New Street, Wem, Shrewsbury SY4 5JX, in the United Kingdom. A fire tore through a building in Shrewsbury at Wem Industrial Estate overnight on 7 October, closing roads and cutting power to the town. Fire has long been a hazard for the old and rare book trade and a bookshop, Cosmo Books, was located there.
The alarm was raised about 12.30am, the firefighters arriving to find flames shooting from the roof. It started in an adjoining unit to Cosmo Books but spread along the roof space. The fire burned through ceiling panels and onto Mr. Downie's huge collection of books, built up over 2...
I first became aware of Houston based dealer Adam Schachter back in 2012 when he was a practicing bankruptcy attorney moonlighting as a book scout. Since then he’s transitioned from law to the anti...
Book valuation is never a certain number when you look on a listing site because what determines market value is when a willing buyer makes an offer and the seller agrees. Book listing sites offe...
This year we are celebrating the 100th birthday of one of America's most popular authors. Her first book has sold over 75 million copies, but she has written about 250 in total. We don't have count...
The Bilbiothèque Nationale de France, or French National Library (BNF) ran a series of portraits of “singular women” on their website last March. It featured the extraordinary Maria Sibylla Meri...
There has been a movement over the past few years to eliminate late fees for overdue books in libraries. San Francisco, San Diego, Miami, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Seattle and Columbus are amo...
Book fairs have been the early and consistent victims of COVID and it’s time to say The Empire Strikes Back! In-person buying and selling in the collectible paper field has long been a vital compo...
Do you believe in Magic?
If you are of a certain age you will remember when book auctions were mostly books but now-a-days we are living in the world of collectable paper and collectibles gener...
There is an old joke about what you can do with old books you don't need, or never were worth reading in the first place. You can put them in the bathroom where the pages can be put to appropriate ...
NYPL has recently opened a new, first-ever permanent exhibit called The Polonsky Exhibition of the New York Public Library's Treasures, featuring some of the most extraordinary items from the 56 mi...
Brant Mittler, a medical doctor, lawyer and collector now 75, has long appreciated the intersection of early American government, Texas history, and the difficulties and struggles discovering and s...
The ABAA invites bibliophiles everywhere to join the hunt for rare books and all manner of fine works on paper at the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America’s Virtual Book Fair: Boston Edi...
The 19th Century Rare Book and Photograph Shop, has just issued its Catalogue 190, Magnificent Books and Manuscripts, celebrating its 37th year in business. The business was established in 1984 by ...
The Portland, Oregon, area has faced a tough year. Record heat brought temperatures as high as 116 this summer, their hottest temperature ever recorded. Droughts led to fires, then followed by torr...
A museum dedicated to the American Arts and Crafts movement recently opened in St. Petersburg, Florida. Founded by local philanthropist Rudy Ciccarello, it is an impressive structure, “a work of ar...
This month we are reviewing seven new bookseller catalogues. Whitmore Rare Books features a collection of great and important books. The 19th Century Rare Book and Photograph Shop created a collect...
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>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.")