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<b>Bonhams:</b> MANDELSHTAM, OSIP. 1891-1938. Autograph Manuscript, 2 pp, [Petersburg,] January 1913, entitled

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Articles - February 2009 Issue


Book Prices Plunged Over 20% in 2008 - By Michael Stillman By Michael Stillman Book prices at auction tumbled sharply in 2008, as the collectible book market fell victim to the steep economic recession. While sales prices, as opposed to listing prices, tend to be obscure for want of a clear, visible record, AE tracked over 220,000 books and related items at auction last year for its AE Bibliographic Database. Those numbers reveal that the median price at auction dropped over $100, from $486 to $384, a...

Book Prices Plunged Over 20% in 2008

- By Michael Stillman

By Michael Stillman Book prices at auction tumbled sharply in 2008, as the collectible book market fell victim to the steep economic recession. While sales prices, as opposed to listing prices, tend to be obscure for want of a clear, visible record, AE tracked over 220,000 books and related items at auction last year for its AE Bibliographic Database. Those numbers reveal that the median price at auction dropped over $100, from $486 to $384, a...


Reality Returns to Bookselling - By Bruce McKinney By Bruce McKinney The median price of books, manuscripts and ephemera, measured across more than 220,000 lots sold at auction in 2008, fell 21% from 2007....	The Police Blotter: eBay Buyers Beware; Book Thief Sentenced to 2 Years - By Michael Stillman By Michael Stillman Ebay is an outstanding source for great bargains, but an indictment handed down by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of...
Wikis Add the AED and Prepare for Stage II - By Bruce McKinney By Bruce McKinney This is an Update on Wiki Bibliographies, the future of buying and selling works-on-paper. The goal of this project is to organize...	Court Considers Case of State vs. Collector - By Michael Stillman By Michael Stillman The Virginia Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of the State of Maine versus a private collector a few days back, with...
Dealing With Customer Service On Line - By Karen Wright By Karen Wright I'm a pretty laid back, easy going sort of woman. I seldom get angry except where serious injustice and stupidity are concerned....	Bay Area Book Collector Events - By Bruce McKinney By Bruce McKinney The Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America is hosting its annual west coast book fair in San Francisco February 13 to 15 at Concourse...
Book Auctions in the Bay Area - By Bruce McKinney By Bruce McKinney In February, when the ABAA holds its every-other-year book fair in San Francisco, there will be two local book auctions. They are...	AbeBooks Lists Its Ten Most Expensive Items of 2008 - By Michael Stillman By Michael Stillman AbeBooks affords us one last chance to look back at 2008 with their list of the Top 10 prices paid for books offered...
Yes, It Is Still Legal to Sell Old Children's Books - By Michael Stillman By Michael Stillman A collective sigh of relief was heard recently from sellers of old children's books. It is, after all, legal to continue selling these...	Anatomy of a Transaction Gone Bad - By Renee Roberts By Renée Magriel Roberts I'm sure you have all had them ... transactions whose downside far outweighs whatever profit might be gained. I've seen many a...
Hes & De Graaf Announce Facsimile Edition of Blaeu-Van Der Hem Great Atlas - By Michael Stillman By Michael Stillman Hes and De Graaf Publishers of the Netherlands has announced a major publishing project, a facsimile on a grander scale than any we...	The Rosenbach Celebrates Lincoln's 200th Birthday - By Michael Stillman By Michael Stillman The Rosenbach Museum and Library has announced a special online project sponsored in conjunction with a very special birthday - the 200th for...
Eleven Catalogues Under Review Eleven new bookseller catalogues are reviewed in this month's Review Section of AE Monthly. There are catalogues of "books about books," primarily from America by...	Fascinating and Important Manuscripts from Michael Brown Rare Books By Michael Stillman Michael Brown Rare Books has published one of the most thoroughly described catalogues we have seen: Manuscripts. Letters, Correspondence, Diaries and Archives....
Books from the "Bridge" Room from I.D. Edrich By Michael Stillman We recently received our first catalogue from I.D. Edrich, booksellers from London. This issue is entitled The Bridge Catalogue, the explanation being these...	Childhood Comes Alive in the Pages of Aleph-Bet Book By Michael Stillman Aleph-Bet Books has just released its Catalogue 90 of Children's Books and Illustrated Books. These are wonderful catalogues, filled with memories and imagination....
Old and Rare Books About Books from Frits Knuf Antiquarian Books By Michael Stillman Frits Knuf Antiquarian Books has issued a catalogue of Old and Rare Books 2009. These are primarily books in the "books about books"...	Inexpensive Americana from David Lesser Antiquarian Books By Michael Stillman David M. Lesser Fine Antiquarian Books has issued Inexpensive Americana Part V. This is the fifth in a series of catalogues where no...
More of the Unusual from Garrett Scott, Bookseller By Michael Stillman Garrett Scott, Bookseller has issued Catalogue Twenty-Two (A miscellany). Scott's catalogues certainly are a miscellany, a group of interesting works, many of which...	Literature from the William Reese Company By Michael Stillman The William Reese Company has issued a catalogue of Literature. This is a substantial collection (over 900 items) of primarily moderately priced items...
New "Books About Books" and Bibliography from Oak Knoll By Michael Stillman Oak Knoll Books has issued its first catalogue of the new year, Catalogue 289 of their long-running series. As with most of their...	Mexico and Latin America from Plaza Books By Michael Stillman Plaza Books has issued List 26, forty-seven items within their specialty. That specialty is Latin American books, primarily those pertaining to Mexico. There...
Literature, Film and More from Waverly Books By Michael Stillman Waverly Books has published its List 162, a collection of 183 items. The focus for Waverly is on literature, particularly first editions, and...	Legal Works from The Lawbook Exchange By Michael Stillman The Lawbook Exchange has issued Catalogue 62, with the lengthy title, Recently Acquired Books and Other Items from the Sixteenth through the Twentieth...