Rare books of all kinds can be found online, at libraries and at fairs somewhere, some place every minute of every day around the world. What were once called rare books has evolved into collectible paper and now subsumes every manifestation of paper and ink, into a single field and today databases aggregate most of the offers into an answer proffered in a fraction of a second. Presto everyone with an iPhone is an expert.
So what happens then when someone who has spent his life, over the past 50+ years working in the trade and now, ambling into his dotage, remembering the many interes...
The life of Bill Reese ended 3 years ago, but his discernment, judgment and collecting acumen continue to be admired. His name will soon be illuminated on the marquees at Christie’s in New York. O...
One of the most important documents in scientific history, missing for 20 years, has been found. More accurately, it has been returned. For 20 years, librarians at Cambridge University have been un...
May is going to be a busy month in the auction rooms at Sotheby’s as The Library of Henry Rogers Broughton, 2nd Baron Fairhaven, will be sold in London on 18 May, 2022. Auctions are commonplace bu...
Charlotte Brontë and her sisters have been in the news a lot lately. It's nice to be remembered as they all died over a century and a half ago. It's also interesting to note that the stories have b...
Christopher Coover recently passed away, leaving a remarkable history with Christie’s, richly detailed in the many important sales he catalogued as a team member. Collections and collectors tend t...
Here is a list of the twenty most expensive books purchased on the AbeBooks website during the first three months of 2022. There are books old and recent, in English and Latin, fiction and real, sc...
On May 1st, 2022, the Book Club of Detroit (founded, 1957; current president, novelist Charlene Kull) hosts Master Hand Bookbinder, Jon Buller. As founder of Bessenberg Bindery, he served Detroit-a...
I had a headache the other day so I took a tablet and was fine again. Ordinary miracle in a world now able to modify a rat’s cells so it can live 30% longer! But mankind’s come a long way! This I r...
Banned Books Books For All.
The long arm of censorship has been bearing down on America in ways I've not seen in all my (many) years. Books are being banned from public and school libraries not...
The Bibliophilegroup Mailing List, headed by Lynn DeWeese-Parkinson, 79, celebrates its 25th anniversary next month. Though not exactly a household name, this subscription only group, ($30/yr/ 2 we...
Although the U.S. may be out of the acute phase of the pandemic, one trend that has emerged in the rare book field is that virtual book fairs continue to be put on. While many organizations are run...
In the midst of the terror and killing that is Ukraine, a book is being published. It is, perhaps, not what you would expect, Adam Mansbach's Go the Fuck to Sleep. It has been translated to Ukraini...
AntiquarianAuctions.com, an online rare book auction house, has been in business since 2010 under the leadership of antiquarian bookseller Paul Mills. In spring 2020, just as the pandemic was promp...
Blockbuster Set of Original James Bond Screenplays, Film Scripts and Story Boards to go on Sale for £500,000 to celebrate the Iconic Spy Film Franchise 60th Anniversary
The collection of approx...
“These bookshelves, I have to be honest, actually did not have books in it a couple of days ago. I had my husband go to a bookstore. I was like, ‘You need to get 400 books.’ Obviously my husband is...
This month we review five new catalogues from booksellers. Parisian bookseller Michel Bouvier has a catalogue of books and autographs. Whitmore Rare Books presents a collection of fine literature. ...
Forum Auctions Online: India Ends 19th February 2026
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 40 Ramasvami (Kavali Venkata). A Digest of the Different Castes of India, 83 charming hand-coloured lithographed plates, Madras, 1837. £5,000-7,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 50 Watson (John Forbes) & John William Kaye. The People of India: A Series of Photographic Illustrations...of the Races and Tribes of Hindustan, 8 vol., 480 mounted albumen prints, 1868-75. £4,000-6,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 53 Afghanistan.- Elphinstone (Hon. Mountstuart). An Account of the Kingdom of Caubul, first edition, hand-coloured aquatint plates, a fine copy, 1815. £2,000-3,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 57 [Album and Treatise on Hinduism], manuscript treatise on Hinduism in French, 31 watercolours of Hindu deities, Pondicherry, 1865. £3,000-4,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 62 Allan (Capt. Alexander). Views in the Mysore Country,
[1794]. £2,000-3,000
Forum Auctions Online: India Ends 19th February 2026
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 76 Bird (James). Historical Researches on the Origin and Principles of the Bauddha and Jaina Religions..., first edition, lithographed plates, Bombay, American Mission Press, 1847. £3,000-4,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 100 Ceylon.- Daniell (Samuel). A Picturesque Illustration of the scenery, animals, and native inhabitants, of the Island of Ceylon: in twelve plates, 1808. £5,000-7,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 123 D'Oyly (Charles). Behar Amateur Lithographic Scrap Book, lithographed throughout with title and 55 plates mounted on 43 paper leaves, [Patna], [1828]. £3,000-5,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 139 Gandhi (known as Mahatma Gandhi,) Fine Autograph Letter signed to Jawaharlal Nehru, Sevagram, Wardha, 1942, emphasising the importance of education in rural communities. £10,000-15,000
