Rare Book Monthly Reviews - January - 2018 Issue

The First Catalogue from Primary Sources Uncharted Americana

The First Catalogue from Primary Sources Uncharted Americana

This month we review a catalogue from a new bookseller, Primary Sources Uncharted Americana, of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Their catalogue, appropriately enough, is titled Catalogue 1. As their name suggests, they specialize in "uncharted Americana," that is, items that are either unique or have not been on the market before. This covers such unique items as manuscript journals, ledgers, diaries, letters, photograph albums, and scrapbooks. The not quite unique but not seen before in the market describes items like rare or obscure broadsides and pamphlets. The "primary sources" part of their name ...

A Wide Range of Material from Back of Beyond Books

A Wide Range of Material from Back of Beyond Books

Back of Beyond Books has issued their Catalogue #19. Back of Beyond was, and still is, a specialist in books about the American Southwest, but in their last couple of catalogues have expanded the o...

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Charles Dickens the Subject of a New Catalogue from John Windle Bookseller and Henry Sotheran Ltd.

Charles Dickens the Subject of a New Catalogue from John Windle Bookseller and Henry Sotheran Ltd.

John Windle Antiquarian Bookseller and Henry Sotheran Ltd. have combined to create a catalogue of Charles Dickens A Word in Earnest. London-based Sotheran's is closer to Dickens' hometown, but Dick...

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Americana from Kaaterskill Books

Americana from Kaaterskill Books

Kaaterskill Books has created a catalogue of Americana. Manuscripts, Broadsides, Pamphlets, Books, Graphics 1605-1962. While that's a large range, the concentration here is from the 19th century. T...

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Mostly Signed Material from Stuart Lutz Historic Documents

Mostly Signed Material from Stuart Lutz Historic Documents

Stuart Lutz Historic Documents has issued a new catalogue of exactly what you would expect. It does not have a title or number, referred to at most as the "current catalogue," a name which naturall...

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The Arctic from Patrick McGahern Books

The Arctic from Patrick McGahern Books

One thing you can count on from Canadian bookseller Patrick McGahern Books is catalogues that are cool. Actually, more than that – they are cold. This is true of their number 261, Arctica. It...

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Rare American Imprints from David M. Lesser Fine Antiquarian Books

Rare American Imprints from David M. Lesser Fine Antiquarian Books

David M. Lesser Fine Antiquarian Books has released their Catalogue No. 158 Rare Americana. It follows their usual format – shorter form items (pamphlets, broadsides, prints, etc.) from or re...

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A Variety of Subjects Covered by Raptis Rare Books

A Variety of Subjects Covered by Raptis Rare Books

Raptis Rare Books does not place a title on their catalogues, but they do provide a table of contents to let us know what can be found. Here are the subjects covered in their latest catalogue: Holi...

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Catalogue XXV of Mixed Items from Samuel Gedge Ltd.

Catalogue XXV of Mixed Items from Samuel Gedge Ltd.

Samuel Gedge Ltd. has issued their Catalogue XXV. Gedge's catalogue includes some books, but more in the way of other sorts of related items – pamphlets, documents, manuscripts, broadsides, l...

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Manuscripts from the William Reese Company

Manuscripts from the William Reese Company

The William Reese Company has issued a selection of Manuscripts. These are manuscripts that either come from America or pertain to America. This includes not just the United States, but Canada, Cen...

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Some Gifts from Shapero Rare Books

Some Gifts from Shapero Rare Books

Shapero Rare Books has created a catalogue of Gifts to Treasure. Now that the giving season is over, you are free to surprise yourself with a gift, and Shapero has 155 suggestions. They have divide...

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Christmas 2017 (Slightly Late) from Peter Harrington

Christmas 2017 (Slightly Late) from Peter Harrington

Peter Harrington has issued their Catalogue 139, or Christmas 2017. We are slightly behind, but not by that much. Besides which, After Christmas is almost as big a shopping time these days as for C...

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Rare Book Monthly

  • 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.
  • 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. 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.
  • 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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