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Auction Update Review

M-Rare Book Hub: 94 Auctions Archived, another 92 Upcoming this Week

For the week ended 31 October, 94 auctions have been archived to Rare Book Hub’s Transactions+: 1 denominated in Australian dollars, 24 in euros, 17 in British pounds, 1 in Hong Kong dollars, 1 in Mexican pesos, 1 in New Zealand dollars, 1 in Polish zloty, 1 in Swedish krona, and 47 in US dollars.

 

Turnover was $58,218,532.50. The average lot brought $3,558.16.

 

This report includes this past week’s Top 25s for 14 categories, full details for this past week’s sales, as well as a full listing of the upcoming week’s 92 sales. 

 

 

Start by clicking on the tabs for the top 25s. They are live!

 

Best wishes for a good week!

 

Bruce McKinney


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Top 25 Lots Reported This Past Week.
  1. Heritage Auctions 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth Rookie SGC VG 3 -- Only One Superior in Any Population! on October 26th Actual price: USD $4,026,000.
  2. Sothebys Maharaja Ranjit Singh in procession, riding on an elephant through a bazaar, by Bishan Singh, on October 29th Actual price: USD $1,258,302.
  3. Sothebys An exceptionally rare and important Qur'an manuscript with eight tafasir with the combined title al-Itqan fi 'Ilm al-Qur'an ('Perfection in Qur'anic Science') from the library of Akbar (r. 1556-1605), on October 29th Actual price: USD $1,140,861.
  4. Sothebys Costumes of India: an album of occupations, on October 29th Actual price: USD $805,313.
  5. Christies Details of Renaissance Paintings (Sandro Botticelli, Birth of Venus, 1482) on October 24th Actual price: USD $666,750.
  6. Sothebys An extremely rare illustrated manuscript of the Ka'banameh (A history of the Ka'ba) by Abdulrahman Gubari (d.1566), signed by Ahmad [...] al-Khatib, Kaposvar, on October 29th Actual price: USD $587,208.
  7. Heritage Auctions Signed 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #144 PSA Good 2, Auto 7. on October 26th Actual price: USD $585,600.
  8. Christies Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century on October 24th Actual price: USD $571,500.
  9. Sothebys A large illuminated Qur'an, copied by Ahmad al-Nayrizi, commissioned for Muhammad Ibrahim Bega Yuzbashi, on October 29th Actual price: USD $469,766.
  10. Heritage Auctions Signed 1984 Star Co. Michael Jordan Rookie #101 PSA EX-MT 6, PSA/DNA Auto 8. on October 26th Actual price: USD $439,200.
  11. Christies QUR'AN on October 30th Actual price: USD $434,404.
  12. Heritage Auctions 1956 Topps Mickey Mantle (Gray Back) #135 PSA Mint 9 -- Only Four Superior! on October 26th Actual price: USD $414,800.
  13. Christies Moonwalk: one print on October 24th Actual price: USD $406,400.
  14. Heritage Auctions 1916 M101-5 Blank Backs Babe Ruth Rookie #151 SGC Good 2. on October 26th Actual price: USD $353,800.
  15. Sothebys Ibn al-Shatir (d.1375), Nihayat al-su'al fi tashih al-usul, on astronomy, on October 29th Actual price: USD $335,547.
  16. Heritage Auctions 1968 Topps Mickey Mantle #280 PSA Gem Mint 10. on October 26th Actual price: USD $335,500.
  17. Sothebys A line from the 'Baysunghur Qur'an', attributed to 'Umar al-Aqta, on October 29th Actual price: USD $318,770.
  18. Christies Untitled on October 24th Actual price: USD $317,500.
  19. Christies Afternoon Swimming on October 24th Actual price: USD $304,800.
  20. Heritage Auctions 1977 Topps Star Wars #1 "Luke Skywalker" #1 PSA Gem Mint 10. on October 26th Actual price: USD $268,400.
  21. Heritage Auctions 1996 Select Certified Mirror Gold Derek Jeter #100 PSA Gem Mint 10 -- Population Two! on October 26th Actual price: USD $268,400.
  22. Heritage Auctions 1909-11 T206 White Border SGC Graded Near Set (518/524)! on October 26th Actual price: USD $268,400.
  23. Christies A FRAGMENTARY MONUMENTAL KUFIC QUR'AN FOLIO on October 30th Actual price: USD $250,617.
  24. Christies Apple, from Ads on October 24th Actual price: USD $241,300.
  25. Sothebys An early Kufic Qur'an leaf, on October 29th Actual price: USD $234,883.
  • <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> 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. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
    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.
  • <center><b>Sotheby’s<br>Book Week<br>December 9-17, 2025</b></center> <b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 17:</b> Francesco Colonna. <i>Hypnerotomachie,</i> Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000. <b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 17:</b> Nausea. <i>De principiis dialectices Gorgias,</i> and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000. <b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 17:</b> Billon. <i>Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur,</i> Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000. <center><b>Sotheby’s<br>Book Week<br>December 9-17, 2025</b></center> <b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> 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. <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>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> 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.
    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.
  • <b><center>Heritage Auctions<br>Rare Books Signature Auction<br>December 15, 2025</center></b> <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. <b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> Edgar Rice Burroughs. <i>Tarzan of the Apes.</i> <b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> F. Scott Fitzgerald. <i>Tender is the Night. A Romance.</i> <b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> Bram Stoker. <i>Dracula.</i> Westminster: Archibald Constable & Co., 1897. <b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> Jerry Thomas. <i>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…</i>
    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: Bram Stoker. Dracula. Westminster: Archibald Constable & Co., 1897.
    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…
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