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Sotheby’s
Fine Books & Manuscripts
June 24-25Sotheby’s, June 25: Keats, John. The most significant collection of Keats’s love letters to come to market since 1885. $1,500,000 to $2,500,000.Sotheby’s, June 25: Chassériau, Benoît. The “Expedicion secreta” of the Free State of Cartagena de Indias against the forts of Portobelo (Panama). $50,000 to $70,000.Sotheby’s, June 25: (Hamilton, Alexander, James Madison, and John Jay). "One of the new nation's most important contributions to the theory of government”. $150,000 to $180,000.Sotheby’s, June 24: Benjamin Franklin. "the Day of the Declaration of Independence is everywhere annually celebrated". $80,000 to $120,000.Sotheby’s, June 24: (Johann Conrad Beissel). A Sammelband of two of Benjamin Franklin's rarest imprints. $70,000 to $100,000.Sotheby’s, June 25: [Pernambuco]. First printed work in favor of Brazilian Independence. $150,000 to $200,000. -
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. -
Bonhams, June 14-23: Franklin D. Roosevelt Presentation Gold Pocket Watch. Estimate: $20,000 - 30,000Bonhams, 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 - 250,000Bonhams, 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 - $120,000Bonhams, 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 - 120,000Bonhams, June 14-23: A New Charter for Virginia, A Response to the First Armed Rebellion in the American Colonies. Estimate: $15,000 - 25,000Bonhams, June 14-23: Earliest obtainable printing of the Bill of Rights. Estimate: $8,000 - 12,000Bonhams, June 14-23: Edward Curtis Orotone. Estimate: $7,000 - 9,000Bonhams, June 14-23: Owned by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: A Butter or Dessert Plate from FDR's State Dinner Service. Estimate: $3,000 - 5,000Bonhams, June 14-23: An Early Large-Format Plan of the City of Washington. Estimate: $1,500 - 2,500Bonhams, June 14-23: Containing the First Map to Name the Hudson River. Estimate: $20,000 - 30,000Bonhams, June 14-23: America's First Major Novelist, a Complete Chapter in Autograph Manuscript by James Fenimore Cooper. Estimate: $15,000 - 20,000Bonhams, June 14-23: The Only Full-Length Book by Jefferson, with the Justly Famous Map. Estimate: $12,000 - 18,000
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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.
Auction Update Review
Rare Book Hub: 36 Auctions Archived, another 52 Upcoming this week
For the week ended 29 August, 36 auctions have been archived to Rare Book Hub’s Transactions+: 1 denominated in Australian dollars, 1 in Canadian dollars, 5 in British pounds, 1 in Mexican pesos, 1 in Swedish krona, and 27 in US dollars. The past week’s win-rate was 86.61%.
Turnover was $39,031,617.88. The average lot price was $6,691.52 as baseball and sports dominated this past week’s collectible paper sales.
For our more traditional community, we’re also providing this week’s sales by more traditional categories. Click on our Category Headers to see their Top 25’s. If you don’t see Categories that don’t connect with your inventory or your collecting interests, let us know. Many of your ideas will be converted into new categories.
And please note, some items are showing up in strange places. We're paying attention.
For the upcoming week you have 52 sales to consider.
Best wishes for the holidays.
