Rare Book Monthly Articles - June - 2016 Issue

Stolen Columbus Letter Found at the Library of Congress Returned

Stolen Columbus Letter Found at the Library of Congress Returned

A stolen Columbus Letter, taken from an Italian Library, and eventually coming to reside at the U. S. Library of Congress, has made its way back home. At a ceremony in Rome, Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini couldn't help but note the irony – Like Columbus himself, "it is interesting how 500 years after the letter was written it has made the same trip back and forth from America." Presumably, improved security at the Riccardiana Library in Florence will prevent the letter from making a couple more round trips to America as Columbus did.   The Columbus Letter can justly be consid...

June 16: The Holy Grail of Alice in Wonderland Collectors Comes to Auction at Christie's

June 16: The Holy Grail of Alice in Wonderland Collectors Comes to Auction at Christie's

I am often tasked with covering auctions on material I'm no expert on. I do my best to highlight material I think many would find interesting and provocative. Usually I can go off the estimates to ...

A New Auction House in London

A New Auction House in London

In 2013 Stephan Ludwig sold Bloomsbury Auctions, together with his Dreweatts business, to the Stanley Gibbons Group PLC for about PS 15,000,000.  In 2015 he retired and is now preparing to return t...

Archaeologists Closing in on Finding Captain Cook's Ship, the Endeavour

Archaeologists Closing in on Finding Captain Cook's Ship, the Endeavour

Rumors spread across the wires a few weeks ago that the ship that led one of the most important explorations in history, one whose account graces all of the major collections of voyages and travels...

Results: 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare's Death Brings Special Items to Sale

Results: 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare's Death Brings Special Items to Sale

This year marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. Dubbed "the first universal author" by American literary critic and Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University Harold Bloom, a...

Things Looking Up for Publicly Traded Rare Book Seller

Things Looking Up for Publicly Traded Rare Book Seller

The largest publicly traded rare book seller has reported improving results over the past year. Sales are up for Scholium Group, parent of London based bookseller Shapero Rare Books. Using a fiscal...

Old World Auctions Presents: 100 Years in the Map Business

Old World Auctions Presents: 100 Years in the Map Business

This month, Old World Auctions, the online-only auction house specializing in cartography, is hosting a special sale involving three dealers who combine for over 100 years in the map business. Luke...

The Last of The Monks

The Last of The Monks

A recent discussion with a few book lovers on social media ended up with the listing of the last known copy of an alleged extinct ‘edition’ on French soil: the rarest translation of Matthew G. Lewi...

Long Prison Sentences Issued in Killing of Comic Book Collector

Long Prison Sentences Issued in Killing of Comic Book Collector

The two key players in the crime that led to the killing of a comic book collector have been sentenced to prison terms of 20 years for their role in the case. Mastermind Rico Vendetti, 45, of Roche...

June 8: Aristotle's Perfect Gem and the Black Tulip of Presidential Autographs at Bonhams

June 8: Aristotle's Perfect Gem and the Black Tulip of Presidential Autographs at Bonhams

On June 8th, Bonhams will bring a sale of Fine Books and Manuscripts to its New York showroom. Featuring what they call, "one of the finest printed books to have appeared in these rooms," as well a...

We changed our Name, now it's time to change any expiring AE links

We changed our Name, now it's time to change any expiring AE links

More than a year ago we changed the name of Americana Exchange to Rare Book Hub [www.rarebookhub.com].  We did so because, while we have long enjoyed significant support in the United States, we ha...

A Tale of Two Not Too Bright Book Thieves

A Tale of Two Not Too Bright Book Thieves

Book thieves are often clever, though not ethical, but even the smartest of thieves eventually makes a mistake. Frequently, it will come in attempts to sell the material, such as an eBay listing fo...

20 New Catalogues Reviewed for June

20 New Catalogues Reviewed for June

One of those anecdotal signs of an improving book market is the number of dealers issuing printed catalogues. This month we received 20 new ones, the most we have seen in a long time. The William R...

Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: The Shem Tov Bible, 1312 | A Masterpiece from the Golden Age of Spain. Sold: 6,960,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: William Blake | Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Sold: 4,320,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD
    Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Sold: 1,920,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Machiavelli | Il Principe, a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR
  • Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: ALDROVANDI, Ulisse (1522-1605) - [Opera omnia]. Bologna: Bellagamba, Benacci, Bonomi, Tebaldini, Ferroni, 1599-1668. €22.000-€28.000
    Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: [CANALETTO] - VISENTINI, Antonio (1688-1782) da Giovanni Antonio CANAL (1697-1768, detto 'Il Canaletto') - Urbis Venetiarum prospectus celebriores. Venezia: Giovanni Battista Pasquale, 1742-51. €7.000-€10.000
    Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: LA FONTAINE, Jean de (1621-1695) - Fables Choisies. Parigi: Claude Barbin, 1668. €7.000-€10.000
    Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: MERCATOR, Rumold (1545-1599) - [I continenti] - Europa; Africa; America Sive India Nova; Asia. Amsterdam: S.d. [ca. 1633]. €2.000-€3.000

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