Forum Auctions Online: India Ends 19th February 2026
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 140 Gantz (John). Indian Microcosm, first edition, Madras, John Gantz & Son, 1827. £10,000-15,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 146 Grierson (Sir George Abraham). Linguistic Survey of India, 11 vol. in 20, folding maps, original cloth, Calcutta, Superintendent Government Printing, 1903-28. £2,000-3,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 195 Madras.- Fort St. George Gazette (The), No.276-331, pp.493-936 and Index to all of 1834 at end, modern half calf, Madras, 2nd July - 31st December 1834. £2,000-3,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 205 Marshall (Sir John) and Alfred Foucher. The Monuments of Sanchi, 3 vol., first edition, 141 plates, most photogravure, [Calcutta], [1940]. £3,000-4,000
Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: HAMILTON, Sir William (1730-1803) - Campi Phlegraei. Napoli: [Pietro Fabris], 1776, 1779. € 30.000 - 50.000
Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: [MORTIER] - BLAEU, Joannes (1596-1673) - Het Nieuw Stede Boek van Italie. Amsterdam: Pieter Mortier, 1704-1705. € 15.000 - 25.000
Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: TULLIO D'ALBISOLA (1899-1971) - Bruno MUNARI (1907-1998) - L'Anguria lirica (lungo poema passionale). Roma e Savona: Edizioni Futuriste di Poesia, senza data [ma 1933?]. € 20.000 - 30.000
Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: IL MANOSCRITTO RITROVATO DI IPPOLITA MARIA SFORZA. TITO LIVIO - Ab Urbe Condita. Prima Decade. Manoscritto miniato su pergamena, metà XV secolo. € 280.000 - 350.000
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
![<b>Gros & Delettrez, Feb. 11:</b> DALVIMART, Octavien ou d’ALVIMAR(T)]. CLARK. The Military Costume of Turkey](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/ca2d66a9-721d-4878-a2eb-51a7bb9a3889.jpg "<b>Gros & Delettrez, Feb. 11:</b> DALVIMART, Octavien ou d’ALVIMAR(T)]. CLARK. The Military Costume of Turkey")
![<b>Forum, Feb. 19:</b> Lot 57<br>[Album and Treatise on Hinduism], manuscript treatise on Hinduism in French, 31 watercolours of Hindu deities, Pondicherry, 1865. £3,000-4,000](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/f70b3790-9b4a-4990-b402-f0322021c0de.jpg "<b>Forum, Feb. 19:</b> Lot 57<br>[Album and Treatise on Hinduism], manuscript treatise on Hinduism in French, 31 watercolours of Hindu deities, Pondicherry, 1865. £3,000-4,000")
![<b>Forum, Feb. 19:</b> Lot 62 Allan (Capt. Alexander). <i>Views in the Mysore Country,</i>
[1794]. £2,000-3,000](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/ad2cf7b4-4d93-4231-a956-b440583b39b3.jpg "<b>Forum, Feb. 19:</b> Lot 62 Allan (Capt. Alexander). <i>Views in the Mysore Country,</i>
[1794]. £2,000-3,000")
![<b>Forum, Feb. 19:</b> Lot 123<br>D'Oyly (Charles). <i>Behar Amateur Lithographic Scrap Book,</i> lithographed throughout with title and 55 plates mounted on 43 paper leaves, [Patna], [1828]. £3,000-5,000](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/5651043b-3c0d-4e2c-931f-72133bda9b36.jpg "<b>Forum, Feb. 19:</b> Lot 123<br>D'Oyly (Charles). <i>Behar Amateur Lithographic Scrap Book,</i> lithographed throughout with title and 55 plates mounted on 43 paper leaves, [Patna], [1828]. £3,000-5,000")
![<b>Forum, Feb. 19:</b> Lot 205<br>Marshall (Sir John) and Alfred Foucher. <i>The Monuments of Sanchi,</i> 3 vol., first edition, 141 plates, most photogravure, [Calcutta], [1940]. £3,000-4,000](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8c8244b7-4573-44d3-9c70-e0d3a3ed3cc4.jpg "<b>Forum, Feb. 19:</b> Lot 205<br>Marshall (Sir John) and Alfred Foucher. <i>The Monuments of Sanchi,</i> 3 vol., first edition, 141 plates, most photogravure, [Calcutta], [1940]. £3,000-4,000")
![<b>Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26:</b> HAMILTON, Sir William (1730-1803) - Campi Phlegraei. Napoli: [Pietro Fabris], 1776, 1779. € 30.000 - 50.000](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/0372eeb9-97e1-47b2-baca-b3287d4704ee.jpg "<b>Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26:</b> HAMILTON, Sir William (1730-1803) - Campi Phlegraei. Napoli: [Pietro Fabris], 1776, 1779. € 30.000 - 50.000")
![<b>Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26:</b> [MORTIER] - BLAEU, Joannes (1596-1673) - Het Nieuw Stede Boek van Italie. Amsterdam: Pieter Mortier, 1704-1705. € 15.000 - 25.000](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8f9ce440-b420-4407-8293-eb8e1b38ca19.jpg "<b>Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26:</b> [MORTIER] - BLAEU, Joannes (1596-1673) - Het Nieuw Stede Boek van Italie. Amsterdam: Pieter Mortier, 1704-1705. € 15.000 - 25.000")
![<b>Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26:</b> TULLIO D'ALBISOLA (1899-1971) - Bruno MUNARI (1907-1998) - L'Anguria lirica (lungo poema passionale). Roma e Savona: Edizioni Futuriste di Poesia, senza data [ma 1933?]. € 20.000 - 30.000](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/71bb9667-5d66-4aa8-96a2-9880c74a7a26.jpg "<b>Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26:</b> TULLIO D'ALBISOLA (1899-1971) - Bruno MUNARI (1907-1998) - L'Anguria lirica (lungo poema passionale). Roma e Savona: Edizioni Futuriste di Poesia, senza data [ma 1933?]. € 20.000 - 30.000")