1 auction saw their total proceeds reach a million dollars:
Heritage Auctions. Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction on August 24th: $36,219,558
8 auctions saw total sales exceed 100% of the high estimates of all lots offered:
Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates. Summer Americana - Day 1 on August 27th: 292.78%
Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates. Summer Americana - Day 2 on August 28th: 283.50%
Heritage Auctions. Pulp, Paperback, Science Fiction & Fantasy Showcase Auction on August 26th: 180.65%
RR Auction. Steve Jobs and the Computer Revolution on August 24th: 160.26%
Bukowskis. Prints and Multiples - August on August 24th: 137.00%
Tennants Auctioneers. Books, Maps, Manuscripts on August 22nd: 127.93%
Rago Arts and Auctions. faces of fame: Philippe Halsman from the Polaroid Collection on August 27th: 108.38%
Forum Auctions. Online: Travel Books, Maps and Atlases on August 28th: 101.75%
21 sales saw at least 80% of their lots sell:
Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates. Summer Americana - Day 2 on August 28th: 100.00%
Heritage Auctions. The Art of Garfield Comic Art Showcase Auction on August 28th: 100.00%
Rago Arts and Auctions. faces of fame: Philippe Halsman from the Polaroid Collection on August 27th: 100.00%
Heritage Auctions. Wednesday Trading Card Games Select Auction on August 27th: 100.00%
Rago Arts and Auctions. Icons & Heroes: Comic Art on August 26th: 100.00%
Rago Arts and Auctions. Icons and Heroes: Comics on August 26th: 100.00%
Heritage Auctions. Tuesday World Paper Money Select Auction on August 26th: 100.00%
Heritage Auctions. Pulp Magazine Select Auction on August 24th: 100.00%
Heritage Auctions. Sunday, Monday & Tuesday Comic Books Select Auction on August 26th: 99.81%
Heritage Auctions. Tuesday US Currency Select Auction on August 26th: 99.78%
Heritage Auctions. Wednesday Comic Art and Animation Select Auction on August 27th: 98.59%
Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates. Summer Americana - Day 1 on August 27th: 98.46%
Heritage Auctions. Pulp, Paperback, Science Fiction & Fantasy Showcase Auction on August 26th: 98.40%
Heritage Auctions. Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction on August 24th: 97.21%
Tennants Auctioneers. Books, Maps, Manuscripts on August 22nd: 95.56%
Heritage Auctions. Tuesday Animation and Anime Art, Disneyana and Disneyland Select Auction on August 26th: 94.00%
Blackwell Auctions. August Collectible Countdown on August 27th: 93.75%
Heritage Auctions. Sunday Movie Posters Select Auction on August 24th: 91.44%
Trillium Antique Prints & Rare Books. Fine Art - Antique Engravings & Lithographs - Works on Paper on August 23rd: 90.08%
New England Book Auctions. A Fine Summer Miscellany on August 26th: 89.39%
Forum Auctions. Online: Travel Books, Maps and Atlases on August 28th: 82.59%
34 total sales reported this week:
PBA Galleries. History of Science - Illustrated Publisher's Bindings from the Morris-Levin Collection - Miniature Books - Children's Literature on August 28th: 63.58%
Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates. Summer Americana - Day 2 on August 28th: 100.00%
Forum Auctions. Online: Travel Books, Maps and Atlases on August 28th: 82.59%
Fairhill Auction. August Militaria Auction on August 28th: 58.29%
Duke's. Summer Interiors on August 28th: 61.54%
Heritage Auctions. The Art of Garfield Comic Art Showcase Auction on August 28th: 100.00%
Rago Arts and Auctions. faces of fame: Philippe Halsman from the Polaroid Collection on August 27th: 100.00%
Los Angeles Estate Auction. Antique Art and Rare Estate Finds on August 27th: 47.93%
Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates. Summer Americana - Day 1 on August 27th: 98.46%
Blackwell Auctions. August Collectible Countdown on August 27th: 93.75%
Heritage Auctions. Wednesday Trading Card Games Select Auction on August 27th: 100.00%
Heritage Auctions. Wednesday Comic Art and Animation Select Auction on August 27th: 98.59%
Sydney Rare Book Auctions. Churchill, Military, History and Fiction Books and Ephemera on August 24th: 43.29%
