David M. Lesser Fine Antiquarian Books recently published No.132 of Rare Americana. Lesser mostly focuses on pamphlets and other shorter form material pertaining to 18th and 19tth century America. This time, however, we find many longer, book-length items offered. The subjects are similar – American history mostly from revolutionary times to Reconstruction (with a few items on each side of that range), but many are thicker than usual. Here are some examples from this latest selection.
We will start with a sermon that must have taken a fair amount of courage to deliver. Rev. Charles Turner ...
Kenston Rare Books has issued their catalogue for Summer 2013. Fine Books on Texas and the American West. Most of the material relates to Texas, appropriate for a state so large, but there are many...
Peter Harrington of London has released a catalogue of Modern Literature, Part One A-K. Obviously, there will be more, but this first part covers authors from J.R. Ackerley to Jerzy Kosinski. If yo...
Justin Croft Antiquarian Books and Benjamin Spademan have released a catalogue of Books from the Library of Diane-Adelaide de Simiane (1761-1835). Though Croft and Spademan are English booksellers,...
The William Reese Company has issued their catalogue number 304, The Big Middle. The “Big Middle” refers to the middle of the U.S.A., or, as Reese notes, to a large extent the area drained by the M...
Shapero Rare Books has issued a catalogue of Summer Sunshine, subtitled Fiction, Drama, Poetry, Philosophy, Art, Illustrated, Natural History, Sports & Pastimes, etc. It includes a mix of older fir...
Gert Jan Bestebreurtje Rare Books has issued List 63 on Slavery & the Slave Trade. Most of the items cover slavery in the Americas, the United States and the Dutch colony of Suriname in particular,...
Antiquariaat Forum and Asher Rare Books have published a 2013 June List. This was published in advance of the recent London Antiquarian Book Fair, so there is a good mix of material from various co...
Samuel Gedge Ltd. Rare Books recently issued A List of Books, Manuscripts and Ephemera for the London International Antiquarian Book Fair. The annual Olympia Fair concluded about two weeks ago, but...
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.