TheVeatchsArtsoftheBook has issued a new selection of works in the “books about books” and book arts fields. This one is their Catalogue74. It includes items from such areas as private presses, fine bindings, specialty papers, specimen books, leaf books, and similar topics. These are books that will catch your eye. Here are a few.
Item 5 is TheFirstPartoftheHistoireoftheValorousandWittieKnight-ErrantDon-QuixoteoftheMancha. This two-volume, 1927-1928 set came from the Ashendene Press of Charles Henry St. John Hornby. This one features woodcut decorative letters by Louise Powell, and the Veatchs note that this was atypical of Honby's work. It is the only one of his works with such ornamental calligraphy, similar to the work done at the Kelmscott Press. This copy is bound in full dark green morocco by W.H. Smith and Sons. Ashendene bindings produced by Smith were the work of noted bookbinder Douglas Cockerell. Priced at $8,000.
Item 107 is AnEssaybyWilliamMorris&EmeryWalker. It was printed neither by Morris' Kelmscott Press nor Walker's Doves Press. Rather, it was the first work from the press of a man who would become more famous for other aspects of printing. It was printed by the Village Press, then of Park Ridge, Illinois, in 1903. It had been set up by Frederic Goudy, in the early days in partnership with Will Ransom. Goudy was inspired by Morris' work, and the book followed a similar style. The book was printed in Goudy's Village type, the first he designed, which was inspired by one Morris used at Kelmscott. In the years ahead, Goudy would print many more books, but he was even more prolific in designing types, for which he is remembered today. He designed over 100, some still in use. $600.
For those interested in American bibles, here is a one-book shortcut to an extensive and important collection: TheAmericanBible,OriginalLeavesfromRareandHistoricBiblesprintedintheColoniesandtheUnitedStatesduringtheSeventeenth,Eighteenth,andNineteenthCenturies. The book contains 38 leaves from original bibles. Included are the Eliot Indian Bible, the first printed in America, along with others in indigenous languages, plus the first complete American bibles in English, French, Hebrew and Spanish, and the first New Testaments in Greek, Portuguese, Dutch, and Swedish. Other leaves from important English bibles are included, along with one from a hieroglyphic bible for children printed by Isaiah Thomas. While the bibles represented are all quite old, the leaf book, with introduction by Michael Zinman, was published in 1993. Item 13. $6,000.
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.
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.
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: 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…
![<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.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9a74d9ff-42dd-46a1-8bb2-b636c4cec796.png "<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>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.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<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.")
