• Forum Auctions
    Colour Plate Books from the Library of Norman Bobins
    Part 2
    27th March 2024
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Alken (Henry). Sporting Notions, first edition, T.McLean, 1832-33. £800 to £1,200.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Bardi (Lorenzo). Nuova Raccolta delle piu interessanti Vedute della Citta di Firenze…, Florence, Lorenzo Bardi, [c.1840]. £1,500 to £2,000.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Crawfurd (John). Journal of an Embassy from the Governor-General of India to the Court of Ava..., first edition, 1829. £1,000 to £1,500.
    Forum Auctions
    Colour Plate Books from the Library of Norman Bobins
    Part 2
    27th March 2024
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Dawe (George, engraver). The Life of a Nobleman, first edition, Geo. Henderson, [c.1825]. £1,000 to £1,500.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: [Doyle (John)], "H.B.". Political Sketches &c., 10 vol. including The Descriptive Key to H.B., Thomas McLean, [1829-51]. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Eben (Adolphus Christian Frederick, Baron von) and Nicolaus Heideloff. Modèles de l'Uniforme Militaire Adopté dans l'Armée Royale de Suède, Rudolph Ackerman, 1808. £1,500 to £2,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Colour Plate Books from the Library of Norman Bobins
    Part 2
    27th March 2024
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Geissler (J.G.G.) and Friedrich Hempel. Mahlerische Darstellungen der Sitten, Gebrauche und Lustbarkeiten bey den Russischen, Tartarischen…, 4 parts in 1, Leipzig and Paris, [1804]. £1,000 to £1,500.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Hunt (Charles). Portraits of Winning Horses...of the Derby, Oaks, & St. Leger, from the Year 1842 to 1849…, Rock Brothers & Payne, 1849. £1,500 to £2,000.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Kunike (Adolf Friedrich). Zwey hundert und sechzig Donau-Ansichten nach dem Laufe des Donaustromes…, Vienna, Leopold Grund, 1826. £3,000 to £5,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Colour Plate Books from the Library of Norman Bobins
    Part 2
    27th March 2024
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Lasinio (Carlo). [Matrimony], Florence, 1790. £1,500 to £2,000.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Reinhardt (Joseph). A Collection of Swiss Costumes, in Miniature, second English edition, James Goodwin, [1828]. £800 to £1,200.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Wengen (Gottfried Durst von). Die Öffentliche Maskerade Bamberg am Fastnachts-Montage 1833…, Bamberg, [1833]. £2,000 to £3,000.
  • 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
  • Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG BEADED JUDICIAL COLLAR. $80,000 - $120,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: ONLY KNOWN COPY OF THE ONLY BOOK BY THE REMARKABLE EVE ADAMS. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A COMPLETE RUN OF VISIONAIRE MAGAZINE THROUGH 2010. $6,000 - $9,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: LAW REVIEW OFFPRINT SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY RUTH BADER GINSBURG. $3,000 - $5,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: META REBNER'S WORKING SCRIPT OF THE LOVED ONE. $1,500 - $2,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A KATHY GROVE PORTRAIT OF CYNDI LAUPER FOR THE FEBRUARY 1989 DETAILS COVER. $800 - $1,200
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A PLASTIC COAT BY MILLIE DAVID FEATURED IN SOHO NEWS STYLE SECTION, FROM THE COLLECTION OF ANNIE FLANDERS. $500 - $700
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG JEWELRY BOX. $600 - $900
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A SET OF JONI MITCHELL LYRICS FOR "IF I HAD A HEART." $2,000 - $3,000
  • Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    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
    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
    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
    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.

Rare Book Monthly

Articles - March - 2014 Issue

Recent Book and Paper Fairs in California

The Book Bin at Pasadena was busy selling the unexpected

Book Fairs on the West Coast

 

Recently, on February 1st and 2nd there was a book and ephemera fair in San Francisco at Fort Mason, on the water on the north side of the city.  The weather was cold and rainy and deterred some no doubt from attending the two-day event.  The following weekend the ABAA held its premier west coast show of 2014 over 3 days at Pasadena at the well-lighted and spacious convention center.  Both fairs would attract portions of the same audience but end up being very different events.

