Rare Book Monthly Articles - September - 2017 Issue

Year 16, Day 1

Rare Book Hub, the successor to Americana Exchange, begins on 3 September its 16th year as a database of rare books, manuscripts, maps and ephemera offered at auction, online and in significant dealer catalogues, and/or described in important bibliographies.  The total number of records in our Transaction Database a few days ago was 7,886,529, 52 times what it was at launch while the price of the service that was $79.95 at startup has increased only 3.7 times in 15 years to $295.   It is a field in transition and information now trumps assertions.   The world outside of rare books has a...

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Three New Theories Attempt to Unravel the 500-year-old Mystery of the Voynich Manuscript

It is perhaps the greatest mystery of the book world. A 240-page illustrated manuscript, whose history can be traced back almost five centuries, remains indecipherable, its language, creator and or...

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Here's How to Find What's Available at Auction During the Busy Season

The busiest time of the year for book and paper auctions is about to arrive. Last year, 30% of the items were sold in the last three months of the year. Moreover, many saved their best for last, as...

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Columbus returns to the Vatican: it's a miracle!

In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue but only after the kings of Portugal, France and England turned down the opportunity to finance his adventure and King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella stepped in...

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Martin Luther in Print

The religious turmoil of the Protestant Reformation proved a bonanza for printers and artists, especially in Germany. A stunning new exhibition at SMU’s Bridwell Library in Dallas evokes the drama ...

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Weathering the Storm

I woke up on the morning of Thursday, August 24, made breakfast, and turned on the Weather Channel for the 8:00 update on Tropical Storm Harvey. I live in Corpus Christi, Texas, a flat, low lying c...

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Raveneau de Lussan… and a bottle of rum!

Twenty severed heads, on a buccaneer's bark, yo-oh-oh! Welcome to the merciless world of the buccaneers* (or flibustiers), those terrible people who swarmed the Spanish Americas in the second half ...

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A Busy Fall for Swann Galleries and Rare Americana in September

Swann Auction Galleries has released their Fall 2017 Auction Schedule, and it is quite the lineup! Starting mid-September and running through mid-December, sales that may interest readers of Rare B...

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Sept 13: Fine Maps, Americana, and More at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers

Fall is almost here, and with it comes a serious uptick in auction activity. This month, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers invites collectors to browse and bid at their September 13th sale of Fine Books a...

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Live Online Now Thru Sept 13: Atlases, Maps, and Rare Books at Old World Auctions

Although collectors typically come to Old World Auctions (OWA) for antique maps, the September sale also offers an outstanding selection of rare books.  Included are atlases, history books, geograp...

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Brooklyn Antiquarian Book Fair September 8-10

Marvin Getman, the trade show impresario, is continuing to build a book buying and bookselling community around his Brooklyn Book Fair, now in its fourth year and scheduled for the 8th to the 10th ...

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Inaugural San Francisco Map Fair September 14-16

This September, in San Francisco, the 1st Annual San Francisco Map Fair will be held at the Regency Center, beginning Friday September 15th from 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm, continuing Saturday the 16th 10:...

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Fresh eCatalogues: Interesting and Part of the Future

As paper catalogues decline in frequency the decline is offset by a rise in electronic catalogues.  This month there are 20 fresh efforts and another dozen since July 1st.  These catalogues reflect...

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Can A Monkey Copyright His Original Works?

The U. S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco recently heard an interesting case, one which generated more laughs than scholarly legal commentary. It involved a monkey that took a "selfie" picture. T...

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Six New Catalogues Reviewed

This month we are reviewing six new bookseller catalogues. The William Reese Company features a new collection of Western Americana. Lorne Bair Rare Books targets radical social movements from both...

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Rare Book Monthly

  • Fonsie Mealy’s
    Summer Rare Book
    & Collectors’ Sale
    July 30-31, 2024
    Fonsie Mealy’s, July 30-31: U.S. / European Shipping Archive 1800-1814. The Widow Bermingham & Sons Collection. €7,000 to €10,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, July 30-31: Bunreacht na hÉireann. Constitution of Ireland. An important copy of the First Printing of De Valera’s new Constitution, approved in 1938. Signed by the Constitution Cabinet. €7,000 to €9,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, July 30-31: A Rare Complete Run of the Cuala Press Broadsides. €7,000 to €9,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s
    Summer Rare Book
    & Collectors’ Sale
    July 30-31, 2024
    Fonsie Mealy’s, July 30-31: Grose (Francis). The Antiquities of Ireland, 2vols. folio London (for S. Hooper) 1791. Magnificent Hand-Coloured Copy - Only 25 Copies. €3,000 to €5,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, July 30-31: Cantillon (Richard). Essai sur la Nature du Commerce en General, Traduit de l'Anglois, Sm. 8vo London (Fletcher Gyles) 1756. €3,000 to €4,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, July 30-31: Gregory, (Lady Augusta). Spreading the News: The Rising of the Moon: The Poorhouse (with Douglas Hyde). Being Vol. IX of the Abbey Theatre Series. €3,000 to €4,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s
    Summer Rare Book
    & Collectors’ Sale
    July 30-31, 2024
    Fonsie Mealy’s, July 30-31: Lavery (Lady Hazel). A moving series of three A.L.S. and a Telegram to Gen. Eoin O'Duffy, July-August 1927, expressing her grief at the death of Kevin O'Higgins. €3,000 to €4,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, July 30-31: Dampier (Wm.) Nouveau Voyage Autour du Monde, ou l'on descrit en particulier l'Isthme de l'Amerique…, 2 vols. in one, Amsterdam, 1698. €800 to €1,200.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, July 30-31: Howell (James). Instructions for Forreine Travel Shewing by what Cours, and in what Compasse of Time…, London, 1642. €800 to €1,200.
    Fonsie Mealy’s
    Summer Rare Book
    & Collectors’ Sale
    July 30-31, 2024
    Fonsie Mealy’s, July 30-31: Rowling (J.K.) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 8vo, L. (Bloomsbury) 1999, First Edn., First Printing of Deluxe Collectors Edn. Signed. €800 to €1,200.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, July 30-31: James (Wm.) A Full and Correct Account of the Military Occurrences of The Late War Between Great Britain and The United States of America. 2 vols. Lond. 1818. €650 to €900.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, July 30-31: The Laws of the United States, Published by Authority, 3 vols. Philadelphia (Richard Folwell) 1796. €600 to €800.

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