Rare Book Monthly Articles - December - 2017 Issue

Updating a Personal Collection

I write from time to time about my collection relating to the Hudson Valley of the State of New York.  I’ve been collecting for sixty years and continue to be surprised by my changing interaction with this subject.  I could say “evolving” but this seems to understate the speed with which my options for collecting change.   A book collector from an early age I soon learned about some forty-plus titles I should focus on.  That a collection might include more than books was dismissed as requiring the complex alchemy of knowledge and opportunity.  As to opportunity it was suggested I offer to...

Read More

The Aristophil Scandal: the epilogue

The first “Aristophil sale” will take place this month in Paris, France, as an epilogue to the “biggest scandal in the history of autographs”.    The Aristophil case started in 1990, when Gérard...

Read More

Book Review: Where Have All the Copies of Robert Burns' First Book Gone? Here is the Long Answer

In the summer of 1786, 27-year-old Robert Burns delivered his first set of poems to a local printer. Burns was the son of a farmer, one who saw little future for himself in his native Scotland. He ...

Read More

Book Trade Manners in the 21st Century - “Courtesy to the Trade” has Many Meanings

“Courtesy to the trade:” That’s the old school way of saying that a dealer will give a discount or be more flexible in pricing and terms if you declare yourself as a fellow bookseller. The best way...

Read More

Follow-Up: Declaration of Independence Sells for $1.8 Million

Last month, we wrote about a very early copy of the Declaration of Independence coming up for sale at auction (click here). It was the first New York edition, printed on July 9, 1776, just five day...

Read More

Jack Stauffacher: A printer of the old school

In 2009 I was looking for a distinctive book plate to identify the 81 lots I would send later in the year to Bloomsbury, then in New York.  Several members of the Roxburghe Club in San Francisco su...

Read More

George Fox: a lifelong affair with the printed word

George Fox, who recently passed away, was an engaging man born with a serious case of bibliomania.  He liked the printed word, be it a book or ephemera and organized his life around involvement wit...

Read More

Stolen Library Book Returned 177 Years Later

Marsh's Library, Ireland's first public library, hosted an exhibition called Hunting Stolen Books. It was based on books that went missing from the library during its first 133 years of existence. ...

Read More

Bolerium: G R O W I N G

Bolerium is back in the news.  They have taken over an additional 1,700 square feet at 2141 Mission in San Francisco.  The space was previously occupied by Libros Latinos.  John Durham, the proprie...

Read More

Photography at Doyle: December 14th

On December 14 Doyle New York has an auction of photography that includes seventy-five photographs (in seventy-one lots) by Ansel Adams. These come from a complete Museum Set. Such sets, issued by ...

Read More

Exploring the World and Collecting Books

Editor's Note: On December 7, Christie's will host a sale of Russian America Polar Exploration: Highlights from the Martin Greene Library. The following is an introduction written by the collector...

Read More

The Lingering Allure of the Manuscript: The Jay T. Snider Collection of Illustrated & Decorated Manuscripts at Christie's

Editor's Note: Christie's sale on December 5th of Fine Printed Books and Manuscripts Including Americana contains a beautiful selection of manuscripts from the Jay T. Snider Collection. This is Boo...

Read More

Are Digital Files Better Than Books? Think Again!

It is a given that electronic formats are superior to printed books for ease of use and document preservation. For ease of use, they can be accessed from anywhere via the internet, sent via email h...

Read More

Dec. 6: Fine Books, Western Manuscripts and Works on Paper at Forum Auctions in London

Words that have become immortalized through the HBO show Game of Thrones will ring true this month: Winter is Coming. And with the cold comes a lull in the auction season as the industry takes time...

Read More

Postcards: A Fading Business But Increasingly Collectible

It is another sign of the changing of the guard in terms of print versus electronic media. Britain's oldest postcard publisher is closing its doors after over a century in business. J. Salmon opene...

Read More

A Bombed Out Library Is Assisted by Another Over 2,000 Miles Away

The story of the Mosul University Library, like that of so many things in Iraq, is one of enormous tragedy. The library survived the Iraqi War, though it brought numerous hardships to the city. The...

Read More

13 New Catalogues Reviewed This Month

For December, we have 13 new bookseller catalogues to review. Perhaps in keeping with the season, gift-giving for friends and family with varied tastes, we have a few more catalogues with a variety...

Read More

Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Winston Churchill. The Second World War. Set of First-Edition Volumes. 6,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard. A Collection of The Pooh Books. Set of First-Editions. 18,600 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Salvador Dalí, Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Finely Bound and Signed Limited Edition. 15,000 USD
    Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die. First Edition. 9,500 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Series. Finely Bound First Printing Set of Complete Series. 5,650 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms. First Edition, First Printing. 4,200 USD
  • Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    Starting 10AM CST
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [RUTH, George Herman “Babe” (1895-1948)]. Signed photograph. Circa 1930s. 191 x 248 mm. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HARRISON, Benjamin. Document signed (“Benj Harrison”) as governor of Virginia, certifying the service of Daniel Cumbo, a Black Revolutionary soldier. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: ONE OF THE FIRST PRINTED ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    Starting 10AM CST
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: FIRST PRINTING OF LINCOLN’S IMMORTAL GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HIGHLY IMPORTANT MORMON ARCHIVE. ALLEY, George. Archive of 23 Autograph Letters Signed by Mormon Convert George Alley to His Brother Joseph Alley. $10,000 to $20,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [AVIATION]. [ARMSTRONG, Neil A.] Aviation Hall of Fame Gold Medal MS64 NGC, Awarded to Neil Armstrong in 1979. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    Starting 10AM CST
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: NEWLY DISCOVERED FIRST PRINTING OF "WITH MALICE TOWARDS NONE... " FROM THE ONLY NEWSPAPER ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN LINCOLN’S SECOND INAUGURAL PROCESSION. $4,000 to $8,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: THE MOST IMPORTANT GEORGE WASHINGTON DOCUMENT IN PRIVATE HANDS; GEORGE WASHINGTON’S COMMISSION AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF, 1775, ONE OF ONLY TWO ORIGINALS. $150,000 to $250,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: A VERY RARE ACCOUNT OF BLACKBEARD’S DEATH AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIRATE ITEMS EXTANT. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    Starting 10AM CST
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: EDISON, Thomas. Patent for Edison’s Improvements on the Electric-Light, No. 219,628. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. Patent Office], 16 September 1879. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [VIETNAM WAR]. The original pen used by Secretary of State William P. Rogers to sign the Vietnam Peace Agreement, Paris, 27 January 1973. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: SONS OF LIBERTY FOUNDER COLONEL BARRÉ ANNOTATED TITLE-PAGE, “WHICH OUGHT TO ROUSE UP BRITISH ATTENTION”. $4,000 to $6,000.

Article Search

Archived Articles

Ask Questions