Unique New Catalogues from<br>Martayan Lan and Oak Knoll Books
Le Livre de Quatre Couleurs (Book of Four Colors).Oak Knoll#141
Oak Knoll Books Catalogue 249 doesn’t need a particular title because it fits the mould of other Oak Knoll catalogues. It features books about books, such as book collecting, selling, design, binding, and bibliography.
Item 687 is one of several by famed bookseller A.S.W. (Dr.) Rosenbach, Books and Bidders, the Adventures of a Bibliophile. This one is signed by the “Doctor.” $95. The catalogue has numerous other titles either by or about notable booksellers from many eras. For example, Item 845 is Jack Matthews Rare Book Lore, Selections from the Letters of Ernest J Wessen. Wessen was a famed Midwestern bookseller during the middle of the 20th century. $55. By the way, many of both Rosenbach’s and Wessens’s catalogue listings (the latter’s known as “Midland Notes”) are accessible to subscribers of the Americana Exchange Database.
For those who collect periodicals for book collectors, item 79 provides a complete file of The Book Collector’s Packet. This periodical, published off and on between 1932 and 1946, offered many articles on book related subject matter. There are 41 issues in all. $450.
There are several titles on bookbinding, including W. Salt Brassington’s 1894 History of the Art of Bookbinding… It covers both pre-printing book production and binding after the invention of the press. Item 84. $425. Also available is Edith Diehl’s important two-volume set Bookbinding, Its Background and Technique. Item 90. $235.
If this material is a bit “heavy” for you, and you’d like some comic relief, how about Edgar Rice Burroughs, the Man who created Tarzan? Item 130. $45. Here’s an unusual item: Diary of an Apple Tree. It features thirteen wood engravings of an apple tree as it progresses through the seasons, spring to winter, and back to spring again. Item 850. $150.
For those who collect music composers, there’s Hector Berlioz’s Memoires de Hector Berlioz… Printed in Paris in 1870, this is a first edition of his autobiography. Item 38. $300.
If you collect JFK, item 563 is An Address by John F. Kennedy delivered before the Massachusetts Legislature, January 9, 1961. A limited edition (1,500) printing by the Overbrook Press, this speech precedes Kennedy’s inauguration by less than two weeks. $30. For those who prefer unsuccessful presidential aspirants, there’s also Wendell Wilkie’s Occasional Addresses and Articles… Wilkie was President Roosevelt’s sacrificial lamb in 1940. Also from the Overbrook Press. Item 570. $35.
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.
Heritage Auctions Rare Books Signature Auction December 15, 2025
Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
![<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.")
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
