By Hammer Price

Free link https://www.rarebookhub.com/auction_updates/1060

(Note to reader: The summary link above is FREE, the additional links below will function only for RBH subscribers. A reminder to subscribers: LOG IN to your account to use links. Results priced in $ £ €)

For the week ended Feb. 13, 2026 there were 71 auctions archived to Rare Book Hub’s database. 

Turnover was $9,867,397, down significantly from last week’s $35M. The average lot brought $1,170.93. There were 9,638 lots offered, of these 8,427 found new homes. For the week, 87.44% of all lots offered were sold.

Only one auction reported proceeds of over a million.

Rago Arts and Auctions. The Vault: Masterworks of Comic Art on February 10th: $1,729,863. This was an event devoted to comic books and related material This auction led the top 25 sales for the week taking positions #1 through #6 and also appearing an additional four times on the list.

Though highest prices went to comic books, the week also featured two fascinating photography auctions. 

They were: Rago Arts and Auctions. Photographic Masterworks from an Important Private Collection on February 12th: 95.65%, and Swann Galleries. Fine Photographs on February 12th: 60%.

Both offered a fascinating array of vintage and contemporary art photography and photojournalism. The Swann Galleries auction had a disappointing 60% sell through rate. Although it presented some of the most iconic images of the 20th century many of them failed to find a buyer. Direct links to the sales results from the sites of both Rago and Swann and include in the highlights section #7 & #8.  

Judaica also brought good prices and solid interest with two events focused on historical books and other material of Jewish interest.

Israel based Moreshet Auctions. Prestigious Winter Auction on February 8th: 87.67% sell through rate. With 146 lots offered it had one item in the top 25 and a variety of less expensive but equally interesting material.

Also featuring material of Jewish interest was Winner's Auctions Ltd. Winter Sale on February 8th: 87.96% 

Of the twelve auctions that saw total sales exceed 100% of the high estimates, six featured books and paper collectibles:

Olympia Auctions. The Estate of John Russell Taylor: Author, Critic, Collector on February 11th: 153.15%

Gros & Delettrez. Books and Manuscripts on February 11th: 132.98%

Potomack Company. Books, Maps and Historical Memorabilia on February 12th: 130.07%

Forum Auctions. Online: Modern Literature on February 12th: 121.87%

Bukowskis. Prints and Multiples on February 11th: 117.99%

Grant Zahajko Auctions. Books: Antiquarian, Manuscripts, Maps, Book Presses, Bookends & More! on February 11th: 107.45%

HIGHLIGHTS

1. In the number one position this week was the 1962  Silver Age Spider-Man classic which sold at Rago on Feb. 12 for $573,400.

Marvel Comics Amazing Fantasy #15 CGC 9.0 USA, 1962

According to the catalog notes this item has held the #1 position on Overstreet's list of the Top 50 Silver Age Comics for over two decades. This issue launches the journey of Peter Parker, featuring the first appearance and origin of Spider-Man, along with the first appearances of Uncle Ben and Aunt May. Written by Stan Lee, with interior art by Steve Ditko and a Jack Kirby cover, this book defines the Silver Age.

One of only 11 copies graded CGC 9.0, this example was freshly re-holdered in preparation for sale. According to GPAnalysis, aside from the Curator Copy sold on September 24, 2024, this represents the first CGC 9.0 example to be offered publicly since March 27, 2017.

https://www.rarebookhub.com/auction_lot_books/9520354?key=ac38d927e2d69f857d84ac9ed292300e5811d01e

2. Historic 1803 document related to the ratification of the Louisiana Purchase signed by James Monroe and others sold at RR on Feb. 11 for $82,394. This was significantly more than the presale high estimate of $30,000 

Excerpt from catalog notes:

Historic manuscript DS signed "Jas. Monroe," "Rob. R. Livingston," and "BarbA(c) Marbois," one page, 9 x 13.75, May 23, 1803. A monumental document recording the delivery of the French ratification of the United States' purchase of Louisiana, having just been approved by Napoleon Bonaparte and his French government. 

In full (translated): "Today, May 23, 1803, we BarbA(c)-Marbois, Minister of the Public Treasury named by the French People as Minister Plenipotentiary, and Robert R. Livingston, Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States of America, and James Monroe, Minister Plenipotentiary and envoy extraordinary of the the said State, meeting in one of the rooms of the Hotel du Tresor Public in Paris, Citizen BarbA(c)-Marbois handed over to us Robert Livingston and James Monroe: 1. The treaty was drawn up and signed by us on 10 Floreal an 11 (30 April 1803) and the two conventions drawn up and signed by us on the same date.

