Rare Book Monthly Reviews - June - 2008 Issue

Intriguing Americana From Kaaterskill Books

Intriguing Americana From Kaaterskill Books

By Michael Stillman

Kaaterskill Books has issued their Catalogue 6 - Americana. This is a collection of truly fascinating old works, but most come with the kind of prices you find on eBay, maybe better. These are not, for the most part, famous works, but they represent a real slice of life in America in the late 18th and 19th centuries. There are books, printed speeches, legal pleadings, official documents, travelogues and more, covering the issues of the day. Sermons frequently stray from the theological to the political, particularly where slavery is concerned. Among the items offered ...

Varied Items Found in Lowry-James' Rare Bookseller's Catalogue

Varied Items Found in Lowry-James' Rare Bookseller's Catalogue

By Michael Stillman

We review our first catalogue from Lowry-James Rare Prints & Books this month: Rare Bookseller's Catalogue #4. Spring 2008. Lowry-James is located in Langley, Washington, on...

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Arctic and Canadiana from Bjarne Tokerud Bookseller

Arctic and Canadiana from Bjarne Tokerud Bookseller

By Michael Stillman

We recently received our first catalogue from Bjarne Tokerud Bookseller, Inc., though this is number 56 for the Victoria, British Columbia bookseller. Offered is a selection ...

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Historic American Documents from Seth Kaller

Historic American Documents from Seth Kaller

By Michael Stillman

We received a pair of pamphlets recently from Seth Kaller, Inc. Kaller specializes in important historic documents, often handwritten or signed. These items fit that descript...

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Voyages and Travels, to America and the World, from Helen Kahn

Voyages and Travels, to America and the World, from Helen Kahn

By Michael Stillman

Helen R. Kahn and Associates has issued a new catalogue of Travels and Voyages, number 73 for the Canadian bookseller. Most of these travels at least included the North Ameri...

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Significant and Unusual Americana from David Lesser Antiquarian Books

Significant and Unusual Americana from David Lesser Antiquarian Books

By Michael Stillman

David M. Lesser Fine Antiquarian Books recently released their 104th catalogue of Significant and Unusual Imprints Relating to America. There are works ranging from colonial ...

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A Variety from Waverly Books

A Variety from Waverly Books

By Michael Stilman

Waverly Books has issued their List 155 of books from various fields. This list includes 161 items, and among the subjects covered are art, film, literature, sports, music, my...

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Antiquarian Books for the Grand Palais Show from Librairie Thomas-Scheler

Antiquarian Books for the Grand Palais Show from Librairie Thomas-Scheler

By Michael Stillman

Librairie Thomas-Scheler issued a catalogue for the recent Antiquarian Book Fair held at the Grand Palais in Paris: Quelques livres anciens choisis pour le Grand Palais (som...

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Images of Plants, Animals, and the Old West at Arader Galleries

Images of Plants, Animals, and the Old West at Arader Galleries

By Michael Stillman

The latest issue of Arader Galleries' Directors' Report, for May-June 2008, is now available. These Reports aren't catalogues, but updates of what is going on, or some of the...

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Books and Manuscripts from 1499-1989 from Libreria de Antano

Books and Manuscripts from 1499-1989 from Libreria de Antano

By Michael Stillman

Libreria de Antano of Buenos Aires, Argentina, has issued a new catalogue: A Selection of Fine Books and Manuscripts 1499-1989. Most of these works are related to either Spa...

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Literature from Shapero Rare Books

Literature from Shapero Rare Books

By Michael Stillman

Bernard J. Shapero Rare Books has issued a Spring List 2008 of Literature. Included is a collection of fifty literary classics in first or other special editions. With the ex...

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Americana from Oak Knoll Books

Americana from Oak Knoll Books

By Michael Stillman

Oak Knoll Books has issued the sixth installment in their series of special catalogues, aptly named Oak Knoll Special Catalogue 6. It is also quite logically headed Americana...

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New and Old West Books from Gene W. Baade

New and Old West Books from Gene W. Baade

By Michael Stillman

Just received is Catalogue 508 of Books On The West from Gene W. Baade. Baade describes the catalogue as "slightly unpredictable," the reason being it's a mix of antiquarian ...

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Recent Acquisitions at John Michael Lang Fine Books

Recent Acquisitions at John Michael Lang Fine Books

By Michael Stillman

John Michael Lang Fine Books has issued their Recent Acquisitions List 25. As usual, these are not long lists, this one containing just 30 items. However, they cover a broad ...

