Bibliography, Bookbinding and Reference from Forest Books
Whole Art of Bookbinding with unknown author's handwritten changes.
Item 45 is a unique and important item for any bibliopegist, if that's a word. It is, The Whole Art of Bookbinding, Containing Valuable Recipes for Sprinkling, Marbling. Colouring, &c. Printed and Sold, for the Author, by N. Minshall. Forest describes this title as, "The first English book wholly devoted to bookbinding..." What makes this copy particularly desirable is that it contains the author's handwritten changes for the second edition. This copy is of the 1811 first edition, but the title has the handwritten notation "second edition, with additions," and many of the holographic changes made appear in the 1818 second edition. Then, you can add some mystery to this book, as the author remains unknown. Forest lists some possible names for the writer, including publisher Nathaniel Minshall, but concludes the most likely suspect is the holder of the copyright, bookseller and writer about bookbinding Henry Parry. The difficulty with this theory is that Parry died in 1814, four year before the second edition was published, but Forest notes that his wife continued in the business until 1819. £6,745 (US $11,986).
When Anderson Galleries sold the Robert Hoe collection in 1911, it was far and away the most valuable collection ever auctioned. It took in almost $2 million, which was more than the next four largest book auctions combined. So, the Illuminated Manuscripts, Incunabula and Americana From the Famous Libraries of the Most Hon. Philip Henry Kerr, the Marquess of Lothian... must have been an extraordinary collection, for Anderson described it in 1932 as "the most valuable and interesting to be sold by auction in this country since the Robert Hoe sales..." It was a small collection, 133 books and 35 manuscripts, but it brought in a healthy $410,000, quite a feat as the nation was then sinking into the deepest days of the Great Depression. Item 178. £85 ($150).
The website for Forest Books may be found at www.forestbooks.co.uk, and their phone number is +44 1949 - 842360.
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.")
