Rare Book Hub - Rare Books, Book Auctions, Antiquarian Book Collecting

June 25, 2026

Doyle, June 25: Houdini's biography, boldly signed. $3,000 to $5,000.

Doyle, June 25: A volume from Abraham Lincoln's library, signed just before heading to Washington for his inauguration. $20,000 to $30,000.

Doyle, June 25: A very early Confederate recruiting manual belonging to the chief commissary in Lee's Army. $600 to $800.

Doyle, June 25: Rare hand-colored lithographs of the life of Napoleon. $20,000 to $30,000.

Doyle, June 25: The "Holster Atlas" of the American Revolution. $5,000 to $8,000.

Doyle, June 25: Jewish ceremonies in fine hand-colored engravings. $7,000 to $10,000.

Doyle, June 25: A very rare work on Turkish military costume. $1,000 to $1,500.

June 25, 2026

Doyle, June 25: The most important illustrated work on the Mexican-American War. $10,000 to $15,000.

Doyle, June 25: The finest illustrated book on Afghanistan. $10,000 to $15,000.

Doyle, June 25: Henry Justice Ford St. George rescues the Princess from the horrible Dragon. $2,000 to $3,000.

Doyle, June 25: A rare work of Prussian Army uniforms under Frederick William II, with exquisite hand-colored engravings. $800 to $1,200.

Doyle, June 25: Lenny Bruce typed letter signed to a Village bohemian during his obscenity trials, with a manuscript note and drawing. $300 to $500.

Doyle, June 25: Schiff's scarce Shanghai Sketchbook. $300 to $500.

Doyle, June 25: The first accurate published representation of the American flag. $2,000 to $4,000.
Bonhams, June 14-23: Palm-reading, astrology, and more. Estimate: $2,000 - 3,000

Bonhams, June 14-23: Benjamin Franklin. Sammelband of 45 papers on electricity. Estimate: $8,000 - 12,000

Bonhams, June 14-23: The basis for the whole modern electric-power industry. Estimate: $4,000 - 6,000

Bonhams, June 14-23: Edgar Allen Poe. Poe on Mesmerism. Estimate: $2,500 - 3,500

Bonhams, June 14-23: Reformation - The Architect of Lutheranism on Church Unity and Dissent. Estimate: $100,000 - 150,000

Bonhams, June 14-23: The Rare 3-Paper Offprint Identifying the Double Helix Structure of DNA, Signed by Crick, Wilkins, Wilson, Stokes and Gosling. Estimate: $40,000 - 60,000

Bonhams, June 14-23: Autograph book and Report from the Thirtieth Indian National Congress, featuring the signatures of Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, and Dadabhai Naoroji. Estimate: $6,000 - 8,000

Bonhams, June 14-23: An Illustrated Miniature Hebrew Prayerbook Manuscript. Estimate: $30,000 - 50,000

Bonhams, June 14-23: Autograph Working Draft of Arthur Conan Doyle's The Death Voyage. Estimate: $30,000 - 50,000

Bonhams, June 14-23: "Perhaps the most celebrated and most beautiful herbal ever published." Estimate: $15,000 - 20,000

Bonhams, June 14-23: Izaak Walton. The Compleat Angler or the Contemplative man's Recreation. Being a Discourse of Fish and Fishing. Estimate: $12,000 - 18,000

Bonhams, June 14-23: A rare product of the Jaquard loom. Estimate: $8,000 - 12,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 123. Celebrate 250 Years of Independence with Original Stars and Stripes (1790) Est. $1,400 - $1,700

Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 20. Keulen's Spectacular Chart of the World Featuring California as an Island (1728) Est. $12,000 - $15,000

Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 42. Schedel's Ancient World Map with Fantastic Humanoid Creatures (1493) Est. $14,000 - $17,000

Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 591. Matching Set of 3 Stunning Globe Gores of Eastern Asia from Coronelli's 3.5 Foot Globe (1688) Est. $5,500 - $7,000

Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 9. Speed's Popular World Map with Allegorical Representations of the Elements (1651) Est. $14,000 - $17,000

Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 168. First Separate Map of Kansas & Nebraska Territories (1854) Est. $5,500 - $7,000

Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 43. Only Macrobius Map with Britain Attached to Europe (1515) Est. $800 - $950

Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 250. Rare Map of Boston and One of the Earliest Maps of the Revolutionary War (1775) Est. $2,000 - $2,300

Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 79. Schenk's Uncommon Map Featuring Two Figurative Title Cartouches (1696) Est. $1,200 - $1,500

Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 681. Hand-Colored Image of the Annunciation to the Shepherds (1502) Est. $800 - $950
Freeman’s, June 30. Thomas Jefferson’s “Birth of the New Nation” letter, carried to Paris with the Treaty of Peace, by a Jewish patriot. $100,000-200,000.

