A Diamond Jubilee Catalogue from the Raab Collection
- by Michael Stillman
Jerry Rubin's handwritten book.
For this next item, we move far forward in time, to an era many readers will remember. It is an era of protests and even riots. This is the late 1960s, and the era of civil rights protests had given way to protests against the Vietnam War. This would come to a head at the Democratic Convention in Chicago in the summer of 1968. Thousands came to Chicago to let the party of President Lyndon Johnson know how they felt about the war. Various loosely knit organizations would attempt to organize protests in Chicago, only to be shut down by local authorities. Protestors would be met with force, and sometimes respond in kind. Ultimately, six leaders of various organizations, along with two others, the “Chicago 8,” were tried. One of those was Jerry Rubin, a member of the “Yippies,” the Youth International Party. It wasn't really much of a party, but Rubin knew how to draw attention, primarily by being outlandish and getting others to make themselves look foolish. He would successfully do so in his trial with Judge Julius Hoffman playing the fool, only to be convicted anyway. Rubin was sent off to prison, but still got the last laugh. He spent his time in prison writing the book We Are Everywhere, having his attorneys smuggle out his handwritten pages when they visited. Rubin wrote on the headings that the pages were statements to his attorney, thereby protecting them from being seized by the warden. He wrote about the trial, the radical movement, and the future as he saw it. A few months later, his conviction was overturned and he was a free man. Item 30 is the 122-page manuscript of this book Jerry Rubin wrote in jail and smuggled out through his attorneys. It was once thought lost, but was recently discovered. $25,000.
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.