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Mystery, Film and Literature from James Pepper Rare Books

Mystery, Film and Literature from James Pepper Rare Books

By Michael Stillman

James Pepper Rare Books has issued Catalogue 173, a new collection of books, manuscripts and ephemera focused on literary first editions, mystery, and items related to the st...

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Bibliographies and Book-Related Works from Hes & De Graaf Publishers

Bibliographies and Book-Related Works from Hes & De Graaf Publishers

By Michael Stillman

Hes and De Graaf Publishers of the Netherlands has just issued their General Catalogue 2008-2009. These are not antiquarian books, though many are antiquarian works. Hes and ...

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Abolition from the William Reese Company

Abolition from the William Reese Company

By Michael Stillman

The William Reese Company has issued a new list of books headed Abolition. Most of these works, naturally, pertain to slavery and the attempts to end (or defend) it. While mo...

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Part II of 18th Century Works From Jarndyce Antiquarian Booksellers

Part II of 18th Century Works From Jarndyce Antiquarian Booksellers

By Michael Stillman

Jarndyce Antiquarian Booksellers has issued Part II of their catalogue of Books and Pamphlets of the 17th and 18th Centuries. This one covers 18th century letters I-Z. A wide...

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Legal History From the Lawbook Exchange

Legal History From the Lawbook Exchange

By Michael Stillman

From The Lawbook Exchange we have received Catalogue 56 of Law and Legal History. It offers a combination of very old legal works, as far back as the 16th century, classics w...

