The number of books and paper collectibles sold at auction was up significantly in 2024. The number of dollars generated was up even more, the result of a combination of more lots being sold and the average sale price going up. This represents a change from last year. In 2023, the number of lots sold also increased, but the average price dropped so much that the total dollars generated took a dive. In 2024, the rebound made up for last year's decline and more.
Here are the numbers. For 2024, 712,773 lots were offered at the auctions we are able to trace. That represents an 8.15% increas...
I purchased three lots at Swann Galleries this past November. Their common denominators were (1) they related to the mid-Hudson Valley (of New York State), and (2) they were archival in their app...
Forum Auctions presents The Ricky Jay Collection, an exclusive auction of rare and historic magic ephemera, to be held on Thursday 27th February 2025. The auction will feature a remarkable array of...
The catastrophic LA wildfires began on January 7th with the "Palisades Fire" igniting near the Pacific Palisades neighborhood and have continued to spread loss and destruction in their path. Accord...
E. Allen Ahearn of Quill Brush passed away January 5th. The price you pay to live is to accept your life will end. Americana Exchange and more recently Rare Book Hub were projects that interested...
The California Historical Society has agreed to transfer their 600,000 item collection to Stanford University. The issue was lack of permanent funding. They had a deep, complex and fascinating co...
“Behind the curtain of my mind!”: on Deborah Parker’s “Becoming Belle da Costa Greene: A Visionary Librarian through her Letters”, Florence: I Tatti, 2024The Library World knows Belle da Costa Gre...
An amazing collection of personal letters from the rich and famous was recently discovered in a manor house now owned by the British National Trust. In a story reported by The Guardian, it was reve...
There are the books arts, books as art, art books, artist's books... Those two words have long had a love affair. Their intersection will be found in Miami from February 6-9. That's when Tropic Bou...
A new antiquarian bookshop in town is always good news! Let’s visit Babel, the new oasis in the arid heart of the ancient city of Périgueux, France.
Périgueux, in the South of France, is a histori...
Jason H. Silverman, PhD, has been named the new Executive Director of the Manuscript Society according to a Jan. 15th announcement by the Board of Trustees. Dr. Silverman, an award-winning teacher ...
A battle is brewing between an ancient source of information, the book and its authors, versus a new invention, the chatbot and its developers. The chatbot is a program that can answer whatever que...
Here is one of the best ways to learn how to build a collection. The old norm was to blunder in the dark and overpay for several years. Spencer Stuart takes the pain out of becoming educated.
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Two more arrests have been made in the European country of Georgia in the massive library theft ring that stole books from libraries in nine countries. At least 170 books were stolen. At the time, ...
Extra Extra, Read All About It!
Rare Books San Francisco returns on February 1-2, 2025 and brings with it a Regency era flare in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of revered Eng...
Join us today or Tomorrow at the SF Book Fair: February 1-2
Book Fairs are the life blood for many dealers. Because the ABAA Fair at the Pasadena was cancelled because of fire risk, many deale...
This month we review two new bookseller catalogues. The William Reese Company has issued its first catalogue published exclusively by its new owners, James Cummins Bookseller and Peter Harrington. ...
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.
Heritage Auctions Rare Books Signature Auction December 15, 2025
Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9a74d9ff-42dd-46a1-8bb2-b636c4cec796.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.")
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
