Rare Book Monthly Reviews - May - 2017 Issue

Heroes and Heroines, "Volksbucher" from Dr. Jorn Gunther Rare Books

Heroes and Heroines, "Volksbucher" from Dr. Jorn Gunther Rare Books

Dr. Jorn Gunther Rare Books of Basel, Switzerland, has issued a catalogue of Heroes and Heroines, "Volksbucher" prose novels in late medieval society. "Volksbucher" are kind of hard to define. They appear around 1470 as printing starts to pick up in larger volumes. It literally means people's books, which is to say books that were now available to a wider segment of society. That is not to say that farmers and the poor were reading the latest novels. It was still limited to people of education and means, but no longer just a select few, primarily clergy, as it had been. Besides which, the p...

Books from the American West from Old West Books

Books from the American West from Old West Books

Old West Books has issued their Catalog 41 of Rare, Out of Print Books on the American West. Old West further describes their specialization as "Books on the American West, Custer, the Fur Trade, O...

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Science, Medicine, Natural History, Japanese and Military Books, Paper from Jonathan A. Hill Bookseller

Science, Medicine, Natural History, Japanese and Military Books, Paper from Jonathan A. Hill Bookseller

Jonathan A. Hill Bookseller recently issued their Catalogue 219. It is divided into four topics, with no discernible connection other than these are the fields in which Hill is expert: (1) Science,...

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Architecture and Arts from Marilyn Braiterman Rare Books

Architecture and Arts from Marilyn Braiterman Rare Books

Marilyn Braiterman Rare Books has released their Catalogue 35. While there is no further title or description of the contents, we note that the material primarily relates to architecture and some f...

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A Variety of Exceptional Material from Raptis Rare Books

A Variety of Exceptional Material from Raptis Rare Books

Raptis Rare Books recently issued a new catalogue. While I have not been able to locate a title, it does provide a useful guide to what is inside – a table of contents. Here are the subjects ...

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Rare, Scarce and Interesting from Patrick McGahern Books

Rare, Scarce and Interesting from Patrick McGahern Books

Patrick McGahern Books has issued their Catalogue 254 Rare, Scarce and Interesting. That title stumped me a bit – three adjectives but no noun. Rare, scarce and interesting what? So, I looked...

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Winston Churchill and the Second World War from Peter Harrington

Winston Churchill and the Second World War from Peter Harrington

Peter Harrington of London has published a catalogue of Winston Churchill and the Second World War. I initially misinterpreted this title, thinking it much more restrictive than it is. It does not ...

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Latin Americana, from the William Reese Company

Latin Americana, from the William Reese Company

The William Reese Company is known for specializing in Americana, and this is a catalogue of Americana, but not the typical Reese one. Reese's 342nd catalogue takes us south of the border, to the l...

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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…
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