 

The San Francisco fair, organized for the second time by Nancy Johnson of Nancy Johnson Events Management LLC, was open to anyone interested to exhibit.  If you could pay the exposition fee and the additional cost for sundries you were in.  In Pasadena only ILAB and ABAA members could participate in the better-known and more widely publicized fair that set back exhibitors double what the San Francisco fair cost.   This set up a sartorial comparison, the San Francisco more blue jeans than designer jeans, the Pasadena fair suits with discrete designer labels. 

 

Many exhibitors in San Francisco are frequent exhibitors at weekend events.  In some cases they do a fair a month and offer not only different items but also different categories such as postcards, objects and antiques.  For them books is one of the inventories they sell and they don’t bring them to every show.  Generally they and the other exhibitors did better with ephemera - in part because the sweet spot in the busy booths was $50 to $200 and that price range better suited to ephemera.  More expensive material sold but the crowds were in the perceived bargain categories. 

 

This is not to suggest that the top of the line wasn’t represented and exhibiting.  The William Reese Company brought a fair approximation of a premier and extensive library, of course to sell books but also to convey the stature of the material they handle.  Bauman Rare Books was also there as were Peter Harrington and Donald Heald, Maggs Brothers, John Windle and Phillip J. Pirages to name only a few.  The list of serious booksellers exhibiting was long.  But so too were the dealers measuring their successes in ephemera, postcards and comics and at the end of the weekend it appears the less expensive material, post cards and comic books were where buyer interest focused.  

 

David Lilburne of Antipodean Books, Maps and Prints summed it up very well.  “I’ll suggest to the Ephemera Society they hold a fair here.  Their members will do very well.”  San Francisco, for this weekend, was simply more interested in paper than books.

 

Over the next weekend many of the same dealers moved on to Pasadena.

 

The Pasadena fair was quite different, the venue, the Pasadena Convention Center, simply a marvelous setting.  Well lit, spacious, and adorned with creature comforts such as carpeting and conversation areas I suspect everyone liked the facilities.  So what if the show cost roughly double what the San Francisco fair cost, it turned out the difference was inconsequential to the calculus of exhibitor finances; $3,000 versus $1,500 [including counters, partitions, and additional lighting].   Add in the much better weather in Pasadena and the Rose Bowl city won the comparison in a romp.

 

Dan Whitmore, of Whitmore Rare Books, who did both the SF Fair and the Pasadena event said, “I did well enough at both but if forced to choose one over the other I’d choose the ABAA fair at Pasadena.  The more pleasant environment easily offset the higher costs.  We are all in the business of building rapport and the ambiance was terrific.”  It didn’t help he had to sidestep occasional drips from a leaky ceiling in San Francisco.

 

So Pasadena won hands down except for one factor:  sales.  In neither location were sales exceptional but San Francisco, because they opened their doors to independent exhibitors, had more eclectic less expensive material and plenty of cost aware browsers, probably was better as a mechanism for encouraging new collectors. Though there could have been more, those who came spent more of their time and most of their money in the booths that were stocked with less expensive possibilities and sent almost everyone who showcased such material home happy.  

 

And what does this suggest?  Less expensive paper collectibles did well at both fairs although San Francisco offered more opportunities and somewhat lower prices.  And these sales did something else.  They provided a ramp up to the more complex collecting that top-tier dealers make a career of defining, explaining and selling.  In other words, as has been suggested before, we have to first engage the nascent collector and then over time educate them to the possibilities of collecting seriously.  Seen in this light the San Francisco fair was particularly effective.

 

Duncan McLaren of Lord Dunham Rare Books who has exhibited at both types of fairs, feels the greater opportunity to engage new collectors is at the independent fairs where there is not a long line of serious booksellers.  McLaren is exhibiting this year at more antique shows based on his 2013 experiences.  “Many of the items we are handling are physical historical artifacts and they are fresh in the antiques market.” 

