We have reviewed many catalogues of books about the Movers, people who led and changed the world. Now it's time for one about the Shakers. This is our first catalogue from David D. Newell - Shaker Literature, of Ashfield, Massachusetts (though it is his 25th catalogue). The title is Rare Books, Pamphlets, Broadsides & Manuscripts by and about the Shakers. Naturally, the catalogue features works by and about the Shaking Quakers, mostly from the 19th century, their heyday. There are a few about other idealistic religious communities, such as the Oneida Community, but it is the Shakers, wh...
Bruce McKittrick Rare Books, of Narberth, Pennsylvania, recently issued Catalog 57. There is no stated topic for the material offered. What we can say is that despite their being located near a cen...
This month we received our first catalogue from Paul Foster Books, of London. It comes with a simple, four-digit title - 2011. There is no specific topic for the catalogue, but most of what we foun...
Marc Selvaggio, Books and Ephemera, has issued their Catalogue Number 137 Extract of Ephemera! That odd title can be explained by the ephemeral brochure pictured on the cover, promoting Armour's Ex...
Kenston Rare Books has issued their catalogue for Summer 2011. It comes with the subtitle, Fine Books on Texas and the American West. This is predominately a catalogue of Texiana, yet other areas o...
The Argonaut Book Shop has issued a catalogue of Recent Acquisitions and Selections from Stock. Summer 2011. This catalogue could be described as a miscellany as books, pamphlets, and a few ephemer...
Martayan Lan, the noted New York map seller, has issued their Catalogue 45 - Early & Rare World Maps, Atlases & Rare Books. Mainly from a Private Collection. We will focus on the earliest, ...
David Schulson Autographs recently issued their Catalog 148. Schulson provides a variety of signed documents, often letters of a personal type. There is a mix of European and American items offered...
James Cummins Bookseller has published catalogue 109. This is a wonderful collection of mixed material, hard to pin down because of its variety. History and literature are to be readily found, as a...
Gert Jan Bestebreurtje Rare Books has issued a catalogue of The Dutch East India Company (VOC). The VOC (those are initials in Dutch for Dutch East India Company) operated from the 17th to the 19th...
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.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
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.