing libraries and booksellers into the fray. Libraries and booksellers have often fou...

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Marvin Getman's Brooklyn Fair is over, but the memories remain

Susan Heller, long time and now emeritus ABAA member and her closest friend, Gerry, recently retraced the early American explorations, travelling from Ohio across the great expanse of Pennsylvania,...

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The British Library Rejects a Collection... For the Wrong Reason

Libraries don't accept everything offered to them. Indeed, much of what is offered is declined, even though it may be of significant value. Storing and maintaining material in perpetuity is expensi...

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How Not to Get Rid of Too Many Old Books

The man dubbed by police the "literary litterbug" has been fined and sentenced to community service after pleading guilty to three counts of littering. Glenn Pladsen of Arvada, Colorado, entered hi...

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The 2015 Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair

In Seattle at the site of the 1962 World’s Fair the Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair will open its doors to the field over the October 10th-11th weekend. It is consistently a major booksel...

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Animation & Comic Art: Auctionata makes a splash with their first auction on the subject

This month one of the sales Rare Book Hub is covering deals in a more contemporary and focused light. The name of the sale is Animation & Comic Art, and the auction house is Auctionata, an onli...

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Louise Labé, Head Corner Stone.

This is the kind of book that you’ll see once in a lifetime. Or, more likely, that you’ll never see in a lifetime. This is the fiery and disturbing testimony of a one of a kind woman, w...

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The Boston Public Library's Summer of Discontent: One More Problem - Mold

This has been a tough summer for the rare books and prints departments of the Boston Public Library. It seems that pretty much everything that can go wrong did go wrong. The issues they have experi...

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The Daughters of the Republic of Texas Win a Momentary Victory in the Battle of the Alamo Library

The Daughters of the Republic of Texas won at least a temporary victory over the Texas General Land Office in the Battle of the Alamo Library. The Daughters (DRT) operated the Alamo itself for over...

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To Kill A Legacy – No Third Novel Yet for Harper Lee

There will not be a third Harper Lee novel published, at least not yet. So was the news from an expert called in to examine some old typescripts found with Ms. Lee's second novel, Go Set A Watchman...

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Eight New Catalogues Reviewed This Month

This month we review 8 new booksellers' catalogues. High Ridge Books features atlases, directories, maps, and other material with a geographic orientation. Hordern House Rare Books focuses on a par...

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Rare Book Monthly

<b>Swann Auction Galleries Aug 13:</b> <i>Manhattan Gay Scene Guide 1969, Summer Edition,</i> Mattachine Book Service. $3,000 to $4,000.

<b>Swann Auction Galleries Aug 13:</b> Harvey Milk, 2 autograph letters signed, to Pat Mormon, during US Navy service, 1954. $3,000 to $4,000.

<b>Swann Auction Galleries Aug 13:</b> Oscar Wilde, <i>“The secret of life is in Art,”</i> autograph quotation dated and signed, 1882. $4,000 to $6,000.

<b>Swann Auction Galleries Aug 13:</b> Daniel Abraham, original art for <i>Stonewall Romances,</i> pen, ink & gouache, 1979. $2,000 to $3,000.

<b>Swann Auction Galleries Aug 13:</b> Antonio Lopez, 9 men’s fashion studies, graphite, 1974. $3,000 to $4,000.

<b>Swann Auction Galleries Aug 13:</b> Susie Gaynes & Amy E. Bartell, <i>March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights,</i> 1987. $600 to $900.

<b>Swann Auction Galleries Aug 13:</b> <i>Paris is Burning,</i> photo offset poster by Anne Dutlinger, signed by film director Jennie Livingston, 1991. $400 to $600.

<b>Swann Auction Galleries Aug 13:</b> Toyen, pen & ink illustration from <i>Marquis de Sade: Justina cili prokletí ctnosti,</i> 1932. $8,000 to $12,000.

<b>Swann Auction Galleries Aug 13:</b> David Wojnarowicz, <i>Untitled (Genet with Dog),</i> mixed media collage. $8,000 to $12,000.

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