Oak Knoll Offers The Inventory Of Questor Rare Books
Oak Knoll offers a collection of titles from Questor Rare Books.
By Michael Stillman
Oak Knoll Books has issued its catalogue number 266, but in a way, this is someone else's catalogue. You see, Oak Knoll has purchased the inventory and reference books of its quirky English counterpart, Questor Rare Books. Oak Knoll reports that Questor's owner, John Walwyn-Jones, has decided to move to the auction world at Bonham's, and therefore has discontinued his bookselling business after 25-plus years. Catalogue 266 is the first of three catalogues which will be based on the inventory from Questor's.
Questor, like Oak Knoll, specialized in the field of "books about books." This covers anything from the commonly collected field of bibliography, to books about book history, collecting, printing, binding, and papermaking. It also includes more obscure topics like type specimens, watermarks, marbling, bookplates, and even forgeries. This latest Oak Knoll catalogue will be a trove of interesting material for those who collect within the field of the book arts, and particularly those with an interest in British and European texts within this area.
It is impossible to provide representative samples of what is in the typical Oak Knoll catalogue. A typical Oak Knoll item is in a very targeted niche, but there are many such niches when it comes to the book arts. Nevertheless, we will describe a few items in the hope it provides a little of the flavor of this catalogue. However, the examples will be small, as there are 882 items offered herein.
Here is an example of a niche bibliography from Mark Holstein. With a name like that, you're probably expecting a bovine bibliography, but no, this is entitled Some Famous Prison Books. It is one of only 149 copies privately printed on handmade paper in 1930. It is taken from a speech the author presented to the Quarto Club about famous literature which was written while its author was in prison. Today, you might expect prison literature to be written by some horrific criminal trying to reap financial rewards from his crime. However, if you go back to 1930 and earlier, the author-prisoner was more likely some voice for a cause, imprisoned for being a threat to the establishment rather than a threat to the people. Item 371. Priced at $45.
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.
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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.
![<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.")