 Said treaty and conventions in three separate documents, written on vellum parchment and impressed with the grand seal of the French Republic imprinted in red wax, ratified by the First Consul [Napoleon] of the French Republic, signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ch. Mau. Talleyrand, and countersigned by the Secretary of State Hugues B. Maret; therefore the said treaty and conventions to be sent by us to the President of the United States without delay and for him to take the necessary steps. For which we have signed the present document in two copies, one for the French ambassador and one for the American ambassadors."

The French ratification of the Louisiana treaty and conventions was dated May 22nd and signed by Bonaparte, Talleyrand, BarbA(c) de Marbois, and Hugues Bernard Maret, who, as the secretary of state, was responsible for promulgating laws and decrees. It was delivered to the representatives of the United States, Robert R. Livingston and James Monroe, who here sign to acknowledge receipt of the paperwork to be sent to President Thomas Jefferson "without delay."

The Louisiana Purchase stands as one of the most transformative diplomatic acts in American history, instantly doubling the size of the young republic and securing U.S. control of the Mississippi River and the vital port of New Orleans. Negotiated at a moment of shifting global power amid Napoleon's imperial ambitions, renewed war with Great Britain, and the collapse of French plans in the Caribbean and the agreement reshaped the geopolitical balance of North America and set the United States on a path toward continental expansion and emergence as a major world power. 

See more photos of the document itself at the RR site lot #12 

https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot-detail/350984707350012-louisiana-purchase-james-monroe-robert-r-livingston-and-francois-barbe-marbois-2-documents-signed-for-the-ratification-of-the-louisiana-purchase-treaty/?cat=0

https://www.rarebookhub.com/auction_lot_books/9518616?key=a6fb3957ee28f59d596e411368f72f31a0d42ac4

3.  Rare Judaica from 1787 sold at Moreshet (Israel) on Feb 8 for $93,750.

Bifkutad Yeshu'ah Verachamim! Kadosh and Awe-Inspiring The Prayers for Yamim Noraim from the Siddur of Rabbeinu Hakadosh Rabbi Zvi Hirsch of Ziditchov: Siddur Rabbi Asher the Section of Tefillat Yom Tov and Yamim Noraim, Lviv (Ukraine), Prayers for the month of Elul, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot from the Siddur of Sar Beit Hazohar Rabbeinu Hakadosh Rabbi Zvi Hirsch of Ziditchov. Considerably more detailed notes at:

Sale 89, lot 140  Link to auction house site. http://www.moreshet-auctions.com/

https://www.rarebookhub.com/auction_lot_books/9513517?key=6398125fc743f38924f2f6d674bb96331e0c5009

4. A monumental Malby & Son’s 19th century terrestrial globe sold at Arader for $40,800 on Feb. 7.

Called the "Colossus Globe" it was manufactured by James Wyld in 1867 and it was the largest and one of the rarest globes to be issued by any British globe maker. In a sense, it was the British version of the large 110 cm diameter globes issued by Coronelli in the late 17th century, which were constructed for the Royalty and Nobility of Europe.

In the early 19th century, the economic successes of Britain on the world stage required an equally large globe for the upper-class clientele of Britain. The origins of this globe go back to the first British 3-foot diameter globe made by Thomas Addison in 1825, after which the gores passed down to Malby & Co. around 1845, who reissued the globe in 1849. 

Famously, a monumental pair of these Malby globes, on glamorous stands, caused a big stir when they were put on show at the Great Exhibition in 1851. With the demise of the Malby firm in 1860, the gores passed on to James Wyld II, who published the terrestrial globe again in 1867. James Wyld was a man captivated by large globes, renting a plot of land in Leicester Square, London and as an entertainment, he built a 20-meter diameter globe structure, within which was a walk called Georama, that was in use from 1851 to 1863. The colossal nature of the Malby/Wyld 3 feet diameter globes became one of the pinnacle geographical objects produced in mid-19th century Britain

https://www.rarebookhub.com/auction_lot_books/9492891?key=2fee119981082a752f704f43e812998536597cd1

5. The Grant Zahajko auction on Feb. 11 had numerous Jean Charlot items both from his work in Hawaii and in Mexico. Shown here is 100 Woodcuts by Posada (1947) with a Charlot introduction which went for $640.  There were also a number of Charlot lots which sold for surprisingly low prices.

