Rare Book Monthly Articles - February - 2020 Issue

Prices at Auction Declined by 3% in 2019

The year 2019 saw a modest decline in the prices of books and paper at auction, although the number of lots offered and percentage of lots sold both increased significantly. The why for the decrease in price is uncertain. Macro economic factors can play a significant role, but the economy in the western world was good, the stock market unusually strong. On the other hand, there is much uncertainty out there, impeachment in America, Brexit in Europe. Perhaps it was a good year to keep your money in the stock market, rather than buying physical assets.   The median price of all lots sold in...

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The Guillotine Falls Slowly

For some years now the story of rare books and parts of others stolen from the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh has been devolving.  To the outside world this was simply another multi-million dollar ...

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Sad Day for the Book Trade: Commentary on Carnegie Library Thefts

By now the whole book world has heard that rare book librarian Gregory Priore, 63, who was the archivist and manager of Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Library William R. Oliver Special Collections Room from...

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The Pasadena Book Fair February 7-9

The 53rd California International Antiquarian Book Fair returns to Pasadena, California February 7-9.  It features booksellers from the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America and the Inter...

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The 60th Annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair March 5-8, 2020

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair returns to New York March 5-8, 2020.  This is, year in and year out, the most significant rare book fair in America and, many would suggest, the most important in...

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Long Lost Books Discovered in a Library's Walls

There's always a certain amount of anticipation when you tear out the walls of an old building. Might there be something, perhaps trivial in its day, of substantial value now to be found within? Fo...

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Collecting is hit or miss

It’s been an interesting month to be collecting the history of the mid-Hudson Valley of New York State.  Random searches online found a variety of broadsides and ephemera that fit into a project I’...

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Devon Eastland joins Swann as a Senior Specialist in Early Printed Books

Devon Eastland has joined Swann Auction Galleries as a Senior Specialist in Early Printed Books after serving as Director of the Book Department at Skinner in Boston, Massachusetts since 2012. Devo...

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A Valuable Missing Pokemon Card Sheds Light on Another Field of Collectible Paper

A man has sued a shipping company for losing a highly valuable piece of collectible paper he recently purchased, according to the New York Post. The man's name is Marwan Al Khaja and he lives in Du...

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Director Who Sold Institution's Book Collection Abruptly Resigns

The Executive Director of Salisbury House, a historic house in Des Moines, Iowa, suddenly resigned her post a short time ago. This story would not have been of interest to a rare book related site ...

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Now through February 12: Old World Auctions' First Sale of 2020

With bidding already live, Old World Auctions’ first sale of 2020 will be accepting bids until February 12th. This is a sizeable sale—778 lots of maps and other cartographic material, books, prints...

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François Gacon, #nomakeup

Long before the days of Instagram, make-up was already seen as a way to hide the truth. A French poet once wrote: “Today, Lize is quite cute / But where shall she find such a beautiful face tomorro...

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Maine Library Turns Down Offer for 5,000+ Sailing Books and Space to House Them

A coastal Maine library apparently has turned down a free offer of 5,000-6,000 books on sailing, plus funds to create the space to house them. In another time an offer like this would have been qui...

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7th annual Satellite Fair during New York Rare Book Week returns to the Church of St. Ignatius

On Friday March 6th and Saturday March 7th,  Marvin Getman brings his New York City Book and Ephemera Fair back to the venue where his first New York fair was held 7 years ago, Wallace Hall at the ...

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Live Auctioneers: Pleased with their Results

The following is a news release from Live Auctioneers of New York.  They had a good year.  While they handle much more than books, manuscripts, maps, and ephemera they are now a principal source in...

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Eight New Catalogues Reviewed This Month

This month we review eight new bookseller catalogues. Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books and Manuscripts features important books and manuscripts including private press and fine bindings. Samuel Gedge ...

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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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