Freeman’s, June 30. “The rockets’ red glare.” A British midshipman’s log recording the bombardment of Fort McHenry. $60,000-80,000.

Freeman’s, June 30. The Critical Promotion of a Naval Hero, Oliver Hazard Perry Commission signed by James Madison, 1812. $40,000-60,000.

Freeman’s, June 30. Born in the USA: First Day of Printing in the United States, July 4, 1776. $15,000-25,000.

Freeman’s, June 30. One of the Earliest Printed Announcements of American Independence, in the Exceedingly Rare Original Wrappers, 1776. $10,000-15,000.

Freeman’s, June 30. "The Two Big Guns of the N.Y. Yanks": A Striking Type 1 Press Photograph of Lou Gehrig's Hands. $8,000-12,000.

Freeman’s, June 30. A Unique Contemporary Manuscript Account of Joseph Smith's Final Words to His Followers, the Day Before his Violent Death. $8,000-12,000.

Freeman’s, June 30. The State of Minnesota Officially Certifies the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution Of the United States. $8,000-12,000.

Freeman’s, June 30. Extraordinarily Large Manuscript Petition Signed by a Who's Who of Colonial New York to Queen Anne from the Colony of New York. $8,000-12,000.

Freeman’s, June 30. Mickey Mantle's First Cover: The Earliest Front-Page Newspaper Image of Mickey Mantle, "Something Good from Joplin". $8,000-12,000.

Freeman’s, June 30. A Call to Arms in the Months Following the Declaration of Independence: An Early Continental Army Recruitment Poster. $6,000-9,000.

Freeman’s, June 30. Samuel Jones, the Statesman Behind the Newly Discovered "Jones Declaration": His Annotated Set Used in His Working Law Library. $6,000-9,000.

Auction Update Review

Rare Book Hub: 27 Auctions Archived, another 30 Upcoming this Week

For the week ended 2 January, 27 auctions have been archived to Rare Book Hub’s Transactions+: 1 denominated in Australian dollars, 10 in euros, and 16 in US dollars.

Turnover was $1,671,523.78. The average lot brought $444.44. Four thousand five hundred and seventy-one lots were offered and 3,761 found new homes. For the week, 82.28% of all lots offered were sold.

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 30 sales.

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

Top 25 Lots Reported This Past Week.