100 Woodcuts by Posada. Published by Arsacio Vanegas Arroyo, 1947 Mexico. Foreword by Jean Charlot. 100 Prints plus introductory pages and The Taylor Museum brochure with a description of each plate in English. Plates measure 9.125 x 6.375 each. These are not bound and loose in folio. Folio measures 9.125 x 6.375 x 1 in.

The Charlot lots are, 76, 77, 79, 80, 83, 100,101,106,107, 108, 110, 112 115, 116, 235, 271, 272, 273. Some of these went for very low prices. For example lot 273 with 14 books sold for $12.80

GZ site https://bid.gzauctions.com/auctions/1-BR027P/books-manuscripts-maps-book-presses-bookends-more?sort=artist_name&limit=36

https://www.rarebookhub.com/auction_lot_books/9527349?key=389473dcb676a8776fd246ee47adef4997e989b5

PHOTOGRAPHY: For those interested in fine photography both as art and as documentation the Swann and Rago sales are both worth a closer look.

7. Larry Clark’s 1972 Tula portfolio (Lot 116) sold at Swann’s on Feb. 12 for $38,100.

The portfolio features Clark's controversial documentation of young drug addicts in his hometown, Tulsa. Largely autobiographical, these personal images depicting the self-destructive activities of his friends are recognized icons of 1970s counterculture. 

Larry Clark 1943- Tulsa Portfolio. 1968-1971; printed 1972. Silver prints (10)

Complete with 10 photographs. Each with Clark's signature in ink on recto, and the edition notation 15/50 in pencil on verso. Folio-sized clamshell box, debossed black cloth; the colophon with the edition notation 15/50 in ink; contents loose as issued. ONE OF 50 NUMBERED COPIES. New York: Luhring Augustine Gallery.

Dimensions The images 8 1/2 x 5 3/4 in. (21.6 x 14.6 cm.), and the reverse, the sheets 10 x 8 in. (25.4 x 20.3 cm.)

RBH data sheet Lot 116 Larry Clark https://www.rarebookhub.com/auction_lot_books/9511644?key=0d1454d3b9a8b2c998490de8547a54326d423704 

See close up of the Individual photos of the Clark portfolio from Swann sale Lot 116

https://www.swanngalleries.com/auction-lot/larry-clark-complete-tulsa-portfolio-with-10-phot_62CC25ECFA?catalogReferredQueryParam=%3FalgoliaParam%3Darchive_lotNumber_asc_prod%25255Bpage%25255D%253D5

See all the lots in the Swann sale at:

https://www.swanngalleries.com/auction-catalog/fine-photographs_CQ41NDLZ8F 

What didn’t sell was almost as interesting as what did. Lots of big names, and famous images were passed.

Swann Galleries. Fine Photographs on February 12th: 60%.

8. Rago's important photos on Feb 12 had only 46 lots yet realized close to a million in sales, ($940,595). One of the top seller at the Rago event was New Orleans Trolley (1955) by Robert Frank which realized  $114,300.

Robert Frank 1924--2019 New Orleans (Trolley) 1955 / likely printed before 1972, gelatin silver print image: 8 7/8 h x 13 3/8 w in (23 x 34 cm) sheet: 11 h x 14 w in (28 x 36 cm)

An excerpt from the catalog notes comments: The photograph exemplifies Frank's radical rethinking of documentary photography. Rather than offering a neutral record, Frank embraced ambiguity, subjectivity, and tension, using framing, sequencing, and tone to convey the psychological and social undercurrents of American life in the mid-20th century. In The Americans, New Orleans (Trolley) functions as a visual threshold---introducing themes of race, division, mobility, and observation that reverberate throughout the book.

Based on markings on the verso, this print was likely produced in the 1960s or very early 1970s and appears to have been loaned to Time Inc. for reproduction in the 1972 LIFE Library of Photography volume Documentary Photography. The presence of Life Books (LB) numbering indicates its use in this context before being returned to the artist. The date of 1975 inscribed on the recto likely corresponds to the moment the work left Frank's studio for sale, situating this print within an important early period of dissemination and recognition of Frank's work.

