The world has been transforming. For 20 somethings these days that’s the world you were born into. For those born before 1975 what we experience is surprisingly unfamiliar. Many, okay let’s be frank, most old and rare books and paper sellers have been having a difficult time adjusting. Why? Because 30 years ago, the world was continuing to love what you were selling, and you were happy as a clam to be surrounded with material that makes you feel good. Institutions were pleased to receive your mailed catalogues. Collectors were always scarce, but you had some and you treated them well. Thei...
LATE UPUDATE – See bottom of the article
Last month we wrote about tariffs and their effect on shipping books to the U.S. from foreign countries. What we found was a jumble of uncertainty. Prev...
One of the greatest philosophers and thinkers of the ages was Søren Kierkegaard. If you are not aware of that or of him, you'll have to take my word for it. Most people probably recognize Aristotle...
The already hot market for Pokémon Trading Cards gained additional traction at the Aug. 8 Pokémon Masters auction sale hosted by Heritage. That sale featuring 106 lots brought in a total of $1,360,...
The Field is becoming Complicated
As Rare Book Hub categorizes material, the field will contribute their ideas often based on their decades long experience. The ideal outcome for Categories is ...
Categories are Improving
Years ago we were asked to differentiate sales of baseball memorabilia from books and manuscripts because, occasionally, baseball cards dominated our weekly Top 25 list...
We live in the past and often are comfortable there. It isn’t that life was never easy. It was, sometimes. The fifties have become the Fifties. Certainly, the voices of women, minorities and the po...
Do you know what happened to little Paulina Musters' death mask? The people of her hometown would like to bring the last relic of her short life home. That town is Ossendrecht in the Netherlands, a...
Stockholms Auktionsverk recently confirmed (18 August, 2025) the completion of its acquisition of Uppsala Auktionskammare – a historic merger between two of Sweden’s most prestigious players in th...
A San Francisco Bay area man has been charged with theft of rare and valuable Chinese manuscripts from the UCLA (University of California Los Angeles) library. Jeffrey Ying of Fremont, a man of man...
Proposed downsizing and consolidation result in vocal organized protest.
The State Historical Society of Iowa (SHSI) has an outstanding record of collecting and preserving the state’s heritage ...
Voyages Avantures du Chevalier de ***... (Londres, Paris—1769)§ is a hard book to find. According to the Rare Book Transaction History, two copies only were offered for sale over the past 150 year...
“Do you hear that rumbling? It's the sound of the standing world record price for a basketball card getting ready to fall. For five years, the 2009-10 National Treasures Steph Curry Logoman Autogra...
This month we review two new bookseller catalogues. Jonathan A. Hill Bookseller has issued their Catalogue 250. It includes many Japanese and Asian works as usual, but also expands into various oth...
Koller, Mar. 25: KAFKA, FRANZ, SCHRIFTSTELLER. Eigenh. Brief mit Unterschrift. Prag, 20. Oktober [19]15. CHF 30,000-40,000.
Koller, Mar. 25: EINSTEIN, ALBERT. Zwei eigenhändige Briefe an Ernst Gabor Straus, unterschrieben "A.E" bzw. "A. Einstein". [Princeton], [19]45. und [1950]. CHF 30,000-40,000.
Koller, Mar. 25: HORTENSE DE BEAUHARNAIS, MUTTER VON NAPOLEON III. Album aus ihrem Besitz mit 69 Aquarellen und Pinselzeichnungen in Sepia oder Grau… CHF 14,000-18,000.
Koller, Mar. 25: ZOOLOGIE - ORNITHOLOGIE - Seligmann, Johann Michael. Verzameling van uitlandsche en zeldzaame Vogelen. Teile 1-8 (von 9) in 2 Bänden. Mit 421 prächtig altkolorierten Kupfertafeln. CHF 14,000-20,000
Koller, Mar. 25: BOTANIK - Berlèse, Lorenzo und Johann Jakob Jung. Iconographie du genre camellia... 3 Bände. Mit 300 Farbstichtafeln "a la poupée.” Paris, [1839-]1841-1843. CHF 12,000-18,000.
Forum Auctions Natural History: The remaining stock of Antiquariaat Junk, 1899-2026 25 March 2026
Forum, Mar. 25: Botany.- Andrews (H.C.) Coloured Engravings of Heaths, 4 vol. in 2, first edition, [1710,--94]-1802-1809-[1830]. £10,000 - £15,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Butterflies.- Cramer (Pierre) and Caspar Stoll. De Uitlandsche Kapellen voorkomende in de drie Waereld-Deelen…,, 5 vol., Amsterdam & Utrecht, 1779-91. £8,000 - £12,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Voyages.- Darwin (Charles) and others. Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure and Beagle, 3 vol. in 4, including Appendix to vol.2, first edition, 1839. £8,000 - £12,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Butterflies.- de Graaf (Willem Diederik Vincent). [Inlandsche Kapellen in beeld], 170 fine original watercolours, [Enkhuizen], [1800-40]. £8,000 - £12,000.
Forum Auctions Natural History: The remaining stock of Antiquariaat Junk, 1899-2026 25 March 2026
Forum, Mar. 25: Birds.- Dresser (Henry Eeles). A History of the Birds of Europe, 9 vol., including supplement, first edition, by the author, 1871-96. £6,000 - £8,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Zoology.- Felines.- Elliot (Daniel Giraud). A Monograph of the Felidæ or Family of the Cats, first edition, for the Subscribers, by the Author, [1878]-1883. £25,000 - £30,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Birds.- Frisch (Johann Leonard). Vorstellung der Vögel Deutschlandes, 2 vol., first edition, Berlin, Friedr. Wilhelm Birnsteil, [1736]-1763. £40,000 - £60,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Birds.- Gould (John). The Birds of Great Britain, 5 vol., first edition, by the author, 1862-1873. £30,000 - £40,000.
Forum Auctions Natural History: The remaining stock of Antiquariaat Junk, 1899-2026 25 March 2026
Forum, Mar. 25: Pomology.- France.- Poiteau (A.) Pomologie Française. Recueil des Plus Beaux Fruits cultivés en France, 4 vol., Paris, 1846. £30,000 - £40,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Botany.- [Robin (Jean)]. Histoire des Plantes, nouvellement trouvées en l'Isle Virgine…,, 1620; with Geoffrey Linocier L'Histoire des plantes, second edition, 1619-20. £3,000 - £4,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Asia.- Japan.- Siebold (P.F. von). Nippon. Archiv zur Beschreibung von Japan, 7 parts in 6 vol., first edition, Leyden, [1832]-1852. £35,000 - £45,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Asia.- Valentijn (Francois). Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indiën..., 5 vol. in 8, first edition, Dordrecht [&] Amsterdam, 1724-26. £8,000 - £12,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Botany.- Australia.- Redouté (P.J.).- Ventenat (Étienne Pierre). Jardin de la Malmaison, 2 vol.,, Paris, 1803-04[-05]. £30,000 - £40,000.