Early American c. 1777 Revolutionary War Autograph Transmittal Address Sheet Signed, "G. Washington, endorsed by him On Public Service, with its Original Red Wax Personal Seal of GEORGE WASHINGTON fully intact, addressed to Brigadier General (William) Smallwood. on December 27th Actual price: USD $33,800.
Heritage Auctions Rick Griffin "Moses" Illustration Original Art (undated). on December 31st Actual price: USD $27,500.
Dirk Soulis Auctions ROSE O'NEILL (1874-1944) ORIGINAL OIL ILLUSTRATION on December 29th Actual price: USD $17,220.
Early American September 9, 1783-Dated Revolutionary War Period, Rare Issue, The Connecticut Courant Newspaper, Edition No. 972, special heading reading: The Last Official Address of his Excellency General Washington - on December 27th Actual price: USD $14,300.
Early American c. Jan. 9th, 1800 George Washington Mourning Broadside, Order of Performances / INSTRUMENTAL DIRGE. / PRAYER, By REV. DR. ECKLEY. / HYMN, / Written At The Request... Arrangement By Rev. John S. J. Gardner. on December 27th Actual price: USD $14,300.
Heritage Auctions Kael Ngu Harley Quinn #7 Variant Cover Original Art (DC, 2021). on December 31st Actual price: USD $11,875.
Early American May 23, 1778-Dated ,VALLEY FORGE, General Henry Knox 1778 Revolutionary War Letter Signed From Valley Forge Camp Regarding Resupplying the Army with Artillery, Wagons and Horses + More ... on December 27th Actual price: USD $10,400.
Early American February 23, 1783-Dated Revolutionary War Period, Extraordinary Execution Order Signed by Major General Nathanael Greene, for the Execution of Thomas Nicholson, One of His Soldiers Ordered to be Shot to Death for Desertion. on December 27th Actual price: USD $10,400.
Early American Joshua Humphreys, a.k.a. Father of the United States Navy, 1795 Regarding Designing + Constructing the First Frigates of the United States Navy Important Autograph Letter Signed on December 27th Actual price: USD $9,750.
Heritage Auctions All-American Comics #16 Coverless / Incomplete (DC, 1940) CGC NG (No Grade) Off-White Pages. on December 30th Actual price: USD $9,600.
Early American RICHARD VARICK Autograph Letter Signed Demanding Arms and Ammunition - Cannon and Grape Shott, at Albany, August 3rd, 1776 on December 27th Actual price: USD $8,450.
John McInnis Auctioneers 1764 NEW and CORRECTED CHART of NEW ENGLAND on January 1st Actual price: USD $8,060.
Heritage Auctions Giant-Size X-Men #1 (Marvel, 1975) CGC NM+ 9.6 White pages. on December 30th Actual price: USD $7,800.
Early American c. 1860 Photograph Portrait of Abraham Lincoln on December 27th Actual price: USD $7,800.
Early American October 19, 1776 Published, Rare Revolutionary War Date, Engraved Broadside titled, "Plan of New York Island... Engagement on Woody Heights of Long Island... 27 August 1776, between His Majestys Forces... General Howe... under General Putnam..." on December 27th Actual price: USD $7,150.
Catawiki B. V. [Incunable] Decretalium on December 22nd Actual price: USD $6,600.
Heritage Auctions Frank Thorne - Red Sonja Illustration Original Art (c. 1970). on December 31st Actual price: USD $6,563.
Early American c 1793 Mezzotint Engraving titled: George Washington. President of the United States of America. From the Original Portrait Painted at the request of the Corporation of the University of Cambridge in Massachusetts. on December 27th Actual price: USD $6,500.
Early American 1883-Dated SAMUEL FRANCIS SMITH, Handwritten and Signed First Four Stanzas of AMERICA, Patriotic Song, My Country Tis of Thee on December 27th Actual price: USD $6,500.
Catawiki B. V. The Woorkes - Canterbury Tales on December 22nd Actual price: USD $6,407.
Early American Treaty of Versailles. A True Copy Dated October 13th, 1923 from Secretary of State Charles E. Hughes, (Chief Clerk Signed for Hughes) with Red Embossed Department of State Seal attached by a Red Silk Ribbon on December 27th Actual price: USD $6,175.
Catawiki B. V. [Incunable] Confessionale on December 22nd Actual price: USD $6,024.
Catawiki B. V. Metamorphoseos (bound with):// M.T.Ciceronis Opera on December 19th Actual price: USD $5,967.
Trillium Antique Prints & Rare Books De Bry - Map of Florida (Southeast North America, Cuba, Bahamas) on December 27th Actual price: USD $5,832.
Catawiki B. V. Quotlibeta Doctoris Subtilis [Scoti Incunabolo, Incunable] on December 19th Actual price: USD $5,748.

No auctions saw their total proceeds reach a million dollars:

No auctions saw total sales exceed 100% of the high estimates of all lots offered in the sale:

15 sales saw at least 80% of their lots sell:

