Rare Book Monthly Articles - February - 2024 Issue

Buy a part of Italian National Cultural Heritage: the Santini Codex at Il Ponte Casa d'Aste on February 27

It’s not often that a work on paper recognized as a piece of “National Cultural Heritage” by a sovereign nation comes up for sale at auction, but this month, that is exactly what is happening. Il Ponte Casa d’Aste, the Milan-based auction house, will be auctioning the Santini Codex, a renaissance masterpiece that was officially declared a part of National Cultural Heritage by the Italian State in 2012. Read Il Ponte’s brief introduction here, and then I recommend watching their YouTube video and perusing the dedicated catalogue for the single item going to auction on the 27th of February! A...

Read More

Book and Collectible Paper Auction Sales Were Up and Down in 2023

Auction sales in the books and collectible paper field were a mixed bag in 2023. The number of lots offered and sold were up significantly, but the average sale price was down substantially. The re...

Read More

Your Personal Top 500 is Nearby

For many years we have prepared annual reports for the top 500 auction lots that have  included books, manuscripts, maps and ephemera for the past year.  And it’s always among the most widely read ...

Read More

The Latest Style – Bookshelf Wealth

There's a new style that's overtaking the world, especially that part of the world that gets its sense of style from Tik Tok. It's called “bookshelf wealth,” but it doesn't require expensive books....

Read More

Michael Ginsberg Appreciated

The antiquarian bookselling community lost one of its most beloved members in 2023, when Michael Ginsberg died. While crossing the street on his way to his favorite restaurant, Michael was struck b...

Read More

Fred Holabird: Remembering Old Friends

Collectors collect old books and paper while the best dealers and auctioneers collect clients.  In the fullness of time, attitudes, opportunities and circumstances change. When those relationships ...

Read More

Free Willie – Steamboat Willie is Finally Free

The mouse that roared shook up Congress, but he served authors well by extending their copyright protection to long after their gone. But, after a heroic battle, Mickey Mouse is now free. Mickey Mo...

Read More

Experience the 56th California International Antiquarian Book Fair: February 9-11

  Pier 27, The Embarcadero, SF CA 94111   The 56th California International Antiquarian Book Fair is about to launch Friday, February 9th at Pier 27 in San Francisco at the Embarcadero (94111). ...

Read More

Pasadena Book Fair, Sat. & Sun. Feb. 3 & 4 at Pasadena Convention Center Presented by Rare Books LA

Pasadena welcomes booksellers and bibliophiles from around the world to share their love of books, fine prints, maps, ephemera, and more on Sat.,Feb 3 and Sun., Feb.4, 2024 at the Pasadena Conventi...

Read More

Bookscardsnbikes.com: A business for sale

Bookscardsnbikes.com is a click away.   In the old days book stores often opened with great fanfare and when the hourglass eventually ran out, willing buyers both for their stock and their shops ...

Read More

Two Years A Slave, or Le Sieur d’Aranda in Algiers

In 1640, while sailing off La Rochelle, France, Sieur d’Aranda was captured by the Turks, and then taken to Algiers, Africa, as a slave—a traumatic experience that gave birth to a fascinating littl...

Read More

The History of Black History Month and Some Virtual Tidbits

Every February America celebrates Black History Month. In the past few years there have been increasingly organized efforts to suppress, distort and even criminalize the teaching of Black history. ...

Read More

Ending February 7th: Old World Auctions' Auction #196

AN ONLINE ANTIQUE MAP AUCTION FEATURING A WIDE RANGE OF MATERIAL WILL BE HELD IN OLD WORLD AUCTIONS’ AUCTION #196, ENDING FEBRUARY 7th   The auction’s 790 lots include rare antique and vintage ma...

Read More

Getman’s Virtual now Included in viaLibri rare book search engine

Marvin Getman developed an online solution for the book fair community after Covid 2019 caused person to person fairs to be temporarily shut down.  Today’s announcement tells us that he continues t...

Read More

COLLECTING INSIGHTS – Registration Open for Spring 2024 Sessions

COLLECTING INSIGHTS – Registration Open for Spring 2024 Sessions   COLLECTING INSIGHTS https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/collecting-insights-spring-2024-3040339   Starting in April 2024, experience...

Read More

Book Theft for the “Buzz”

This is a strange case of a book thief who apparently had no need for the money but stole anyway. John Nicolaides, 39, of Stoke-on-Trent, Stratfordshire, England, was recently sentenced in a case g...

Read More

Another Long Overdue Library Book Returned, This Time 120 Years Late

This is effectively the latest chapter in an ongoing series though that was not our intention when it started. It is the saga of overdue library books, finally returned many years later. This seems...

Read More

Two New Catalogues Reviewed This Month

We have two new catalogues under review for this month. One comes from Shapero Rare Books. It is their latest selection of guidebooks from Baedeker and other other compilers. They cover the 19th an...

Read More

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
  • Jeschke Jadi
    Auction 151
    Saturday, April 27, 2024
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 546. Christoph Jacob Trew. Plantae selectae, 1750-1773.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 70. Thomas Murner. Die Narren beschwerung. 1558.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 621. Michael Bernhard Valentini. Museum Museorum, 1714.
    Jeschke Jadi
    Auction 151
    Saturday, April 27, 2024
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 545. Sander Reichenbachia. Orchids illustrated and described, 1888-1894.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 1018. Marinetti, Boccioni, Pratella Futurism - Comprehensive collection of 35 Futurist manifestos, some of them exceptionally rare. 1909-1933.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 634. August Johann Rösel von Rosenhof. 3 Original Drawings, around 1740.
    Jeschke Jadi
    Auction 151
    Saturday, April 27, 2024
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 671. Jacob / Picasso. Chronique des Temps, 1956.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 1260. Mary Webb. Sarn. 1948. Lucie Weill Art Deco Binding.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 508. Felix Bonfils. 108 large-format photographs of Syria and Palestine.
    Jeschke Jadi
    Auction 151
    Saturday, April 27, 2024
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 967. Dante Aligheri and Salvador Dali. Divina Commedia, 1963.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 1316. Tolouse-Lautrec. Dessinateur. Duhayon binding, 1948.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 1303. Regards sur Paris. Braque, Picasso, Masson, 1962.
  • Doyle, May 1: Thomas Jefferson expresses fears of "a war of extermination" in Saint-Dominigue. $40,000 to $60,000.
    Doyle, May 1: An exceptional presentation copy of Fitzgerald's last book, in the first issue dust jacket. $25,000 to $35,000.
    Doyle, May 1: The rare first signed edition of Dorian Gray. $15,000 to $25,000.
    Doyle, May 1: The Prayer Book of Jehan Bernachier. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Doyle, May 1: Van Dyck's Icones Principum Virorum Doctorum. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Doyle, May 1: The magnificent Cranach Hamlet in the deluxe binding by Dõrfner. $7,000 to $10,000.
    Doyle, May 1: A remarkable unpublished manuscript of a voyage to South America in 1759-1764. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Doyle, May 1: Bouchette's monumental and rare wall map of Lower Canada. $12,000 to $18,000.
    Doyle, May 1: An rare original 1837 abolitionist woodblock. $8,000 to $12,000.
    Doyle, May 1: An important manuscript breviary in Middle Dutch. $15,000 to $25,000.
    Doyle, May 1: An extraordinary Old Testament manuscript, circa 1250. $20,000 to $30,000.

Article Search

Archived Articles

Ask Questions