Rare Book Monthly Reviews - July - 2008 Issue

A Stunning Captain James Cook Catalogue from Hordern House

A Stunning Captain James Cook Catalogue from Hordern House

By Michael Stillman

We recently received what must be the finest catalogue we have seen in the five years we have been presenting reviews. When a book catalogue comes with a hard cover and dust jacket, you know it is going to be special. Still, this was unexpected. Hordern House, the Australian bookseller that often features travels and voyages, regularly publishes extraordinary catalogues. This one is spectacular. The title is Captain James Cook The Great Discoverer. Offered is The Robert and Mary Anne Parks Collection. The Parks, collectors from Michigan, assembled a fantastic collecti...

Illuminated Manuscripts and Leaves from John Windle Antiquarian Bookseller

Illuminated Manuscripts and Leaves from John Windle Antiquarian Bookseller

By Michael Stillman

This month we received a "catalogue" that is truly a link from the paper to the digital world. It is called Catalogue 44 Illuminations from John Windle Antiquarian Bookseller...

Read More
Spectacular Signed Documents from the Raab Collection

Spectacular Signed Documents from the Raab Collection


By Michael Stillman

The Raab Collection has issued a spectacular new catalogue of historic manuscripts and other signed documents and autographs. While primarily American in origin, there are ...

Read More
European Posters From Burkhard Sülzen

European Posters From Burkhard Sülzen

By Michael Stillman

This month we have received our first catalogue from Burkhard Sülzen of Berlin. The title of this 12th catalogue is Schöne & Seltene Plakate, which translates to Fine & Rare ...

Read More
Antiquarian Books from Samuel Gedge Rare Books

Antiquarian Books from Samuel Gedge Rare Books

By Michael Stillman

Catalogue IV was recently published by British bookseller Samuel Gedge Rare Books. This catalogue includes a majority of English items, although a substantial portion of them...

Read More
Adventures from the American West from Old West Books

Adventures from the American West from Old West Books

By Michael Stillman

Old West Books has issued its Catalog 22 July 2008 of rare, out of print books on the American West. This is an exciting catalogue, for not only is it filled with many collec...

Read More
Autographs and Letters from David Schulson

Autographs and Letters from David Schulson

By Michael Stillman

David Schulson Autographs has issued a new catalogue with the succinct, to-the-point title 137. To elaborate on that, Schulson offers a collection of 100 autographed document...

Read More
Varied New Acquisitions at Michael Sharpe Rare & Antiquarian Books

Varied New Acquisitions at Michael Sharpe Rare & Antiquarian Books

By Michael Stillman

Michael Sharpe Rare and Antiquarian Books has issued their Book List 2, dated June 2008. It is described as "A selection of newly acquired books, music, photographs, and auto...

Read More
North (and South) to the Poles from Aquila Books

North (and South) to the Poles from Aquila Books

By Michael Stillman

Aquila Books of Calgary has issued its second catalogue of the year, Catalogue 208. Aquila specializes in books and ephemera relating to the Polar Regions or other territorie...

Read More
Film, Writer, and an Early New Mexico Collection from James Pepper Rare Books

Film, Writer, and an Early New Mexico Collection from James Pepper Rare Books

By Michael Stillman

James Pepper Rare Books has issued an unusual catalogue. It contains just 15 items, but then again, it contains many times that number. The paradox is resolved by the catalog...

Read More
Early and Exotic Imprints from William Reese

Early and Exotic Imprints from William Reese

By Michael Stillman

The most recent catalogue from the William Reese Company, number 261 of this three-decade long series, is entitled Early and Exotic Imprints. It is divided into three parts: ...

Read More
Spain and Hispanica from Paul Orssich

Spain and Hispanica from Paul Orssich

By Michael Stillman

Paul Orssich has issued his 66th catalogue, or Catalogo 66. Although a London bookseller, Orssich's specialty is Spain and Hispanica (along with some Portuguese material). As...

Read More
Vintage Travel Photography From Bernard J. Shapero Rare Books

Vintage Travel Photography From Bernard J. Shapero Rare Books

By Michael Stillman

Booksellers sell, of course, books. Nevertheless, many sellers have expanded into related, ephemeral items, allowing their clients to expand the depth of their collections. H...

Read More
Californiana Art from the Arader Galleries

Californiana Art from the Arader Galleries

By Michael Stillman

We have received a new catalogue from the San Francisco location of the Arader Galleries. Arader has six locations in five cities, but the title of this catalogue quickly exp...

Read More
New Publications From The Oak Knoll Press

New Publications From The Oak Knoll Press

By Michael Stillman

The Oak Knoll Press has issued its Spring-Summer 2008 catalogue. This is Oak Knoll's press, as opposed to its old and rare bookselling division. The Press prints books, but w...

Read More

Rare Book Monthly

  • 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: Bram Stoker. Dracula. Westminster: Archibald Constable & Co., 1897.
    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…
  • Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!

Review Search

Archived Reviews