Vogt Auction. New Year's Day Auction on January 1st: 100.00%
Heritage Auctions. Wednesday Trading Card Games Select Auction on December 31st: 100.00%
Heritage Auctions. Tuesday Animation and Anime Art, Disneyana and Disneyland Select Auction on December 30th: 100.00%
Heritage Auctions. Tuesday World Paper Money Select Auction on December 30th: 100.00%
Heritage Auctions. Tuesday US Currency Select Auction on December 30th: 100.00%
Heritage Auctions. Pulp Magazine Select Auction on December 28th: 100.00%
Heritage Auctions. Sunday, Monday & Tuesday Comic Books Select Auction on December 30th: 99.83%
Heritage Auctions. Wednesday Comic Art and Animation Select Auction on December 31st: 99.71%
Heritage Auctions. Sunday Movie Posters Select Auction on December 28th: 99.51%
Heritage Auctions. Sunday Sports Collectibles Select Auction on December 28th: 98.20%
EV Stamps. Stamps and Postal History on December 28th: 97.22%
John McInnis Auctioneers. New Year's Week Estates Auction 1 on January 1st: 92.31%
Dirk Soulis Auctions. 20th Annual Between-the-Holidays Auction on December 29th: 90.12%
Early American. History Auction on December 27th: 89.55%
Trillium Antique Prints & Rare Books. Fine Art - Antique Engravings & Lithographs - Works on Paper on December 27th: 86.00%

27 total sales reported this week:

Dirk Soulis Auctions. 20th Annual Between-the-Holidays Auction on December 29th: 90.12%
Bertolami Fine Art . 20th Century Rare and Curious Books on December 29th: 59.87%
Vogt Auction. New Year's Day Auction on January 1st: 100.00%
John McInnis Auctioneers. New Year's Week Estates Auction 1 on January 1st: 92.31%
Catawiki B. V.. Literature and Illustrated Books Auction on December 12th: 73.08%
Catawiki B. V.. Old and Rare Books (pre-1700) on December 23rd: 74.36%
Catawiki B. V.. Autographs and Manuscripts on December 23rd: 78.18%
Catawiki B. V.. Old and Rare Books (pre-1700) on December 22nd: 27.10%
Catawiki B. V.. Exclusive Maps Auction on December 21st: 52.38%
Catawiki B. V.. Autographs and Manuscripts on December 21st: 30.43%
Catawiki B. V.. Photography Books Auction on December 21st: 31.82%
Catawiki B. V.. Exclusive Maps Auction on December 20th: 55.56%
Catawiki B. V.. Old and Rare Books (pre-1700) on December 19th: 42.42%
Heritage Auctions. Wednesday Trading Card Games Select Auction on December 31st: 100.00%
Heritage Auctions. Wednesday Comic Art and Animation Select Auction on December 31st: 99.71%
Heritage Auctions. Tuesday Animation and Anime Art, Disneyana and Disneyland Select Auction on December 30th: 100.00%
Heritage Auctions. Tuesday World Paper Money Select Auction on December 30th: 100.00%
Heritage Auctions. Tuesday US Currency Select Auction on December 30th: 100.00%
Heritage Auctions. Sunday, Monday & Tuesday Comic Books Select Auction on December 30th: 99.83%
Sydney Rare Book Auctions. End of Year Sale: Books, Ephemera, Maps on December 28th: 50.68%
EV Stamps. Stamps and Postal History on December 28th: 97.22%
Los Angeles Estate Auction. Fine Art Paintings Auction on December 23rd: 20.75%
Early American. History Auction on December 27th: 89.55%
Trillium Antique Prints & Rare Books. Fine Art - Antique Engravings & Lithographs - Works on Paper on December 27th: 86.00%
Heritage Auctions. Pulp Magazine Select Auction on December 28th: 100.00%
Heritage Auctions. Sunday Sports Collectibles Select Auction on December 28th: 98.20%
Heritage Auctions. Sunday Movie Posters Select Auction on December 28th: 99.51%

Bruce McKinney

RBH and AE

Bonhams, June 14-23: Franklin D. Roosevelt Presentation Gold Pocket Watch. Estimate: $20,000 - 30,000

Bonhams, June 14-23: Presentation Copy of the First Issue of the Lincoln Douglas Debates Signed by Abraham Lincoln in Pencil to a Sangamon County Illinois Republican. Estimate: $150,000 - 250,000

Bonhams, June 14-23: A Senate Resolution Signed in the Tense Days After the Union's Humiliating Defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run. Estimate: $80,000 - $120,000

Bonhams, June 14-23: Seven Passages to a Flight, an Artists Book with a Story Quilt by Faith Ringgold, the Publisher's Own Copy. Estimate: $80,000 - 120,000

