Rare Book Monthly Articles - August - 2024 Issue

A Step into the Future

A Step into the Future

Rare Book Hub for 21 years been pursuing two goals, one of them to become the first click world-wide when the interested, enthralled, committed or required want to understand the importance, value and rarity of rare paper. With 14,128,422 records we have captured the essence of the auction flow from the past 175 years, simply by following price changes.   Of course price at auction has always reflected the complex interaction of the copy, its quality, its rarity and its audience. The fact that those auction transactions would be recorded and remembered was never expected, beyond the many ...

Extra Extra Read all about it....fast!

Extra Extra Read all about it....fast!

Welcome to the 1970's.  Interesting and rare material, in some cases incomplete but in orginal condition estimated very modestly.    The upcoming Rare and Collectible Book Auction at Leland Littl...

THE TRIUMPH OF PAPER AMERICANA AT BOTH CHRISTIE'S and SOTHEBY'S

THE TRIUMPH OF PAPER AMERICANA AT BOTH CHRISTIE'S and SOTHEBY'S

Ok, so my 9th single owner auction of "How History Unfolds on Paper from The Eric C. Caren Collection" has come and gone...but that is the small news.   The big news is that Sotheby's sold 2 news...

Don Henley of the Eagles Band Sues for Return of Original Lyrics to Hotel California

Don Henley of the Eagles Band Sues for Return of Original Lyrics to Hotel California

In the continuing saga of the rock band the Eagles co-founder Don Henley's attempt to obtain the handwritten lyrics to songs in their hugely successful Hotel California album, Henley has gone to co...

Herman Darvick (1938-2024):  his auctions will be remembered

Herman Darvick (1938-2024): his auctions will be remembered

Herman Darvick was a Brooklyn, New York third grade teacher at P.S. 248 in the 1960’s  who found documents and signatures interesting.  In time he entered the auction field after Charles Hamilton’s...

AbeBooks Releases Their List of the Ten Most Expensive Books for the Second Quarter of 2024

AbeBooks Releases Their List of the Ten Most Expensive Books for the Second Quarter of 2024

AbeBooks has released their list of the Top 10 most expensive books purchased on their site for the second quarter of 2024, April-June. Collectors weren't holding back, the dollars flowing freely f...

« Ça ira, ça ira... » France and the Robespierre’s complex.

« Ça ira, ça ira... » France and the Robespierre’s complex.

For the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games that took place last July in Paris, France offered a show that revealed her complex relationship with her past.     The opening ceremony of the Oly...

Some Idaho Libraries Transitioning to ‘ADULTS Only’ in Response To Recent Draconian Legislation

Some Idaho Libraries Transitioning to ‘ADULTS Only’ in Response To Recent Draconian Legislation

A new Idaho law that took effect July 1, may result in state libraries transitioning to “adults-only,” according to a detailed report from the Idaho Capital Sun. “Under the new rules, library staf...

The Internet Archive/Open Library Appeals Court Ruling in Favor of Book Publishers in Dispute over “Controlled Digital Lending”

The Internet Archive/Open Library Appeals Court Ruling in Favor of Book Publishers in Dispute over “Controlled Digital Lending”

The Internet Archive and representatives of book publishers went to court recently to argue the IA's appeal of a lower court ruling against them. The case involves what is known as “controlled digi...

Short Takes For August

Short Takes For August

FRANKENSTEIN BRINGS A MONSTER PRICE AT HERITAGE  What’s not to like about an auction that brings together three of the great works of fiction and gets top dollar for them all. Here’s a brief repor...

Uri Geller Returns Library Book 47 Years Late

Uri Geller Returns Library Book 47 Years Late

We've encountered many stories about long overdue library books, sometimes a century late, finally being returned. They generally involve a book being found in a parent or other long-deceased relat...

Spencer Stewart: Collecting Insights

Spencer Stewart: Collecting Insights

COLLECTING INSIGHTS https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/collecting-insights-october-2024-3513409   For October 2024, Collections Advisor and author of Contemporary Issues in Rare Book Manuscript Coll...

Three New Catalogues Reviewed

Three New Catalogues Reviewed

This month we review three recently published bookseller catalogues. Clavreuil of Paris and London has created a catalogue of important French literary works. David M. Lesser Fine Antiquarian Books...

