Those who collect, collect on faith. We accept we’re paying up and hope time confirms our enthusiasms and heal our overpayments. So be it. It’s such a pleasing field. I recently re-read Scribner’s 1947 Catalogue No. 135: Rare Books in all fields of collecting. We have many Scribner catalogues in Transactions+ because they have long been appreciated as gems of focus, selection and concision but this was a new one to me. And then I thought I’d like to see how their offers have held up in the 73 years since they committed their thinking to print. And it was interesting.
These days a...
I was 13 years old and I finally went into Eric and Joan Stevens Bookshop, which I had cycled past many times on my way to the sweet shop. Wow, you can travel the world and not leave your bedroom; ...
This recollection was written recently. The author has been a book dealer in Philly so long 17 year locusts have thrice come by.
A couple of months ago an old friend of mine sent me an article th...
The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Ten years ago, a group of people organized a campaign to honor Mary Wollstonecraft with a statue on London's Newington Green. Wollstonecraft, the 18t...
So you think you have a large book collection? Anke Gowda probably doesn't think so. Gowda is a man from the Indian countryside who started collecting books as a young man. He is 72 now. As he expl...
As the pandemic spreads and live events shut down around the country, virtual book fairs (VBF) continue to expand. Last month Rare Book Hub covered online events presented by Marvin Getman. This mo...
For many years, as a book collector, I’ve read dealer catalogues, combed listing sites and walked the aisles of book fairs to find additions to my focuses. In that way I acquired hundreds, I suppos...
Arader Galleries announces an important auction, Classics of Pen, Brush and Press on December 5th, 2020 including icons of natural history and cartography, beautiful examples of Audubon's Birds of ...
ILAB Booksellers meet again and look back at a year of challenges, innovation and newly found skills
In April earlier this year, ILAB invited to a webinar with booksellers from across the globe...
Collectors of autographs and letters, you'll thank me later if you weren't already aware of this auction taking place... One of a Kind Collectibles’ sale this month brings 260 lots of interesting a...
Ninon de Lenclos (1616-1706) represents the French liberated woman and the feminine “bel esprit”. She was a free thinker, and very modern in the way she lived her love and sex life and attracted re...
Jeschke Van Vliet Auctions of Berlin is celebrating a milestone, their 30th anniversary in the trade. They specialize in auctions of books, art, and related material. This auction is focused on old...
Last month we wrote about the sale of a Shakespeare First Folio by Mills College of Oakland, California. They did so not to pare their collection, or update it with new material, but to raise cash ...
All but four of the books stolen in the $3 million “Mission Impossible” book theft have been returned to their rightful owners. Returned were 240 of the valuable books taken by thieves from a Londo...
Cowan’s American Historical Ephemera and Photography Auction Exceeds Presale Estimate by Nearly $300,000
93% of Lots Sell with Early Photography and Manuscript Archives in High Demand
CINCI...
Another institution has sold some of their old books, and as always, it causes some controversy, though not as much this time. The institution was the Rugby School, in Rugby, England. And yes, the ...
There are many ways to dispose of a book collection, some good, some bad. Randy Lawrence has experienced both. He has seen his valuable comic book collection stolen, but then it was recovered and n...
This month we review six new dealer catalogues. Jonathan A. Hill Bookseller focuses on science, medicine, natural history, bibliography, bindings, and more. Zephyr Rare Used Books targets material...
