The New York Antiquarian Book Fair is come and gone, the confetti now swept up and the wine glasses washed and back on the shelf. This year the glass half full guys won out and the glass half empty crowd sent packing. Not everyone did well but many did and most saw enough success to feel the ABAA-Sanford Smith show partnership was yielding substantial returns. This year the traffic was strong and the audience ebullient. According to Catherine Zubkow who managed the fair, “attendance was north of 5,000.” More importantly exhibitors were happy and suggesting they’ll be back in 2014. Lor...
On April 10, the highest price ever paid for a letter at auction was achieved at Christie's in New York. If there was any doubt about the growing interest in more ephemeral sorts of works on paper,...
On life's vast ocean diversely we sail,
Reason the card, but passion is the gale.
Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man
Old books collectors are not so many, but they do exist. Mr. Wolfi is one of ...
In the world of books, manuscripts, maps and ephemera the line between list prices and auction realizations is being re-defined in the auction rooms with startling and regular rapidity. The balanc...
The London International Antiquarian Book Fair is set to make its annual appearance Thursday-Saturday, June 13-15 this year. For the 56th year, booksellers and book collectors will be gathering in ...
In an article published last month, the Chicago Tribune reported that the Field Museum was considering selling some of its artifacts. Specifically considered was the museum's rare book collection. ...
If you are a serious collector of French manuscripts, Sotheby's sale of Books and Manuscripts on May 29th will likely contain some eye-catching items. And while some items come with eye-popping pri...
The Kestenbaum Company of New York is to sell at auction Fine Judaica: Hebrew Books, Manuscripts and Autograph Letters from the Collection of Nathan Lewis, Esq. on May 2nd. Jackie Insel, speakin...
Honus Wagner was one of the greatest baseball players to ever take the field. He was well paid for his era, peaking at $10,000 per year over the last decade of his career, which ended in 1917. In h...
This month we have 15 new bookseller catalogues to review. The William Reese Company has a selection of works pertaining to travel and voyages. Gert Jan Bestebreurtje Rare Books is focused on trips...
When one thinks about book theft, it may seem far-fetched, but not to the experienced bibliophile. To many, books are as powerful as a narcotic. To the larger, uninitiated community, such material ...
This May, as of April 28th, 106 sales with an estimated 20,000+ lots scheduled. Dates occasionally change, others are added and a few delayed but the events as shown here are substantially what to...
The devil is in the details. California, a leader in legislating things, has long tried to regulate secondhand trade. It is not that they are looking to complicate the world for small sellers who t...
In the print category it was once mostly the books and their bindings and they are still essential but no longer even the unqualified leading element in the works on paper category. These days dis...