Bonhams, June 14-23: A New Charter for Virginia, A Response to the First Armed Rebellion in the American Colonies. Estimate: $15,000 - 25,000

Bonhams, June 14-23: Earliest obtainable printing of the Bill of Rights. Estimate: $8,000 - 12,000

Bonhams, June 14-23: Edward Curtis Orotone. Estimate: $7,000 - 9,000

Bonhams, June 14-23: Owned by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: A Butter or Dessert Plate from FDR's State Dinner Service. Estimate: $3,000 - 5,000

Bonhams, June 14-23: An Early Large-Format Plan of the City of Washington. Estimate: $1,500 - 2,500

Bonhams, June 14-23: Containing the First Map to Name the Hudson River. Estimate: $20,000 - 30,000

Bonhams, June 14-23: America's First Major Novelist, a Complete Chapter in Autograph Manuscript by James Fenimore Cooper. Estimate: $15,000 - 20,000

Bonhams, June 14-23: The Only Full-Length Book by Jefferson, with the Justly Famous Map. Estimate: $12,000 - 18,000
Sotheby's Book Week
2 June - 9 July

Sotheby’s, June 25: Smith, Adam. The Wealth of Nations, on its 250th anniversary. $180,000 to $250,000.

Sotheby’s, June 17: Fontana, Lucio. Concetto Spaziale. 1967. Leporello en papier doré. Bel exemplaire signé. €4,000 to $€,000.

Sotheby’s, June 25: Fitzgerald, F. Scott. "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past”. $150,000 to $200,000.

Sotheby’s, June 25: Washington, George (as First President). Washington decries “an ostentatious imitation, or mimickry of Royalty” in his Presidency. $250,000 to $500,000.

Sotheby’s, June 17: Lope de Vega. Rare manuscrit autographe signé de la préface dédicatoire de "El Cardenal de Belen" (le cardinal de Bethléem), pièce composée en 1610. €40,000 to €60,000.
June 23rd, 24th & 25th 2026

Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Medical Incunabula: Petit (Jean)publisher & Kerver (Thielman)printer. Regimen Sanitatis Salernitanum, sm. 8vo, Paris [1498]

Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Hugo (Victor) [Wraxall (Lascelles)]. Les Miserable, 3 vols., 8vo, L. (Hurst & Blackett) 1862, First Authorized English Translation (copyright).

Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Shelley (Mary Wollstonecraft). Frankenstein: or The Modern Prometheus, 8vo, 2 vols. in one, L. (G. & W.B. Whittaker, Ave-Maria-Lane) 1823.

June 23rd, 24th & 25th 2026

Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Cuisine: Anon. Cookery, Pastry, and Sweet Meats in three Books, Alphabetically Digested, 8vo 1710.

Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Lambert (Aylmer Bourke). A Description of the Genus Pinus, with Directions Relative to the Cultivation…, 2 vols. Sm. folio L. (Messrs. Weddell) 1832.

Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Botany: Curtis (William). Flora Londinensis: or Plates and Descriptions of such Plants as Grow Wild in the Environs of London, 2 vols. folio, London (B. White) 1777 – 1798.

June 23rd, 24th & 25th 2026

Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Le Moire (J.M.) Maple Leaves, Canadian History and Quebec Scenery (Third Series) 8vo Quebec (Hunter, Rose & Co.) 1865. First Edn.

Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: The Earliest Extant Printed House Contents Sale Catalogue in Ireland: Baillie, Auctioneer, Abby Street. A Catalogue of the Goods and Stock of the late Edward Wingfield…

Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: William III King of England. Autograph Letter Signed ("William R") to an unnamed correspondent [possibly Charles-Henri de Lorraine] discussing his strategy against the French forces during the siege of Namur.

June 23rd, 24th & 25th 2026

Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: [Austen (Jane) (1785-1817]. Pride and Prejudice, 3 vols. sm. 8vo, L. (T. Egerton) 1813.

Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Heaney (Seamus). Ugolino, sm. folio D. (Dolmen) 1979, Limited Edn. No. 78/125 Copies, Signed by Seamus Heaney, Louis le Brocquy, Liam Miller and Andrew Carpenter.

Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Voltaire (F.M. Avouet de). Petits Ouvrages, attribues a M. de Voltaire, sm. folio manuscript, dated 1776, containing 9 works.