Rare Book Monthly Articles - August - 2024 Issue

A Step into the Future

A Step into the Future

Rare Book Hub for 21 years been pursuing two goals, one of them to become the first click world-wide when the interested, enthralled, committed or required want to understand the importance, value and rarity of rare paper. With 14,128,422 records we have captured the essence of the auction flow from the past 175 years, simply by following price changes.   Of course price at auction has always reflected the complex interaction of the copy, its quality, its rarity and its audience. The fact that those auction transactions would be recorded and remembered was never expected, beyond the many ...

Extra Extra Read all about it....fast!

Extra Extra Read all about it....fast!

Welcome to the 1970's.  Interesting and rare material, in some cases incomplete but in orginal condition estimated very modestly.    The upcoming Rare and Collectible Book Auction at Leland Littl...

THE TRIUMPH OF PAPER AMERICANA AT BOTH CHRISTIE'S and SOTHEBY'S

THE TRIUMPH OF PAPER AMERICANA AT BOTH CHRISTIE'S and SOTHEBY'S

Ok, so my 9th single owner auction of "How History Unfolds on Paper from The Eric C. Caren Collection" has come and gone...but that is the small news.   The big news is that Sotheby's sold 2 news...

Don Henley of the Eagles Band Sues for Return of Original Lyrics to Hotel California

Don Henley of the Eagles Band Sues for Return of Original Lyrics to Hotel California

In the continuing saga of the rock band the Eagles co-founder Don Henley's attempt to obtain the handwritten lyrics to songs in their hugely successful Hotel California album, Henley has gone to co...

Herman Darvick (1938-2024):  his auctions will be remembered

Herman Darvick (1938-2024): his auctions will be remembered

Herman Darvick was a Brooklyn, New York third grade teacher at P.S. 248 in the 1960’s  who found documents and signatures interesting.  In time he entered the auction field after Charles Hamilton’s...

AbeBooks Releases Their List of the Ten Most Expensive Books for the Second Quarter of 2024

AbeBooks Releases Their List of the Ten Most Expensive Books for the Second Quarter of 2024

AbeBooks has released their list of the Top 10 most expensive books purchased on their site for the second quarter of 2024, April-June. Collectors weren't holding back, the dollars flowing freely f...

« Ça ira, ça ira... » France and the Robespierre’s complex.

« Ça ira, ça ira... » France and the Robespierre’s complex.

For the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games that took place last July in Paris, France offered a show that revealed her complex relationship with her past.     The opening ceremony of the Oly...

Some Idaho Libraries Transitioning to ‘ADULTS Only’ in Response To Recent Draconian Legislation

Some Idaho Libraries Transitioning to ‘ADULTS Only’ in Response To Recent Draconian Legislation

A new Idaho law that took effect July 1, may result in state libraries transitioning to “adults-only,” according to a detailed report from the Idaho Capital Sun. “Under the new rules, library staf...

The Internet Archive/Open Library Appeals Court Ruling in Favor of Book Publishers in Dispute over “Controlled Digital Lending”

The Internet Archive/Open Library Appeals Court Ruling in Favor of Book Publishers in Dispute over “Controlled Digital Lending”

The Internet Archive and representatives of book publishers went to court recently to argue the IA's appeal of a lower court ruling against them. The case involves what is known as “controlled digi...

Short Takes For August

Short Takes For August

FRANKENSTEIN BRINGS A MONSTER PRICE AT HERITAGE  What’s not to like about an auction that brings together three of the great works of fiction and gets top dollar for them all. Here’s a brief repor...

Uri Geller Returns Library Book 47 Years Late

Uri Geller Returns Library Book 47 Years Late

We've encountered many stories about long overdue library books, sometimes a century late, finally being returned. They generally involve a book being found in a parent or other long-deceased relat...

Spencer Stewart: Collecting Insights

Spencer Stewart: Collecting Insights

COLLECTING INSIGHTS https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/collecting-insights-october-2024-3513409   For October 2024, Collections Advisor and author of Contemporary Issues in Rare Book Manuscript Coll...

Three New Catalogues Reviewed

Three New Catalogues Reviewed

This month we review three recently published bookseller catalogues. Clavreuil of Paris and London has created a catalogue of important French literary works. David M. Lesser Fine Antiquarian Books...