Rago Arts and Auctions. Icons & Heroes: Comic Art on August 26th: 100.00%
Rago Arts and Auctions. Icons and Heroes: Comics on August 26th: 100.00%
New England Book Auctions. A Fine Summer Miscellany on August 26th: 89.39%
Los Angeles Estate Auction. Vintage Estates Art and Collectibles on August 26th: 55.35%
A.H. Wilkens Auctions & Appraisals. The Beaver Line Collection Auction on August 26th: 66.67%
Heritage Auctions. Pulp, Paperback, Science Fiction & Fantasy Showcase Auction on August 26th: 98.40%
Heritage Auctions. Tuesday Animation and Anime Art, Disneyana and Disneyland Select Auction on August 26th: 94.00%
Heritage Auctions. Tuesday World Paper Money Select Auction on August 26th: 100.00%
Heritage Auctions. Tuesday US Currency Select Auction on August 26th: 99.78%
Heritage Auctions. Sunday, Monday & Tuesday Comic Books Select Auction on August 26th: 99.81%
One Source Auctions. Antiques and Collectibles Online Auction on August 25th: 44.12%
Heritage Auctions. Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction on August 24th: 97.21%
Bukowskis. Prints and Multiples - August on August 24th: 76.00%
Heritage Auctions. Pulp Magazine Select Auction on August 24th: 100.00%
RR Auction. Steve Jobs and the Computer Revolution on August 24th: 79.25%
Heritage Auctions. Sunday Movie Posters Select Auction on August 24th: 91.44%
Trillium Antique Prints & Rare Books. Fine Art - Antique Engravings & Lithographs - Works on Paper on August 23rd: 90.08%
Morton Subastas. Saturday Sale on August 23rd: 46.67%
Hansons. Newark August Antique Fine Art & Collectables Auction on August 23rd: 68.42%
Tennants Auctioneers. Books, Maps, Manuscripts on August 22nd: 95.56%
Bearnes Hampton and Littlewood. Sporting and Collectors Auction on August 13th: 69.11%
For the week ahead 52 sales are scheduled:
Mon. Sep. 1st
Chiswick Auctions. London. The Poster Sale. 91 lots
One Source Auctions. Canandaigua. Annual Labor Day Quality Antiques. 187 lots
Kedem Auctions Ltd.. Jerusalem . Jewish Ceremonial Art / Illustrated Scrolls and Manuscripts / Engravins and Graphic Art / Ketubot / Hebraica, Part 1. 102 lots
Catawiki B. V.. LA Assen, . Old and Rare Books Auction (pre-1700). 76 lots
Moreshet Auctions. Jerusalem. The 19th Chabad Auction. 57 lots
Tue. Sep. 2nd
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Tuesday US Currency Select Auction. 520 lots
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Tuesday World Paper Money Select Auction. 150 lots
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Tuesday Animation and Anime Art, Disneyana and Disneyland Select Auction. 103 lots
Desa Unicum. Warszawa. Comic Art. 115 lots
Kedem Auctions Ltd.. Jerusalem . Early Printed Books | Sabbateanism and Crypto-Jews of Spain and Portugal | Chassidut and Kabbalah | Books Printed in Slavita and Jerusalem | Letters and Manuscripts, Part 2. 284 lots
Rossini. Paris. LA PLÉIADE. 254 lots
John McInnis Auctioneers. Amesbury. Online Estates Auction. 79 lots
Wed. Sep. 3rd
Dominic Winter Book Auctions. Gloucestershire. Printed Books, Maps and Documents. 465 lots
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Wednesday Comic Art and Animation Select Auction. 349 lots
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Wednesday Trading Card Games Select Auction. 92 lots
Rago Arts and Auctions. Van Nuys, CA. Prints and Multiples. 287 lots
Catawiki B. V.. LA Assen, . Autographs and Manuscripts. 96 lots
Catawiki B. V.. LA Assen, . Old and Rare Books Auction (pre-1700). 45 lots
Desa Unicum. Warszawa. Masters of Imagination. The Big Blue. 15 lots
Dunbar Sloane. Wellington. Affordable Art & Studio Ceramics. 48 lots
Purcell Auctioneers. Birr. wo Day Sale of the Library of the Late Tommy Smith (Grogan's Pub, Dublin) and Other Select Clients. To include Some Exceptional Items of Irish Literary, Poetic & Historical Interest. Day 1. 501 lots
Thu. Sep. 4th
Forum Auctions. London. Modern and Contemporary Prints and Multiples. 294 lots
Thomson Roddick Auctioneers & Valuers. Edinburgh. Edinburgh Collector's Auction: Toys, Postcards, Stamps, Coins, Whisky, Wine & Spirits, Medals & Militaria.