I was very free with the camera. I didn't think of what would be the correct thing to do; I did what I felt good doing.

https://www.rarebookhub.com/auction_lot_books/9520700?key=45042cc73f9603580485f688bedff8f34cf0598c

Link to all photos at Rago 

https://www.ragoarts.com/auctions/2026/02/photographic-masterworks-from-an-important-private-collection   Small number of lots, many with high value

9. A SLEEPER: Here’s an extremely inexpensive print titled Landscape with Figure  by Joseph Cornell, a famous contemporary artist best known for his intimate boxes with collage detail. These works of art commonly sell for multi-million dollar prices. This print sold for $68 at Stair Auctioneers on Feb. 12

Joseph Cornell (1903-1972): Untitled (Landscape with Figure) Heliograph in colors on wove paper, 1972, with the printed signature and estate blindstamp, numbered 116/125.

19 1/2 x 14 3/4 in. (sheet), unframed. Brooke Alexander Gallery, NY.

https://www.rarebookhub.com/auction_lot_books/9525277?key=653c1095333b84a8d6a4ce427eaac4303c1aa10e

10. Undated photo of Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb signed by pilot and bombardier, sold at Potomack Company on Feb. 12 for $1,105.

ENOLA GAY DUAL SIGNED PHOTO. PILOT PAUL TIBBETS AND TOM FEREBEE

glossy, black and white photograph of the Enola Gay, the Boeing B-29 that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, boldly signed in blue ink by Pilot Paul Tibbets, and Bombardier Tom Ferebee, Bombardier; undated; signatures large and legible; item housed in rigid archival sleeve

Dimensions 8 x 10 in. (20.3 x 25.4 cm.)

https://www.rarebookhub.com/auction_lot_books/9525042?key=8aad165283a3a8f88490fc37eecf600b7dd5307a

SELECTED UPCOMING AUCTIONS

Wed. Feb. 18th

Bonhams. London, New Bond Street. Oscar Wilde. The Collection of Jeremy Mason. 156 lots

Ader. PARIS. Contemporary Prints. 282 lots

Hansons. Etwall, Derbyshire . The Library Sale (Presented By Rare Book Auctions). 305 lots

Tooveys. West Sussex. Prints, Maps and Posters.

University Archives. Wilton. Rare Autographs, Manuscripts & Books. 385 lots

ALDE. Paris. The Library of Didier Marty - 20th Century Literary Works,. 297 lots

Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Photographs from The Abe Frajndlich Collection: A Photographer Collects Showcase Auction. 92 lots

Purcell Auctioneers. Birr. c.600 Lot Auction to include Antiquarian Books, Irish Histories, Rare, Limited & Signed First Editions, County & Parsh Histories, Fine Bindings, Republican Interest, Classic Marvel Comics etc.. 584 lots

Catawiki B. V.. LA Assen, . Autographs and Manuscripts. 112 lots

Dunbar Sloane. Wellington. Vintage & Crime Book Collection - Part II.

Thu. Feb. 19th

PBA Galleries. Berkeley. Fine Literature with Beats & the Counterculture. 501 lots

Potter and Potter Auctions. Chicago. Puzzles, Games, & Playing Cards. 326 lots

Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Hard-Boiled Heroes: Detective Pulp Magazines from The Dr. Richard Meli Collection Showcase Auction. 227 lots

RR Auction. Amherst. Olympics. 65 lots

Ader. PARIS. Collection J.-P. L-L.. 160 lots

Crafoord Auktioner. Täby. Francesco Bacoccoli Collection - "In the Garden of Flora and Pomona". 162 lots

Forum Auctions. London. Online: India. 273 lots

Fri. Feb. 20th

Catawiki B. V.. LA Assen, . Literature and Illustrated Books Auction. 26 lots

Catawiki B. V.. LA Assen, . French Literature and Illustrated Auction. 30 lots

Sat. Feb. 21st

Trillium Antique Prints & Rare Books. Franklin. Fine Art - Antique Engravings & Lithographs - Works on Paper.

Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Monsters & Spacemen Movie Posters Showcase Auction. 533 lots

Damien Voglaire. Brussels. Modern and Contemporary Art. 242 lots

The Book Merchant Jenkins. Woolloongabba. Books and Art.

Catawiki B. V.. LA Assen, . Old and Rare Books (pre-1700). 47 lots

Sun. Feb. 22nd

Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Sunday Movie Posters Select Auction.

Sydney Rare Book Auctions. Ultimo. Philosophy, Religion, The Arts Modern Firsts, Entomology and more.

Catawiki B. V.. LA Assen, . Autographs and Manuscripts. 24 lots

Email Hammer_Price auctionnews2025@gmail.com