 

The two sides of the same coin, the serious rare books and the entry level comics and ephemera very visible in San Francisco and somewhat visible in Pasadena, actually set very well together, permitting the newbie to buy inexpensive material today while casting an eye on what and from whom they could hope to be buying in the years ahead.  I found the differences compelling – almost a visual primer of what collecting can become through time.  For conveying this impression both fairs deserve praise.

 

As to next year when the ABAA-ILAB fair returns to the Bay Area, the decision has already been taken on a 4 to 3 vote to have the 2015 fair in Oakland, just across the Bay Bridge from San Francisco.  About this decision I asked many people how they felt and their enthusiasm was lukewarm.  The net of everything I heard was “the ABAA councils have made good decisions before, they will make a good decision this time.”  And it should work out subject to two caveats:

 

That the change in venue is widely advertised and well explained.  The lack of the clarity about this year’s San Francisco Book and Ephemera Show’s move to Fort Mason led the news to get lost in the weeds and it affected attendance.

 

That the currently every other year SFB&E fair does not step into the gap created by the ABAA’s move across the Oakland Bay Bridge to Oakland, and take over Fort Mason to run their event in direct competition with the ABAA fair.  Many exhibitors would prefer to stay in San Francisco.  Set up as an ephemera and book fair [emphasis ephemera] that show should do very well.  It will help of course if the weather is better, the roof not leaking and if aisle carpets soften the concrete floor.  Running simultaneously the two fairs would create a mega weekend event but probably diminish support for the move to Oakland even as the combined event becomes the largest collectible paper event in the world.

 

Whatever the outcome the fairs are always interesting.  I bought one book and an archive of Hudson valley material at the SF fair and purchased, in Pasadena, a Fishkill broadside and made notes to consider another possible purchase.

 

Such events are always worthwhile.

 

Rare Book Monthly

  • Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: [Langland (William)]. The vision of Pierce Plowman, nowe the seconde time imprinted..., Roberte Crowley, 1550. £8,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: [Shakespeare (William)]. [Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies], second folio edition, [by Tho.Cotes, for Robert Allot], [1632]. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Bible, Czech Biblia Bohemica, first complete Bible printed in the Czech vernacular, Prague, August 1488. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Shabthai Tzvi.- Collection of four printed and illustrated broadsides detailing the appearance, rise and fall of the false messiah, Shabthai Tzvi, Augsburg, 1666-67. £40,000 to £60,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Leaf from the Beauvais Missal, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment, [Northern France (perhaps Beauvais or Amiens)], [fourteenth century (c.1310)]. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Aubrey (John). [Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme], manuscript in English, Latin and Greek, [c. 1693]. £30,000 to £50,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Byron (George Gordon Noel, Lord). Poems on Various Occasions, first edition, Harriet Maltby's copy, Newark, Printed by S. & J. Ridge, 1807. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, first edition, second impression with dust-jacket, 1937 [but 1938]. £7,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Blake (William).- Thornton (Robert John). The Pastorals of Virgil, 2 vol., engraved plates by William Blake, 1821. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: America.- Mount (William J.) & Thomas Page. The English Pilot…, [bound with] The Fourth Book, describing The West Indies Navigation from Hudson's-Bay to the River Amazones, 1721. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Oldfield (Henry Ambrose), Rajman Singh Chitrakar & others. An album of 160 photographs and 13 original artworks, (1833-1919), [c. 1850s-1880s]. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Audubon (John James) [and William MacGillivray]. Ornithological Biography…, 5 vol., first edition, presentation copy inscribed by Audubon, Edinburgh, 1831-49 [i.e. 1831-39]. £10,000 to £15,000.
  • 19th Century Shop
    Catalogue 198 just published
    19th Century Shop. Darwin and Wallace, first printing of the first paper on natural selection
    19th Century Shop. Shakespeare’s Poems, first collected edition
    19th Century Shop. Walt Whitman portrait inscribed with a Leaves of Grass poem
    19th Century Shop. Major Elizabeth Barrett Browning manuscript notebook
    19th Century Shop. Spock's Baby Book, original MS
    19th Century Shop. Cellarius, Harmonia Macrocosmica, the great celestial atlas

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