We recently received our first catalogue from the venerable Maggs Bros. Ltd. of London, though it is number 1397 in their long-running series. Maggs Bros. is one of the oldest and most celebrated of bookselling firms in the world. In the field of bookselling, the firm is a legend. So are many of their catalogues. For example, their "Bibliotheca Americana" catalogues from the 1920s are among the resources in the Americana Exchange's database of records, as they are major bibliographic resources in the field of Americana to this day. Rather amazing considering Maggs is...
We recently received Catalogue I from U.K. bookseller Samuel Gedge, Ltd. Recently established in Mundesley, Norfolk, Samuel Gedge and Ernesta Campaner apply their expertise ...
By Michael Stillman
This month we review our first catalogue from Ken Lopez Bookseller, of Hadley, Massachusetts. If you are looking to find Hadley, think of Springfield, not Boston. This is Lope...
By Michael Stillman
This month we review our first catalogue from James Pepper Rare Books of Santa Barbara, California. This is an intriguing group of books, but Pepper does not provide us with a...
Michael Brown Rare Books of Philadelphia recently issued their catalogue number 42 of Printed and Manuscript Americana. This catalogue contains over 200 items either from o...
By Michael Stillman
A pamphlet of Recent Acquisitions has just been received from John Michael Lang Fine Books. This could be described as a general listing, since the books do not follow a parti...
"It is the fate of those who toil at the lower employments of life, to be rather driven by the fear of evil, than attracted by the prospect of good; to be exposed to censure...
By Michael Stillman
The most recent catalogue from Frits Knuf Antiquarian Books has just arrived in the New World. Knuf is a Vendome, France, bookselling firm that specializes in antiquarian book...
By Michael Stillman
The latest from Plaza Books, List 21, recently arrived. It offers 40 items of interest to those who collect Latin America, Mexico and Central America in particular. Not surpri...
By Michael Stillman
Chapel Hill Rare Books has now issued Part II of its catalogue of The William Hobday Collection of Confederate Military History. The first section of this extensive collection...
By Michael Stillman
James Cummins Bookseller has issued a new catalogue of Autographs and Manuscripts. This is a most diverse collection, save for the common theme of the writer's autograph. Repr...
By Michael Stillman
This may be a bit late for a November Holiday Catalogue from Bauman Rare Books, but as they say, this is better than never. Besides which, it is a very special catalogue, and...
By Michael Stillman
This catalogue is for collectors of William Blake, the 18th-19th century artist-illustrator-engraver-poet whose admirers are among the most passionate known to man. Blake is ...
By Michael Stillman
The latest catalogue from Oak Knoll Books is a specialty within their specialty of book arts and books about books. Catalogue 280 is titled A Selection of Books Related to Gr...
By Michael Stillman
The Antiquariaat Forum of Utrecht issued a Short Title List of works they brought to the recent Salon International de la Bibliophilie held in Brussels. This is a collection ...
By Michael Stillman
The latest offering from Bernard J. Shapero Rare Books is more a picture catalogue than one of books. In fact, despite their name of "rare books," this catalogue is strictly ...
By Michael Stillman
David Lesser Fine Antiquarian Books has issued their latest edition of Rare Americana -- A Catalogue of Significant and Unusual Imprints Relating to America. Lesser regularly...
By Michael Stillman
As the title of this catalogue suggests, it is intended for those proficient in the Spanish language. That eliminates this reviewer. Generally, catalogues from Libreria de Ant...
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue, inscribed by the author pre-publication. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Autograph sketchleaf including a probable draft for the E flat Piano Quartet, K.493, 1786. £150,000 to £200,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
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Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 156: Cornelis de Jode, Americae pars Borealis, double-page engraved map of North America, Antwerp, 1593.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 206: John and Alexander Walker, Map of the United States, London and Liverpool, 1827.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 223: Abraham Ortelius, Typus Orbis Terrarum, hand-colored double-page engraved world map, Antwerp, 1575.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 233: Aaron Arrowsmith, Chart of the World, oversize engraved map on 8 sheets, London, 1790 (circa 1800).
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 239: Fielding Lucas, A General Atlas, 81 engraved maps and diagrams, Baltimore, 1823.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 240: Anthony Finley, A New American Atlas, 15 maps engraved by james hamilton young on 14 double-page sheets, Philadelphia, 1826.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 263: John Bachmann, Panorama of the Seat of War, portfolio of 4 double-page chromolithographed panoramic maps, New York, 1861.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 265: Sebastian Münster, Cosmographei, Basel: Sebastian Henricpetri, 1558.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 271: Abraham Ortelius, Epitome Theatri Orteliani, Antwerp: Johann Baptist Vrients, 1601.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 283: Joris van Spilbergen, Speculum Orientalis Occidentalisque Indiae, Leiden: Nicolaus van Geelkercken for Jodocus Hondius, 1619.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 285: Levinus Hulsius, Achtzehender Theil der Newen Welt, 14 engraved folding maps, Frankfurt: Johann Frederick Weiss, 1623.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 341: John James Audubon, Carolina Parrot, Plate 26, London, 1827.
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/00d5fd41-2542-4a80-b119-4886d4b9925f.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.")
