While his papacy is not remembered for monumental achievements, he did issue one papal bull with lasting impact, "Execrabilis," which established the ultimate authority of the Pope. And, he is the only pope to have written his own biography, which recounts some of the intrigues of his election to the papacy. Item 1. $22,500.

Here is a study of some American books that make the Bay Psalter, even a Columbus letter, look recent. The book is Painted Books from Mexico by Gordon Brotherston. These are manuscripts that date as far back as thousands of years before the Spanish conquest. Few of them survived that period, but around twenty are found in British collections. They provide insights into these ancient American civilizations. Item 203. $85. For very old, but not ancient histories of Spanish America, there is Spanish Historical Writing about the New World, by Angel Delgado-Gomez. This book focuses on 70 important pre-1700 American historical works written in Spanish. Item 286. $35.

Item 765 is The Archives of Ebla, an Empire Inscribed in Clay, by Giovanni Pettinato. Again, we have some very ancient writings. Ebla was a prosperous city in what is now Syria during the third millennium BC. In the 1960s, what appears to be something of a legal library was discovered, containing 15,000 to 20,000 cuneiform tablets of various trade, personal, and other matters. Around 2250 BC, the city was overtaken, and while it would be rebuilt for a while during the following millennium, this first civilization would be destroyed. Of particular interest are certain similarities with the Hebrew language and certain beliefs, values, and customs which would develop in the Biblical civilization. Neighboring cities are also mentioned, including Urusalima (Jerusalem), Sodom and Gomorrah. Interestingly, these were tablets from the court, and it is believed that there may be a main royal library as yet not discovered. $45.

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