Rare Book Monthly Articles - February - 2020 Issue

Prices at Auction Declined by 3% in 2019

The year 2019 saw a modest decline in the prices of books and paper at auction, although the number of lots offered and percentage of lots sold both increased significantly. The why for the decrease in price is uncertain. Macro economic factors can play a significant role, but the economy in the western world was good, the stock market unusually strong. On the other hand, there is much uncertainty out there, impeachment in America, Brexit in Europe. Perhaps it was a good year to keep your money in the stock market, rather than buying physical assets.   The median price of all lots sold in...

The Guillotine Falls Slowly

For some years now the story of rare books and parts of others stolen from the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh has been devolving.  To the outside world this was simply another multi-million dollar ...

Sad Day for the Book Trade: Commentary on Carnegie Library Thefts

By now the whole book world has heard that rare book librarian Gregory Priore, 63, who was the archivist and manager of Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Library William R. Oliver Special Collections Room from...

The Pasadena Book Fair February 7-9

The 53rd California International Antiquarian Book Fair returns to Pasadena, California February 7-9.  It features booksellers from the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America and the Inter...

The 60th Annual New York International Antiquarian Book Fair March 5-8, 2020

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair returns to New York March 5-8, 2020.  This is, year in and year out, the most significant rare book fair in America and, many would suggest, the most important in...

Long Lost Books Discovered in a Library's Walls

There's always a certain amount of anticipation when you tear out the walls of an old building. Might there be something, perhaps trivial in its day, of substantial value now to be found within? Fo...

Collecting is hit or miss

It’s been an interesting month to be collecting the history of the mid-Hudson Valley of New York State.  Random searches online found a variety of broadsides and ephemera that fit into a project I’...

Devon Eastland joins Swann as a Senior Specialist in Early Printed Books

Devon Eastland has joined Swann Auction Galleries as a Senior Specialist in Early Printed Books after serving as Director of the Book Department at Skinner in Boston, Massachusetts since 2012. Devo...

A Valuable Missing Pokemon Card Sheds Light on Another Field of Collectible Paper

A man has sued a shipping company for losing a highly valuable piece of collectible paper he recently purchased, according to the New York Post. The man's name is Marwan Al Khaja and he lives in Du...

Director Who Sold Institution's Book Collection Abruptly Resigns

The Executive Director of Salisbury House, a historic house in Des Moines, Iowa, suddenly resigned her post a short time ago. This story would not have been of interest to a rare book related site ...

Now through February 12: Old World Auctions' First Sale of 2020

With bidding already live, Old World Auctions’ first sale of 2020 will be accepting bids until February 12th. This is a sizeable sale—778 lots of maps and other cartographic material, books, prints...

François Gacon, #nomakeup

Long before the days of Instagram, make-up was already seen as a way to hide the truth. A French poet once wrote: “Today, Lize is quite cute / But where shall she find such a beautiful face tomorro...

Maine Library Turns Down Offer for 5,000+ Sailing Books and Space to House Them

A coastal Maine library apparently has turned down a free offer of 5,000-6,000 books on sailing, plus funds to create the space to house them. In another time an offer like this would have been qui...

7th annual Satellite Fair during New York Rare Book Week returns to the Church of St. Ignatius

On Friday March 6th and Saturday March 7th,  Marvin Getman brings his New York City Book and Ephemera Fair back to the venue where his first New York fair was held 7 years ago, Wallace Hall at the ...

Live Auctioneers: Pleased with their Results

The following is a news release from Live Auctioneers of New York.  They had a good year.  While they handle much more than books, manuscripts, maps, and ephemera they are now a principal source in...

Eight New Catalogues Reviewed This Month

This month we review eight new bookseller catalogues. Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books and Manuscripts features important books and manuscripts including private press and fine bindings. Samuel Gedge ...

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
  • Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 27th
    Ketterer Rare Books, May 27:
    K. Marx, Das Kapital,1867. Dedication copy. Est: € 120,000
    Ketterer Rare Books, May 27:
    Latin and French Book of Hours, around 1380. Est: € 25,000
    Ketterer Rare Books, May 27:
    Theodor de Bry, Indiae Orientalis, 1598-1625. Est: € 80,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 27th
    Ketterer Rare Books, May 27:
    Breviary, Latin manuscript, around 1450-75. Est: € 10,000
    Ketterer Rare Books, May 27:
    G. B. Piranesi, Vedute di Roma, 1748-69. Est: € 60,000
    Ketterer Rare Books, May 27:
    K. Schmidt-Rottluff, Arbeiter, 1921. Orig. watercolour on postcard. Est: € 18,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 27th
    Ketterer Rare Books, May 27:
    Breviarium Romanum, Latin manuscript, 1474. Est: € 20,000
    Ketterer Rare Books, May 27:
    C. J. Trew, Plantae selectae, 1750-73. Est: € 28,000
    Ketterer Rare Books, May 27:
    M. Beckmann, Apokalypse, 1943. Est: € 50,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 27th
    Ketterer Rare Books, May 27:
    Ulrich von Richenthal, Das Concilium, 1536. Est: € 9,000
    Ketterer Rare Books, May 27:
    I. Kant, Critik der reinen Vernunft, 1781. Est: €12,000
    Ketterer Rare Books, May 27:
    Arbeiter-Illustrierte Zeitung (AIZ) / Die Volks-Illustrierte (VI), 1932-38. Est: €8,000

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