Rare Book Monthly

  • Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    27th March 2025
    Forum, Mar. 27: Dürer (Albrecht) Hierin sind begriffen vier bücher von menschlicher Proportion, 4 parts in 1, first edition, Nuremberg, Hieronymus Andreae for Agnes Dürer, 1528. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum, Mar. 27: Book of Hours, Use of Rome, illuminated manuscript in Latin, on vellum, 26 fine hand-painted miniatures, 17th century dark brown morocco, [Lyon], [c. 1475 and later c. 1490-1500]. £25,000 to £35,000.
    Forum, Mar. 27: Brontë (Emily) The North Wind, watercolour, [1842]. £15,000 to £20,000.
    Forum, Mar. 27: Titanic.- Mudd (Thomas Cupper, one of the youngest victims of the sinking of the Titanic, 1895-1912) Autograph Letter signed on board RMS Titanic to his mother, April 11th 1912. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    27th March 2025
    Forum, Mar. 27: [Austen (Jane)] Emma: A Novel, 3 vol., first edition, for John Murray, 1816. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, Mar. 27: Picasso (Pablo).- Ovid. Les Metamorphoses, one of 95 copies, signed by the artist, Lausanne, Albert Skira, 1931. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, Mar. 27: America.- Ogilby (John) America: Being the Latest, and Most Accurate Description of the New World..., all maps with vibrant hand-colouring in outline, probably by an early hand, 1671. £15,000 to £25,000.
    Forum, Mar. 27: Iceland.- Geological exploration.- Bright (Dr. Richard )and Edward Bird. Collection of twenty original drawings from travels in Iceland with Henry Holland and George Mackenzie, watercolours, [1810]. £20,000 to £30,000.
  • Forum Auctions
    The Library of Barry Humphries
    26th March 2025
    Forum, Mar. 26: Beckford (William) [Vathek] An Arabian Tale, first (but unauthorised) edition, Lady Caroline Lamb's copy with her signature and notes, 1786. £2,000 to £3,000.
    Forum, Mar. 26: Baudelaire (Charles) Les Fleurs du Mal, first edition containing the 6 suppressed poems, first issue, contemporary half black morocco, Paris, 1857. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum, Mar. 26: Beardsley (Aubrey).- Pope (Alexander) The Rape of the Lock, one of 25 copies on Japanese vellum, Leonard Smithers, 1896. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum, Mar. 26: Douglas (Lord Alfred) Sonnets, first edition, the dedication copy, with signed presentation inscription from the author to his wife Olive Custance, The Academy, 1909. £2,000 to £3,000.
    Forum Auctions
    The Library of Barry Humphries
    26th March 2025
    Forum, Mar. 26: Crowley (Aleister) The Works..., 3 vol. in 1 (as issued)"Essay Competition" issue on India paper, signed presentation inscription from the author, 1905-07. £1,500 to £2,000.
    Forum, Mar. 26: Rodin (Auguste).- Mirbeau (Octave) Le Jardin des Supplices, one of 30 copies on chine with an additional suite, bound in dark purple goatskin, Paris, 1902. £3,000 to £4,000.
    Forum, Mar. 26: Pellar (Hans) Eight original book illustrations for 'Der verliebte Flamingo' [together with] a published copy of the first edition of the book, 1923. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, Mar. 26: Cretté (Georges, binder).- Louÿs (Pierre) Les Aventures du Roi Pausole, 2 vol., one of 99 copies, with 2 original drawings, superbly bound in blue goatskin, gilt, Paris, 1930. £3,000 to £4,000.
  • Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: The Shem Tov Bible, 1312 | A Masterpiece from the Golden Age of Spain. Sold: 6,960,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: William Blake | Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Sold: 4,320,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD
    Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Sold: 1,920,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Machiavelli | Il Principe, a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR
  • Swann
    Printed & Manuscript African Americana
    March 20, 2025
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 7: Thomas Fisher, The Negro's Memorial or Abolitionist's Catechism, London, 1825. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 78: Victor H. Green, The Negro Travelers' Green Book, New York, 1958. $20,000 to $30,000.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 99: Rosa Parks, Hand-written recollection of her first meeting with Martin Luther King Jr., autograph manuscript, Detroit, c. 1990s. $30,000 to $40,000.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 154: Frederick Douglass, Autograph statement on voting rights, signed manuscript, 1866. $20,000 to $30,000.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 164: W.E.B. Du Bois, What the Negro Has Done for the United States and Texas, Washington, circa 1936. $3,000 to $4,000.
    Swann
    Printed & Manuscript African Americana
    March 20, 2025
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 263: Susan Paul, Memoir of James Jackson, Boston, 1835. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 267: Langston Hughes, Gypsy Ballads, signed translation of García Lorca's poetry, Madrid, 1937. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 274: Malcolm X, Collection from Alex Haley's estate, 38 items, 1963-1971. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 367: Solomon Northup, Twelve Years a Slave, Auburn, NY, 1853. $2,500 to $3,500.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 402: Anna Julia Cooper, A Voice from the South, Xenia, OH, 1892. $2,000 to $3,000.
  • Koller, Mar. 26: Wit, Frederick de. Atlas. Amsterdam, de Wit, [1680]. CHF 20,000 to 30,000
    Koller, Mar. 26: Merian, Maria Sibylla. Der Raupen wunderbare Verwandelung, und sonderbare Blumennahrung. Nürnberg, 1679; Frankfurt a. M. und Leipzig, 1683. CHF 20,000 to 30,000
    Koller, Mar. 26: GOETHE, JOHANN WOLFGANG VON. Faust. Ein Fragment. Von Goethe. Ächte Ausgabe. Leipzig, G. J. Göschen, 1790. CHF 7,000 to 10,000
    Koller, Mar. 26: Hieronymus. [Das hochwirdig leben der außerwoelten freünde gotes der heiligen altuaeter]. Augsburg, Johann Schönsperger d. Ä., 9. Juni 1497. CHF 40,000 to 60,000.
    Koller, Mar. 26: BIBLIA GERMANICA - Neunte deutsche Bibel. Nürnberg, A. Koberger, 17. Feb. 1483. CHF 40,000 to 60,000
    Koller, Mar. 26: HORAE B.M.V. - Stundenbuch. Lateinische Handschrift auf Pergament, Kalendarium französisch. Nordfrankreich (Rouen?). CHF 25,000 to 40,000

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