Rare Book Monthly Reviews - July - 2007 Issue

World's Fairs and Expositions from Marc Selvaggio

World's Fairs and Expositions from Marc Selvaggio

By Michael Stillman

This month we have our first review for Marc Selvaggio, Bookseller. The Berkeley, California, bookseller starts us out with an exciting collection of fair books, World's Fairs and Expositions, 1851-1940. Nothing can generate excitement like a world's fair, and Selvaggio has over 500 pamphlets and other pieces pertaining to a century's worth of them. Here is a chance to relive the thrills.

The most represented fairs are: 1851 London, 1876 Philadelphia, 1888 Barcelona, 1889 Paris, 1893 Chicago, 1901 Buffalo, 1904 St. Louis, 1915 San Francisco, 1929 Barcelona, 1933-...

More Historic Americana from David Lesser Antiquarian Books

More Historic Americana from David Lesser Antiquarian Books

By Michael Stillman

David M. Lesser Fine Antiquarian Books has issued their 98th catalogue of Rare Americana. Here are 124 new items pertaining to American history, primarily from colonial time...

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Africa Travel from Trophy Room Books

Africa Travel from Trophy Room Books

By Michael Stillman

We have just received a catalogue of Africa Travels, the latest from Trophy Room Books of Ellen and Jim Herring. It is one of the most extensive catalogues in this field we ...

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Literary Firsts, Crime, Rare Cinema, and Unusual Items from James Pepper Rare Books

Literary Firsts, Crime, Rare Cinema, and Unusual Items from James Pepper Rare Books

By Michael Stillman

James Pepper Rare Books has issued Catalogue 163: Literary First Editions, Mystery and Detective Fiction, Rare Cinema Material, and Unusual Items. Here are a few samples of...

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The Pacific Northwest from Wessel and Lieberman

The Pacific Northwest from Wessel and Lieberman

By Michael Stillman

From Wessel and Lieberman of Seattle comes their latest offering, Occasional List #6: Pacific Northwest, June 2007. This catalogue includes over 300 items pertaining to the...

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31 Varied and Unusual Items from John Michael Lang Fine Books

31 Varied and Unusual Items from John Michael Lang Fine Books

By Michael Stillman

John Michael Lang Fine Books has issued a brief but fascinating collection of eclectic works: Recent Acquisitions List 21. There are just 31 items offered, but you might fi...

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Law and Legal History from the Lawbook Exchange

Law and Legal History from the Lawbook Exchange

By Michael Stillman

The Lawbook Exchange has issued its Catalogue 48 of Recent Acquisitions. The Lawbook Exchange mixes scholarly legal treatises with law-related works more accessible to the g...

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California Promotional Items from Dawson's Book Shop

California Promotional Items from Dawson's Book Shop

By Michael Stillman

We recently received California Ephemera, Winter 2007 from Dawson's Book Shop. Winter 2007? Either we received this catalogue very late or very early. It doesn't matter. It...

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Book Collectors and Their Libraries from Oak Knoll Books

Book Collectors and Their Libraries from Oak Knoll Books

By Michael Stillman

Oak Knoll Books has published the third issue in its series of "Special catalogues," Book Collectors and Their Libraries. This is not the typical Oak Knoll thousand-item cat...

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Some Antiquarian Books from French Bookseller Librairie Thomas-Scheler

Some Antiquarian Books from French Bookseller Librairie Thomas-Scheler

By Michael Stillman

We have just received two catalogues from Librairie Thomas-Scheler, neatly strapped together, all the way across the ocean from France. As they are recent arrivals to Americ...

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Fine Atlases and Maps from Bernard J. Shapero Rare Books

Fine Atlases and Maps from Bernard J. Shapero Rare Books

By Michael Stillman

Bernard J. Shapero Rare Books has issued its second catalogue of fifty magnificent atlases and maps, Cartography II. The first was issued in Spring of 2006, and as fantasti...

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The Dutch East and West India Companies from Gert Jan Bestebreurtje

The Dutch East and West India Companies from Gert Jan Bestebreurtje

By Michael Stillman

The latest catalogue from Holland bookseller Gert Jan Bestereurtje Rare Books is entitled The Dutch East - and West - India Company. These trading companies effectively ran...

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Rare Book Monthly

  • Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    29th January 2026
    Forum, Jan. 29: Plato. [Apanta ta tou Platonos. Omnia Platonis opera], 2 parts in 2 vol., editio princeps of Plato's works in the original Greek, Venice, House of Aldus, 1513. £8,000-12,000
    Forum, Jan. 29: Book of Hours, Use of Rome, In Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum, [Southern Netherlands (probably Bruges), c.1460]. £6,000-8,000
    Forum, Jan. 29: Correspondence and documents by or addressed to the first four Viscounts Molesworth and members of their families, letters and manuscripts, 1690-1783. £10,000-15,000
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    29th January 2026
    Forum, Jan. 29: Shakespeare (William). The Dramatic Works, 9 vol., John and Josiah Boydell, 1802. £5,000-7,000
    Forum, Jan. 29: Joyce (James). Ulysses, first edition, one of 750 copies on handmade paper, Paris, Shakespeare and Company, 1922 £8,000-12,000
    Forum, Jan. 29: Powell (Anthony). [A Dance to the Music of Time], 12 vol., first editions, each with a signed presentation inscription from the author to Osbert Lancaster, 1951-75. £6,000-8,000
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    29th January 2026
    Forum, Jan. 29: Chaucer (Geoffrey). Troilus and Criseyde, one of 225 copies on handmade paper, wood-engravings by Eric Gill, Waltham St.Lawrence, 1927. £3,000-4,000
    Forum, Jan. 29: Borges (Jorge Luis). Luna de Enfrente, first edition, one of 300 copies, presentation copy signed by the author to Leopoldo Marechal, Buenos Aires, Editorial Proa, 1925. £3,000-4,000
    Forum, Jan. 29: Nolli (Giovanni Battista). Nuova Pianta di Roma, Rome, 1748. £6,000-8,000
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    29th January 2026
    Forum, Jan. 29: Roberts (David). The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, & Nubia, 3 vol., first edition, 1842-49. £15,000-20,000
    Forum, Jan. 29: Blacker (William). Catechism of Fly Making, Angling and Dyeing, Published by the author, 1843. £3,000-4,000
    Forum, Jan. 29: Herschel (Sir John F. W.) Collection of 69 offprints, extracts and separate publications by Herschel, bound for his son, William James Herschel, 3 vol., [1813-50]. £15,000-20,000
  • Sotheby’s
    Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana
    27 January 2026
    Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: An extraordinary pair of books from George Washington’s field library, marking the conjunction of Robert Rogers, George Washington, and Henry Knox. $1,200,000 to $1,800,000.
    Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: An extraordinary letter marking the conjunction of George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Benjamin Franklin. $1,000,000 to $1,500,000.
    Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: Virginia House of Delegates. The genesis of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. $350,000 to $500,000.
    Sotheby’s
    Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana
    27 January 2026
    Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: (Gettysburg). “Genl. Doubleday has taken charge of the battle”: Autograph witness to the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, illustrated by fourteen maps and plans. $200,000 to $300,000.
    Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: President Lincoln thanks a schoolboy on behalf of "all the children of the nation for his efforts to ensure "that this war shall be successful, and the Union be maintained and perpetuated." $200,000 to $300,000.
    Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.

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