Available now is Catalogue 58 from The Veatchs Arts of the Book, Recent Acquisitions in Penmanship, Leaf Books, Wood Engraving, Bookbinding, and Fine Printing... Offered are 114 items of printing art, some antiquarian, some as a recent as this year. The Veatchs specialize in books that are known more for their artistic qualities than their text, though the text may well be a classic work of written art as well. Here are a few of the items offered in this latest catalogue.
We start with a poster, Leonard Baskin's Custer Battlefield Montana. This 28 x 37 poster was printed for the National Park Service in black and red in 1968. General George Armstrong Custer is shown waist up in uniform. The Veatchs note it is a "Near fine copy of this scarce survival." Perhaps, but not as scarce as survivors from Custer's troops. Item 8. Priced at $200.
Here is an unusual poster: "Freedom of the Press Belongs to Those Who Can Defend It." It displays a pair of crossed pistols, engraved by John DePol. Beneath is text and a bullet hole. Point made. One of 120 copies, printed in 1994. Item 87. $75.
Item 21 is a dramatic 1982 production of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. The illustrations for this edition were created by Joseph Mugnaini. This is one of 2,000 copies, signed by both Bradbury and Mugnaini. $250.
Item 101 is an eight-volume set of Froissarts Cronycles, published in 1927 by the Shakespeare Head Press, one of the most notable British private presses from the years between the wars. It includes six hand-colored maps and over 600 hand-colored coats-of-arms. This is number 158 of 350 sets designed by Bernard Newdigate. $3,000.
Item 22 is Emblemata, The Emblem Books of Andrea Alciato. A Leaf book. Alciato was a legal scholar, but also published his famous Emblemata, a collection of short poems accompanied by woodcut illustrations, or emblems. Alciato's emblem book was first published in 1531, but this work about him by Alvan Bregman is as new as they come, published in 2007. It includes three leaves from the 1589 edition of Emblemata. It is one of eight copies in a deluxe binding containing three leaves (there is a second version with three leaves in eight copies, while a single-leaf edition was produced in 124 copies. $1,500.
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.
![<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.")
