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Sydney Rare Book Auctions: Christmas

Auction Reports


Auction Name	Christmas	Total Sales (AUD)	84,550.00
Auction Date	December 14, 2023 - December 14, 2023	Low Estimate of Lots Sold (AUD)	67,310.00
Sale Number	#121423	High Estimate of Lots Sold (AUD)	96,230.00
Total Lots	603
Sold Lots	384.0	Low Estimate of All Lots (AUD)	151,040.00
% of Lots Sold	63.68%	High Estimate of All Lots (AUD)	203,970.00
Unsold Lots	219	Total Sales as a % of High Est.	41.45%

Top twenty-five by sale price

Lot Number	Author Name	Book Title	Year Published	Estimate	Actual Price
529		4 boxes of Uncanny X-Men comics by Marvel. About 500 issues. With most of the issues. 1963 to 2011.	1963 to 2011.	AUD 400.00 - 500.00	AUD 17,500.00
15	Compiled by Dr Peter van der Krogt	Koeman's Atlantes Neerlandici. New Edition. Compiled by Dr Peter van der Krogt at the University of Utrecht.	1997	AUD 700.00 - 900.00	AUD 2,750.00
395		An important map of Canton showing Macau, Hong Kong, and Hainan c1655.	c1655	AUD 1,400.00 - 1,600.00	AUD 1,500.00
430	by J.K. Rowling.	Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone	2001	AUD 120.00 - 200.00	AUD 1,500.00
54	by William Wilbraham Ford John and Rathbone.	Practical Suggestions as to Instruction in Farming in Canada and the United States of America, and Tasmania	1885	AUD 200.00 - 300.00	AUD 1,375.00
62		Bradshaw Art of the Kimberley by Grahame L Walsh Toowong Takarakka Nowan Kas Publications.		AUD 1,800.00 - 2,200.00	AUD 1,375.00
11	by H G Wells	The Time Machine An Invention	1895	AUD 2,000.00 - 2,500.00	AUD 1,250.00
399	by John Speed	The Kingdome of Denmarke	1676	AUD 1,000.00 - 1,200.00	AUD 1,125.00
483		An interior view of the Crystal Palace which was the site of the Great Exhibition of 1851. At Hyde Park, London. Lithograph. Circa 1851.	1851	AUD 400.00 - 500.00	AUD 1,000.00
496	by A.J. North	RJ Etheridge's copy of the Descriptive Catalogue of the Nests and Eggs of Birds Found Breeding in Australia and Tasmania by A.J. North, Australian Museum 1889.	1889	AUD 150.00 - 200.00	AUD 1,000.00
437		An Account Of several Late Voyages and Discoveries.	1711	AUD 600.00 - 800.00	AUD 937.50
24	by William T Cooper.	Australian Parrots, by Joseph M Forshaw and Illustrated	1969	AUD 600.00 - 750.00	AUD 812.50
21		The Newcastle nautical almanac, directory and guide to the Port of Newcastle.	1882	AUD 500.00 - 600.00	AUD 750.00
431	by A.J. Compton. Illustrated by The Author.	Malays. Game Fowls and Bantams In Australia	no date c1890	AUD 120.00 - 200.00	AUD 687.50
446	by Peter Burman	Petri Burmanni Vectigalia: Populi Romani, et Zeus Kataibates sive Jupiter Fulgerator, in Cyrrhestarum Nummis Curi secundis Illustrata	1734	AUD 140.00 - 180.00	AUD 687.50
352	Edited by James A.H. Murray etc.	A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles; founded mainly on the materials collected by The Philological Society.	1888-1933.	AUD 1,000.00 - 1,200.00	AUD 625.00
351	William Shakspeare	The Dramatic Works of William Shakspeare: with Glossarial Notes. A sketch of his life and an estimate of his writings.	1832	AUD 350.00 - 500.00	AUD 593.75
435		Plans To accompany the Report of the South Maitland Coalfield Coal Conservation Committee. Plans No.1,2,4,7,8,11,14,17,19.	1950s	AUD 100.00 - 200.00	AUD 593.75
87	WH Dick.	The Famous Mount Morgan Gold Mine, Rockhampton, Queensland : its history, geological formation, and prospects by	c1887	AUD 500.00 - 600.00	AUD 562.50
100	by Raymond John Howgego.	The complete five volume set of the Encyclopedia of Exploration	2013	AUD 400.00 - 500.00	AUD 562.50
234		Captain Cook's voyages round the world. The first performed in the years 1768 ... the second in 1772 ... the third and last in 1776 ...1780	1810	AUD 500.00 - 600.00	AUD 562.50
297	by Alex C Kelly.	Wine-Growing in Australia and the Teachings of Modern Writers on Vine-Culture and Wine-Making	1867	AUD 500.00 - 600.00	AUD 562.50
394		A map of Shaangxi province, China c1655 showing the Great Wall of China.	c1655	AUD 500.00 - 600.00	AUD 562.50
502		6 books on illuminated manuscripts. 1) Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. By Samaran, Longnon and Cazelles.	1981	AUD 100.00 - 200.00	AUD 562.50
241	by Ernest Hemingway	The Old Man and the Sea	1952	AUD 400.00 - 500.00	AUD 531.25

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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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.