De Baecque and Associes. Lyon. Antique books - Mr M**'s library. 214 lots
Bogota Auction. Bogota. Books, Documents and Old Engravings. 99 lots
Potter and Potter Auctions. Chicago. Select Rarities: Exceptional Books and Manuscripts. 116 lots
De Baecque and Associes. Lyon. Interiors and Décor. 37 lots
Propstore. Valencia. Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction: Los Angeles Summer 2025. 142 lots
Ripley Auctions. Indianapolis. The Scale Model Collection & Library of James Hutchison - Single-Owner Timed Auction.. 104 lots
Purcell Auctioneers. Birr. wo Day Sale of the Library of the Late Tommy Smith (Grogan's Pub, Dublin) and Other Select Clients. To include Some Exceptional Items of Irish Literary, Poetic & Historical Interest. Day 2. 460 lots
Quinn's Auction Galleries. Falls Church. Sports Memorabilia. 125 lots
Fri. Sep. 5th
Chiswick Auctions. London. Photographica & Photography Books - Timed online. 212 lots
Desa Unicum. Warszawa. Mourlot. 48 lots
Bonhams. Brockenhurst, Beaulieu,. Beaulieu: The Beaulier Sale Collectors' Motor Cars & Automobilia.
Sat. Sep. 6th
PosterConnection Inc.. Clayton. Poster Auction #60, From War to Wanderlust. 360 lots
Aspire Auctions. Pittsburgh. September 2025 Auction. 66 lots
Trillium Antique Prints & Rare Books. Franklin. Fine Art - Antique Engravings & Lithographs - Works on Paper. 150 lots
Nadeau's Auction Gallery. Windsor. Jewelry, Fine Art, Decorative Furnishings & Accessories Auction. 41 lots
EV Stamps. Richmond. Monthly Sports Card & Comic Book Auction. 119 lots
Grays Auctioneers. Cleveland, . Art & Design. 29 lots
Morton Subastas. México DF CP 11000. Saturday Sale. 71 lots
Catawiki B. V.. LA Assen, . Exclusive Maps Auction.
Catawiki B. V.. LA Assen, . Old and Rare Books.
Sun. Sep. 7th
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Sunday, Monday & Tuesday Comic Books Select Auction.
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Sunday Movie Posters Select Auction.
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Sunday Sports Collectibles Select Auction. 212 lots
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Pulp Magazine Select Auction.
Genazym. Monsey. Catalog of the Giants. 76 lots
John McInnis Auctioneers. Amesbury. Virtual Estate Auvction - Wolfeboro, NH. 104 lots
Catawiki B. V.. LA Assen, . Autographs and Manuscripts.
Catawiki B. V.. LA Assen, . Exclusive Historical Memorabilia.
Catawiki B. V.. LA Assen, . Old and Rare Books Auction (pre-1700).
Bruce McKinney
RBH and AE
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Bonhams, June 14-23: Palm-reading, astrology, and more. Estimate: $2,000 - 3,000Bonhams, June 14-23: Benjamin Franklin. Sammelband of 45 papers on electricity. Estimate: $8,000 - 12,000Bonhams, June 14-23: The basis for the whole modern electric-power industry. Estimate: $4,000 - 6,000Bonhams, June 14-23: Edgar Allen Poe. Poe on Mesmerism. Estimate: $2,500 - 3,500Bonhams, June 14-23: Reformation - The Architect of Lutheranism on Church Unity and Dissent. Estimate: $100,000 - 150,000Bonhams, 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 - 60,000Bonhams, 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 - 8,000Bonhams, June 14-23: An Illustrated Miniature Hebrew Prayerbook Manuscript. Estimate: $30,000 - 50,000Bonhams, June 14-23: Autograph Working Draft of Arthur Conan Doyle's The Death Voyage. Estimate: $30,000 - 50,000Bonhams, June 14-23: "Perhaps the most celebrated and most beautiful herbal ever published." Estimate: $15,000 - 20,000Bonhams, June 14-23: Izaak Walton. The Compleat Angler or the Contemplative man's Recreation. Being a Discourse of Fish and Fishing. Estimate: $12,000 - 18,000Bonhams, June 14-23: A rare product of the Jaquard loom. Estimate: $8,000 - 12,000
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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.