Rare Book Monthly

  • SD Scandinavian Art & Rare Book Auctions
    The Odfjell Collection
    Polar – History – Ornithology – Colour Plate Books
    Ending December 4th
    Scandinavian Art & Rare Books Auctions, Dec. 4: ROALD AMUNDSEN: «Sydpolen» [ The South Pole] 1912. First edition in jackets and publisher's slip case.
    Scandinavian Art & Rare Books Auctions, Dec. 4: AMUNDSEN & NANSEN: «Fram over Polhavet» [Farthest North] 1897. AMUNDSEN's COPY!
    Scandinavian Art & Rare Books Auctions, Dec. 4: ERNEST SHACKLETON [ed.]: «Aurora Australis» 1908. First edition. The NORWAY COPY.
    Scandinavian Art & Rare Books Auctions, Dec. 4: ERNEST SHACKLETON: «The heart of the Antarctic» + SUPPLEMENT «The Antarctic Book», 1909.
    Scandinavian Art & Rare Books Auctions, Dec. 4: SHACKLETON, BERNACCHI, CHERRY-GARRARD [ed.]: «The South Polar Times» I-III, 1902-1911.
    SD Scandinavian Art & Rare Book Auctions
    The Odfjell Collection
    Polar – History – Ornithology – Colour Plate Books
    Ending December 4th
    Scandinavian Art & Rare Books Auctions, Dec. 4: [WILLEM BARENTSZ & HENRY HUDSON] - SAEGHMAN: «Verhael van de vier eerste schip-vaerden […]», 1663.
    Scandinavian Art & Rare Books Auctions, Dec. 4: TERRA NOVA EXPEDITION | LIEUTENANT HENRY ROBERTSON BOWERS: «At the South Pole.», Gelatin Silver Print. [10¾ x 15in. (27.2 x 38.1cm.) ].
    Scandinavian Art & Rare Books Auctions, Dec. 4: ELEAZAR ALBIN: «A natural History of Birds.» + «A Supplement», 1738-40. Wonderful coloured plates.
    Scandinavian Art & Rare Books Auctions, Dec. 4: PAUL GAIMARD: «Voyage de la Commision scientific du Nord, en Scandinavie, […]», c. 1842-46. ONLY HAND COLOURED COPY KNOWN WITH TWO ORIGINAL PAINTINGS BY BIARD.
    Scandinavian Art & Rare Books Auctions, Dec. 4: JAMES JOYCE: «Ulysses», 1922. FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS.
  • Sotheby’s
    Book Week
    December 9-17, 2025
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue, inscribed by the author pre-publication. £100,000 to £150,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Autograph sketchleaf including a probable draft for the E flat Piano Quartet, K.493, 1786. £150,000 to £200,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
  • Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!
  • Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 9, 2025
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 156: Cornelis de Jode, Americae pars Borealis, double-page engraved map of North America, Antwerp, 1593.
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 206: John and Alexander Walker, Map of the United States, London and Liverpool, 1827.
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 223: Abraham Ortelius, Typus Orbis Terrarum, hand-colored double-page engraved world map, Antwerp, 1575.
    Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 9, 2025
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 233: Aaron Arrowsmith, Chart of the World, oversize engraved map on 8 sheets, London, 1790 (circa 1800).
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 239: Fielding Lucas, A General Atlas, 81 engraved maps and diagrams, Baltimore, 1823.
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 240: Anthony Finley, A New American Atlas, 15 maps engraved by james hamilton young on 14 double-page sheets, Philadelphia, 1826.
    Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 9, 2025
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 263: John Bachmann, Panorama of the Seat of War, portfolio of 4 double-page chromolithographed panoramic maps, New York, 1861.
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 265: Sebastian Münster, Cosmographei, Basel: Sebastian Henricpetri, 1558.
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 271: Abraham Ortelius, Epitome Theatri Orteliani, Antwerp: Johann Baptist Vrients, 1601.
    Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 9, 2025
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 283: Joris van Spilbergen, Speculum Orientalis Occidentalisque Indiae, Leiden: Nicolaus van Geelkercken for Jodocus Hondius, 1619.
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 285: Levinus Hulsius, Achtzehender Theil der Newen Welt, 14 engraved folding maps, Frankfurt: Johann Frederick Weiss, 1623.
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 341: John James Audubon, Carolina Parrot, Plate 26, London, 1827.

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