Once a year in the western world the stars align over New York for the New York Antiquarian Book Fair. It always feels exciting and this year is no exception though a few book collectors may be absent because of this year’s change of schedule. You are reading about this in the March issue of Rare Book Monthly because the fair is a month earlier due to scheduling conflicts with the Armory and the Fair’s strong preference to continue there rather than face moving to a new and possibly less appealing venue.
Now, with these plans and commitments in place it’s next up to the audience to jo...
In what must be the most audacious book theft since the Director of Italy's Girolamini Library stole thousands of antiquarian books under his care, thieves broke into a London warehouse on the nigh...
By age 60 many dealers have lost a step and are on their second wind. Lillian Cole was already 60 in 1985 when she stumbled into bookselling, driven by her love of books. Now, aged 92 and 32 years...
I confess, I’m old enough to remember the “Summer of Love” (and what’s more I was there). That makes me over 70 and counting. In the intervening 50 years the content of the antiquarian, rare and co...
In the Bay Area recently for the ABAA’s west coast show I met with Rupert Powell, Vice Chairman of Forum Auctions, and suggested he tell us his story, that is, his career in the book auction field ...
Eric Caren, the exceptional collector and sometime dealer, continues this month to explain his decisions about collecting and collections. He’s recently decided to send some of his best material t...
One hundred and seventy three dealers in the books, manuscript, maps and ephemera categories gathered at the recent 3 day ABAA Fair in Oakland to exhibit and offer material to collectors, instituti...
The upheaval in Washington has reached into even the American Library Association. The ALA is not the staid organization one might think, a bunch of cliché librarians telling everyone to be silent....
Over the past decade auction houses have concentrated their April New York sales around the ABAA fair; creating an auction house – ABAA fair synergy that produced good results on both sides. This ...
Arader Galleries Spring Auction
March 25th – 1pm at 1016 Madison Avenue, New York
The Arader Gallery is holding an important sale of rare books and images on March 25th. The sale will be hosted ...
Men shall always comply with women’s desires...
The power women have over men is not a negative thing;
it’s a gift from Nature, it was meant for the happiness of mankind.
Jean-Jacques...
Normally when I write previews of upcoming auctions for Rare Book Monthly, I can key in on a few highlights that top the estimates, and also look at the other end of the spectrum for material that ...
What was believed to be the largest private collection of books of Judaica recently found a home after almost a decade of uncertainty. The problem was that the collection was too large and valuable...
As spring begins to push away the vestiges of the northern hemisphere’s winter outside, inside auction rooms around the world, things are beginning to heat up. For London-based Forum Auctions, Marc...
Amazon has announced the planned opening of four more traditional, bricks-and-mortar bookstores for later this year. They join three already open on the west coast, Seattle, Portland, and San Diego...
As libraries in the West fret over vexing issues such as funding limitations and changing usage patterns, it's sobering to remember how horrifically bad the situation can be in lands torn by war. I...
This month we review 19 new catalogues, many prepared for the recent California Antiquarian Book Fair. Donald Heald Rare Books features Americana, travels voyages, natural history and more. Dougla...
Sotheby's Fine Books & Manuscripts Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: Balthus, Emily Brontë. Wuthering Heights, New York: The Limited Editions Club, 1993. 6,600 USD.
Sotheby’s: Charles Dickens. Complete Works, Philadelphia & London: J.B. Lippincott Company & Chapman & Hall, LD, 1850. Limited Edition set of 30 volumes. 7,500 USD.
Sotheby’s: John Lennon, Yoko Ono. Handwritten Letter from John Lennon and Yoko Ono to their Chauffer. 1971. 32,500 USD.
Sotheby’s: Winston Churchill. First edition of War Speeches, Cassell and Company, Ltd., 1941. Set of 7 volumes. 5,500 USD.
Sotheby’s: Andy Warhol, Julia Warhola. Holy Cats First Edition, Signed by Andy Warhol. 1954. 30,000 USD.
Old World Auctions (Feb 11): Lot 11. Blaeu's Superb World Map on a Polar Projection (1695) Est. $5,500 - $7,000
Old World Auctions (Feb 11): Lot 36. Schedel's Ancient World Map with Humanoid Creatures (1493) Est. $14,000 - $17,000
Old World Auctions (Feb 11): Lot 49. One of the First Lunar Globes to Show the Far Side of the Moon (1963) Est. $1,000 - $1,300
Old World Auctions (Feb 11): Lot 5. The First World Map with Lavish Allegorical Vignettes of the Continents (1594) Est. $15,000 - $17,000
Old World Auctions (Feb 11): Lot 55. Anti-British Propaganda Map with Churchill as an Octopus (1942) Est. $2,000 - $2,300
Old World Auctions (Feb 11): Lot 197. One of the Most Influential Maps of Westward Expansion (1846) Est. $9,500 - $12,000
Old World Auctions (Feb 11): Lot 10. Scarce Pitt Edition of Carte-a-Figures Map of the World (1680) Est. $9,500 - $11,000
Old World Auctions (Feb 11): Lot 220. A Fine, Early Rendering of San Francisco (1874) Est. $2,200 - $2,500
Old World Auctions (Feb 11): Lot 707. Hand-Colored Image of the Presentation of Jesus with Gilt Highlights (1450) Est. $1,600 - $1,900
Old World Auctions (Feb 11): Lot 80. One of the Most Important Maps Perpetuating the Myth of the Island of California (1680) Est. $3,250 - $4,000
Old World Auctions (Feb 11): Lot 725. Homann's Atlas Featuring 26 Folio-Sized Maps in Original Color (1715) Est. $4,500 - $5,500
Old World Auctions (Feb 11): Lot 169. One of the Earliest Maps to Show Philadelphia (1695) Est. $4,750 - $6,000