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Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby's Book Week
    2 June - 9 July
    Sotheby’s, June 25: Smith, Adam. The Wealth of Nations, on its 250th anniversary. $180,000 to $250,000.
    Sotheby’s, June 17: Fontana, Lucio. Concetto Spaziale. 1967. Leporello en papier doré. Bel exemplaire signé. €4,000 to $€,000.
    Sotheby’s, June 25: Fitzgerald, F. Scott. "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past”. $150,000 to $200,000.
    Sotheby’s, June 25: Washington, George (as First President). Washington decries “an ostentatious imitation, or mimickry of Royalty” in his Presidency. $250,000 to $500,000.
    Sotheby’s, June 17: Lope de Vega. Rare manuscrit autographe signé de la préface dédicatoire de "El Cardenal de Belen" (le cardinal de Bethléem), pièce composée en 1610. €40,000 to €60,000.
  • June 23rd, 24th & 25th 2026
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Medical Incunabula: Petit (Jean)publisher & Kerver (Thielman)printer. Regimen Sanitatis Salernitanum, sm. 8vo, Paris [1498]
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Hugo (Victor) [Wraxall (Lascelles)]. Les Miserable, 3 vols., 8vo, L. (Hurst & Blackett) 1862, First Authorized English Translation (copyright).
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Shelley (Mary Wollstonecraft). Frankenstein: or The Modern Prometheus, 8vo, 2 vols. in one, L. (G. & W.B. Whittaker, Ave-Maria-Lane) 1823.
    June 23rd, 24th & 25th 2026
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Cuisine: Anon. Cookery, Pastry, and Sweet Meats in three Books, Alphabetically Digested, 8vo 1710.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Lambert (Aylmer Bourke). A Description of the Genus Pinus, with Directions Relative to the Cultivation…, 2 vols. Sm. folio L. (Messrs. Weddell) 1832.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Botany: Curtis (William). Flora Londinensis: or Plates and Descriptions of such Plants as Grow Wild in the Environs of London, 2 vols. folio, London (B. White) 1777 – 1798.
    June 23rd, 24th & 25th 2026
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Le Moire (J.M.) Maple Leaves, Canadian History and Quebec Scenery (Third Series) 8vo Quebec (Hunter, Rose & Co.) 1865. First Edn.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: The Earliest Extant Printed House Contents Sale Catalogue in Ireland: Baillie, Auctioneer, Abby Street. A Catalogue of the Goods and Stock of the late Edward Wingfield…
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: William III King of England. Autograph Letter Signed ("William R") to an unnamed correspondent [possibly Charles-Henri de Lorraine] discussing his strategy against the French forces during the siege of Namur.
    June 23rd, 24th & 25th 2026
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: [Austen (Jane) (1785-1817]. Pride and Prejudice, 3 vols. sm. 8vo, L. (T. Egerton) 1813.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Heaney (Seamus). Ugolino, sm. folio D. (Dolmen) 1979, Limited Edn. No. 78/125 Copies, Signed by Seamus Heaney, Louis le Brocquy, Liam Miller and Andrew Carpenter.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Voltaire (F.M. Avouet de). Petits Ouvrages, attribues a M. de Voltaire, sm. folio manuscript, dated 1776, containing 9 works.
  • Bonhams, June 14-23: Franklin D. Roosevelt Presentation Gold Pocket Watch. Estimate: $20,000 - 30,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Presentation Copy of the First Issue of the Lincoln Douglas Debates Signed by Abraham Lincoln in Pencil to a Sangamon County Illinois Republican. Estimate: $150,000 - 250,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: A Senate Resolution Signed in the Tense Days After the Union's Humiliating Defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run. Estimate: $80,000 - $120,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Seven Passages to a Flight, an Artists Book with a Story Quilt by Faith Ringgold, the Publisher's Own Copy. Estimate: $80,000 - 120,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: A New Charter for Virginia, A Response to the First Armed Rebellion in the American Colonies. Estimate: $15,000 - 25,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Earliest obtainable printing of the Bill of Rights. Estimate: $8,000 - 12,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Edward Curtis Orotone. Estimate: $7,000 - 9,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Owned by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: A Butter or Dessert Plate from FDR's State Dinner Service. Estimate: $3,000 - 5,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: An Early Large-Format Plan of the City of Washington. Estimate: $1,500 - 2,500
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Containing the First Map to Name the Hudson River. Estimate: $20,000 - 30,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: America's First Major Novelist, a Complete Chapter in Autograph Manuscript by James Fenimore Cooper. Estimate: $15,000 - 20,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: The Only Full-Length Book by Jefferson, with the Justly Famous Map. Estimate: $12,000 - 18,000
  • June 25, 2026
    Doyle, June 25: Houdini's biography, boldly signed. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Doyle, June 25: A volume from Abraham Lincoln's library, signed just before heading to Washington for his inauguration. $20,000 to $30,000.
    Doyle, June 25: A very early Confederate recruiting manual belonging to the chief commissary in Lee's Army. $600 to $800.
    Doyle, June 25: Rare hand-colored lithographs of the life of Napoleon. $20,000 to $30,000.
    Doyle, June 25: The "Holster Atlas" of the American Revolution. $5,000 to $8,000.
    Doyle, June 25: Jewish ceremonies in fine hand-colored engravings. $7,000 to $10,000.
    Doyle, June 25: A very rare work on Turkish military costume. $1,000 to $1,500.
    June 25, 2026
    Doyle, June 25: The most important illustrated work on the Mexican-American War. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Doyle, June 25: The finest illustrated book on Afghanistan. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Doyle, June 25: Henry Justice Ford St. George rescues the Princess from the horrible Dragon. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Doyle, June 25: A rare work of Prussian Army uniforms under Frederick William II, with exquisite hand-colored engravings. $800 to $1,200.
    Doyle, June 25: Lenny Bruce typed letter signed to a Village bohemian during his obscenity trials, with a manuscript note and drawing. $300 to $500.
    Doyle, June 25: Schiff's scarce Shanghai Sketchbook. $300 to $500.
    Doyle, June 25: The first accurate published representation of the American flag. $2,000 to $4,000.
  • Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 123. Celebrate 250 Years of Independence with Original Stars and Stripes (1790) Est. $1,400 - $1,700
    Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 20. Keulen's Spectacular Chart of the World Featuring California as an Island (1728) Est. $12,000 - $15,000
    Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 42. Schedel's Ancient World Map with Fantastic Humanoid Creatures (1493) Est. $14,000 - $17,000
    Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 591. Matching Set of 3 Stunning Globe Gores of Eastern Asia from Coronelli's 3.5 Foot Globe (1688) Est. $5,500 - $7,000
    Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 9. Speed's Popular World Map with Allegorical Representations of the Elements (1651) Est. $14,000 - $17,000
    Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 168. First Separate Map of Kansas & Nebraska Territories (1854) Est. $5,500 - $7,000
    Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 43. Only Macrobius Map with Britain Attached to Europe (1515) Est. $800 - $950
    Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 250. Rare Map of Boston and One of the Earliest Maps of the Revolutionary War (1775) Est. $2,000 - $2,300
    Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 79. Schenk's Uncommon Map Featuring Two Figurative Title Cartouches (1696) Est. $1,200 - $1,500
    Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 681. Hand-Colored Image of the Annunciation to the Shepherds (1502) Est. $800 - $950

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