For those lucky enough to visit New York City during rare book fair week the city was transformed [in a small but very good way] into the center of book collecting in the western hemisphere for seven straight days. I was there and it was a terrific experience.
There were three fairs, the largest the New York Antiquarian Book Fair, the American Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association’s event that invites their counterpart ILAB, the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers members to participate. One of the other events was actually two, the Manhattan Vintage Book Ephemera Fair and th...
One of those tricky ownership cases has arisen in New York over eight books that once were in a library, but ended up in private hands. The library claims the books are theirs, the private party sa...
Maggs Bros. Ltd is one of the oldest continuously operating dealers in rare books and manuscripts in the English speaking world. It also has the distinction of holding a Royal Warrant as purveyor o...
There are two major book sales in the San Francisco Bay Area that feature really affordable books. Both are in the early spring and we hit them running, or in the case of our advanced ages, walking...
Remember the Alamo? Of course. Everyone remembers the Alamo. It was the site of the Texas rebels last defeat in their fight for independence from Mexico. It was a slaughter – no Texian survivors, b...
I recently heard that an ABAA commentator, Greg Gibson, mentioned [actually I think reiterated] that the Americana Exchange and its successor, the Rare Book Hub, are anti-dealer. This is not the c...
Art and science are about as different as two fields could be. Or are they? New York art, map and book dealer Graham Arader thinks not, and he has bet part of his own collection of fine artwork on ...
Italian authorities have seized 20,000 books from a private library, charging many had been stolen over an extended number of years. The books themselves were published from the 15th through the 19...
We saw in the previous article dedicated to Louis-Ange Pitou, that it had become fashionable in the aftermath of the French Revolution (1789) to deport the political prisoners to Cayenne (French Gu...
To be collectible is sometimes to be historical, sometimes to be part of the popular culture, and sometimes both. The upcoming Fine Books and Manuscripts Sale at Leslie Hindman on May 7th incorpor...
On May 18th and 19th, Ketterer-Kunst will conduct an appealing sale of books in all categories but most with an emphasis on illustrations. Their illustrated online catalogue was recently posted an...
This story may not be about books. Then again, it may be totally about books. While some people may buy “books by-the-foot” to display with no intention of ever reading a word within, books were in...
The month's roll by and fresh auctions are announced, promoted and then sold. This month there are initially 90. By the end of the month there may be a dozen more. As June then approaches some 2...
This month we review seven new bookseller catalogues. The William Reese Company has issued a selection of manuscripts and archives. Peter Harrington offers some classic children's books. Oak Knoll ...
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.