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 29th January 2026
Forum, Jan. 29: Plato. [Apanta ta tou Platonos. Omnia Platonis opera], 2 parts in 2 vol., editio princeps of Plato's works in the original Greek, Venice, House of Aldus, 1513. £8,000-12,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Book of Hours, Use of Rome, In Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum, [Southern Netherlands (probably Bruges), c.1460]. £6,000-8,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Correspondence and documents by or addressed to the first four Viscounts Molesworth and members of their families, letters and manuscripts, 1690-1783. £10,000-15,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 29th January 2026
Forum, Jan. 29: Shakespeare (William). The Dramatic Works, 9 vol., John and Josiah Boydell, 1802. £5,000-7,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Joyce (James). Ulysses, first edition, one of 750 copies on handmade paper, Paris, Shakespeare and Company, 1922 £8,000-12,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Powell (Anthony). [A Dance to the Music of Time], 12 vol., first editions, each with a signed presentation inscription from the author to Osbert Lancaster, 1951-75. £6,000-8,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 29th January 2026
Forum, Jan. 29: Chaucer (Geoffrey). Troilus and Criseyde, one of 225 copies on handmade paper, wood-engravings by Eric Gill, Waltham St.Lawrence, 1927. £3,000-4,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Borges (Jorge Luis). Luna de Enfrente, first edition, one of 300 copies, presentation copy signed by the author to Leopoldo Marechal, Buenos Aires, Editorial Proa, 1925. £3,000-4,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Nolli (Giovanni Battista). Nuova Pianta di Roma, Rome, 1748. £6,000-8,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 29th January 2026
Forum, Jan. 29: Roberts (David). The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, & Nubia, 3 vol., first edition, 1842-49. £15,000-20,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Blacker (William). Catechism of Fly Making, Angling and Dyeing, Published by the author, 1843. £3,000-4,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Herschel (Sir John F. W.) Collection of 69 offprints, extracts and separate publications by Herschel, bound for his son, William James Herschel, 3 vol., [1813-50]. £15,000-20,000
Sotheby’s Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana 27 January 2026
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: An extraordinary pair of books from George Washington’s field library, marking the conjunction of Robert Rogers, George Washington, and Henry Knox. $1,200,000 to $1,800,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: An extraordinary letter marking the conjunction of George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Benjamin Franklin. $1,000,000 to $1,500,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: Virginia House of Delegates. The genesis of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. $350,000 to $500,000.
Sotheby’s Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana 27 January 2026
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: (Gettysburg). “Genl. Doubleday has taken charge of the battle”: Autograph witness to the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, illustrated by fourteen maps and plans. $200,000 to $300,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: President Lincoln thanks a schoolboy on behalf of "all the children of the nation for his efforts to ensure "that this war shall be successful, and the Union be maintained and perpetuated." $200,000 to $300,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.
![<b>Forum, Jan. 29:</b> Plato. [<i>Apanta ta tou Platonos. Omnia Platonis opera</i>], 2 parts in 2 vol., editio princeps of Plato's works in the original Greek, Venice, House of Aldus, 1513. £8,000-12,000](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/df7dd9ac-f0d0-4cb3-a44d-2731758530e4.png "<b>Forum, Jan. 29:</b> Plato. [<i>Apanta ta tou Platonos. Omnia Platonis opera</i>], 2 parts in 2 vol., editio princeps of Plato's works in the original Greek, Venice, House of Aldus, 1513. £8,000-12,000")
![<b>Forum, Jan. 29:</b> Book of Hours, Use of Rome, In Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum, [Southern Netherlands (probably Bruges), c.1460]. £6,000-8,000](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/c40bad29-8cb5-4347-a0fd-5361d39e84a5.png "<b>Forum, Jan. 29:</b> Book of Hours, Use of Rome, In Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum, [Southern Netherlands (probably Bruges), c.1460]. £6,000-8,000")
![<b>Forum, Jan. 29:</b> Powell (Anthony). [<i>A Dance to the Music of Time</i>], 12 vol., first editions, each with a signed presentation inscription from the author to Osbert Lancaster, 1951-75. £6,000-8,000](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/b7fdee12-4803-4d32-9330-a5729091cb92.png "<b>Forum, Jan. 29:</b> Powell (Anthony). [<i>A Dance to the Music of Time</i>], 12 vol., first editions, each with a signed presentation inscription from the author to Osbert Lancaster, 1951-75. £6,000-8,000")
![<b>Forum, Jan. 29:</b> Herschel (Sir John F. W.) Collection of 69 offprints, extracts and separate publications by Herschel, bound for his son, William James Herschel, 3 vol., [1813-50]. £15,000-20,000](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/a06cc0dd-7619-45e9-b155-5ad75ed7b2e5.png "<b>Forum, Jan. 29:</b> Herschel (Sir John F. W.) Collection of 69 offprints, extracts and separate publications by Herschel, bound for his son, William James Herschel, 3 vol., [1813-50]. £15,000-20,000")
![<b>Sotheby’s, Jan. 27:</b> [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9d2762bc-9f26-47ef-96de-1c28070e19f6.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Jan. 27:</b> [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.")