Rare Book Monthly Articles - June - 2011 Issue

eBay:  Progress for Books from the Bottom-up

The book buying experience on eBay continues to improve.  eBay of course sells almost everything and the revisions and additions on the eBay mother-ship are not for books alone but for the site overall.  Nevertheless, the recent changes add efficiencies that improve the eBay book-buying experience.   If history is any guide however these changes will primarily stimulate ‘listers’ to list rather than browsers to buy.  That will be a shame.  Unfortunately many would-be buyers feel the site is too complex and the rewards too small and infrequent to merit the time the site requires.  I respectf...

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Electronic Books at Amazon Now Outselling All Printed Books

Another milestone has been reached in the onrushing movement from printed books to electronic ones. Amazon.com, the world's largest online bookseller, announced that electronic books are now outsel...

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Sotheran's - An Exceptional Story

A book about Sotheran’s, the London booksellers has recently been published to celebrate its history.  Its title, taken from the company’s telegram address is Bookman:  London  - 250 years of Sothe...

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Booking It in Europe

Gracious sakes, where do I start?  We have two grandkids in Holland -- Amsterdam to be exact -- and they keep asking us to come over there and visit.  It’s a long way and a very expensive propositi...

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Bernie Madoff's Books up for Auction

A large auction will be taking place at the Miami Beach Convention Center June 3 and 4, and while not primarily a book auction, there are six lots each consisting of numerous books from their once ...

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Print on Demand for Antique Paper: Giclee printing brings rare Hawaii maps to a wider audience

Two Maui entrepreneurs, both with a background in antique maps, are excited about the use of giclee printing for reproducing rare and fragile maps of Hawaii. Bryant Neal and Richard "Buck” Mickelse...

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The WOW Factor - Back of Beyond Books uses Giclee Process to Create Gigantic Grand Canyon Panorama

Andy Nettell, proprietor of Back of Beyond Books (ABAA) was first introduced to giclee technology about five years ago by a local artist who was using it to make fine art prints. When a 40” Epson d...

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Experiments in the New Bookselling

Traditional book catalogues have been with us for three hundred years and for good reason.  They are effective.  But the economics of bookselling have changed in ways that are raising costs and dim...

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Barnes & Noble Receives a Takeover Offer, and the Reason May Surprise You

America's largest chain of bookstores received a major, and perhaps surprisingly strong purchase offer recently. Liberty Media, owner of large shares of Sirius Satellite Radio and QVC Shopping Netw...

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Robespierre's Notes Sold, Then "Preempted" by France at Sotheby's Auction

Some interesting maneuvering at the last minute at Sotheby's in Paris has saved a priceless, but nonetheless very expensive, French manuscript for the French people. Offered for sale on May 18 was ...

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ALA Survey:  Libraries Popular, but Funding Slips Anyway

The American Library Association recently released its annual report on The State of American Libraries. Americans today have something of a schizophrenic relationship with our libraries. We love t...

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Amazon in Pitched Battle Over Sales Taxes

Perhaps the biggest battle over sales taxes is taking place right now between online bookselling pioneer Amazon.com and numerous states. It does not look to be reaching booksellers who list on Amaz...

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Arader Galleries Charity Auction in New Orleans June 25-26

The Arader Galleries will be conducting their third annual charity auction June 25 and 26 at Neal Auction in New Orleans. These auctions are designed to appeal both to your self-interest and public...

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In The News:  Bail Revoked for Book Thief Charged with Murder, & More

Bail has been revoked for the alleged mastermind in a case of a book theft that turned into a murder charge. In the summer of 2010, the U.S. attorney in Buffalo, New York, alleged Rico Vendetti hir...

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13 New Catalogues Reviewed This Month

This month we review 13 new bookseller catalogues in Section Two of AE Monthly. Natural History is the topic for Raymond M. Sutton, Jr. American Presidents are featured by the William Reese Co. Hor...

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Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Winston Churchill. The Second World War. Set of First-Edition Volumes. 6,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard. A Collection of The Pooh Books. Set of First-Editions. 18,600 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Salvador Dalí, Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Finely Bound and Signed Limited Edition. 15,000 USD
    Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die. First Edition. 9,500 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Series. Finely Bound First Printing Set of Complete Series. 5,650 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms. First Edition, First Printing. 4,200 USD
  • Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    Starting 10AM CST
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [RUTH, George Herman “Babe” (1895-1948)]. Signed photograph. Circa 1930s. 191 x 248 mm. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HARRISON, Benjamin. Document signed (“Benj Harrison”) as governor of Virginia, certifying the service of Daniel Cumbo, a Black Revolutionary soldier. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: ONE OF THE FIRST PRINTED ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    Starting 10AM CST
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: FIRST PRINTING OF LINCOLN’S IMMORTAL GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HIGHLY IMPORTANT MORMON ARCHIVE. ALLEY, George. Archive of 23 Autograph Letters Signed by Mormon Convert George Alley to His Brother Joseph Alley. $10,000 to $20,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [AVIATION]. [ARMSTRONG, Neil A.] Aviation Hall of Fame Gold Medal MS64 NGC, Awarded to Neil Armstrong in 1979. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    Starting 10AM CST
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: NEWLY DISCOVERED FIRST PRINTING OF "WITH MALICE TOWARDS NONE... " FROM THE ONLY NEWSPAPER ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN LINCOLN’S SECOND INAUGURAL PROCESSION. $4,000 to $8,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: THE MOST IMPORTANT GEORGE WASHINGTON DOCUMENT IN PRIVATE HANDS; GEORGE WASHINGTON’S COMMISSION AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF, 1775, ONE OF ONLY TWO ORIGINALS. $150,000 to $250,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: A VERY RARE ACCOUNT OF BLACKBEARD’S DEATH AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIRATE ITEMS EXTANT. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    Starting 10AM CST
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: EDISON, Thomas. Patent for Edison’s Improvements on the Electric-Light, No. 219,628. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. Patent Office], 16 September 1879. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [VIETNAM WAR]. The original pen used by Secretary of State William P. Rogers to sign the Vietnam Peace Agreement, Paris, 27 January 1973. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: SONS OF LIBERTY FOUNDER COLONEL BARRÉ ANNOTATED TITLE-PAGE, “WHICH OUGHT TO ROUSE UP BRITISH ATTENTION”. $4,000 to $6,000.

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