It was, not so long ago, established thinking that book collections, with some exceptions, would be a collection of books. This is the way it was for generations. The basic unit of book collections was of course the book, and over the past 150 years impressive, increasingly complete bibliographies were created and revised to reflect ever-broadening perspective. The book field and all its component parts became knowable.
Books however were never the exclusive component of book collections, only their most common part. Manuscripts also found a place, as did maps, objects, and ephemera. Bu...
Years ago, the exact number in dispute, but probably around the time of the 1989 earthquake, the San Francisco Public Library disposed of some old and seemingly unwanted accounting books, they over...
The owner of an incredible manuscript business has been arrested in France, following the shuttering of his business earlier amid claims that it was a Pyramid (Ponzi) Scheme. The name “Madoff” has ...
The shows and auctions in New York look exciting. There are three fairs and handfuls of auctions.
I’ll be staying at the Hotel Plaza Athenee from Thursday the 9th through Wednesday the 15th. ...
This story may be becoming old hat, but it is one that will repeat itself with likely increasing frequency in the years ahead. It represents the greatest controversy facing libraries today. Those i...
The distance between New Jersey and Manhattan isn't far when measured in miles, but it's long when measured in career steps. Born and raised in the New Jersey suburbs, Greg Talbot was planning to e...
Three stolen antiquarian books have been returned from America to their rightful owner, an Italian library. They was part of a cache of 19 cultural artifacts returned to Italy under a bilateral agr...
There is nothing quite so interesting as a book fair of the best dealers with their best material. And each year that ‘best’ event is in New York in April, this year April 9 to 12, the New York An...
With spring officially here, auctions of rare printed material are back in full swing with a very full docket for the month of April. Collectors of all subjects will find interesting items availabl...
One of the most fearful periods in French history was probably the aftermath of the Revolution of 1789. Men had become political wolves, cutting each other’s throats over ideas or interests—enemy o...
We are grateful to Montreal bookseller Michel Lanteigne for bringing this website to our attention. While reluctant to call it an outright scam, it is certainly very misleading to its customers. Mr...
Shakespeare's First Folio has been scheduled for a national tour of the U.S. for 2016. Perhaps the most important book in the English language will be visiting all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and ...
April has become an important month for the world of collectible paper, be they books, manuscripts, maps or ephemera. The catalyst is the Antiquarian Book Fair in New York but everywhere April is ...
This month we received five new catalogues to review. Shapero Rare Books is offering a selection of “50 Fine Books,” that certainly live up to their reputation. The George S. MacManus Company has a...
ALDE, Apr. 8: GUEVARA (ANTONIO DE). Histoire de Marc-Aurèle, Empereur Romain, vray miroir et horloge des Princes. Paris, Pierre et Galliot du Pré, frères, 1565. €3,000 to €4,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: HEURES DE LA VIERGE. Horæ in laudem beatissimæ virginis Mariæ ad usum Romanum. Paris, Charles L'Angelier, 1556. €4,000 to €5,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: MONTAIGNE (MICHEL DE). Les Essais. Édition nouvelle, trouvée après le deceds de l'autheur… Paris, Abel L'Angelier, 1595. €6,000 to €8,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: [ROJAS (FERNANDO DE)]. Celestina, tragicomedia di Calisto et Melibea, tradotta de lingua castigliana in italiano idioma… Venise, 1531. €2,000 to €3,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: CAMÕES (LUÍS DE). Os Lusiadas. Lisbonne, Pedro Crasbeeck, 1613. €2,000 to €3,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Bruxelles, Roger Velpius & Huberto Antonio, 1611. €6,000 to €8,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: LA FONTAINE (JEAN DE). Fables choisies, mises en vers. Paris, Denys Thierry et Claude Barbin, 1678-1694. €6,000 to €8,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Madrid, Joaquin Ibarra, 1780. €3,000 to €4,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: DIDEROT (DENIS) ET JEAN LE ROND D'ALEMBERT. Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. Paris, 1751-1765. €15,000 to €20,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. LAMARTINE (Alphonse de). Les Laboureurs. Poème tiré de Jocelyn… Lyon, J. A. Henry, 1883. €8,000 to €10,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. Livre de prières tissé d'après les enluminures des manuscrits du XIVe au XVIe siècle. Lyon, [A. Roux], 1886. €5,000 to €6,000.
Sotheby’s Books, Manuscripts & Objects from Three Important Collections Open for Bidding 2-17 April
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: [Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun]. Le Roman de la Rose, [Geneva or Lyons, c.1481], first printed edition of the most important medieval French vernacular poem. £200,000 to £300,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Castiglione. Il libro del cortegiano. [Venice], April 1528, first edition, in a magnificent binding by Jean Picard for Jean Grolier. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Jacobus de Cessolis. Schachzabelbuch, Strasbourg, 1483, von der Lasa copy. £50,000 to £70,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: World Championship, 1972. A collection of 84 press photographs of the famed match between Spassky and Fischer. £2,000 to £3,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Ben Franklin. Autograph letter signed, to Lord Shelburne, British Prime Minister, during peace negotiations, November 1782. £15,000 to £20,000.
![109 Auctions in April [so far]](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/ArticleImages/b9d51ffc-86a6-4874-b374-1a9149370dc7.png)
