Rare Book Monthly Articles - April - 2019 Issue

What is the most frequently asked question in the used and rare book field? What is my book worth?

Everyone in the rare book business is asked everyday “what is my book worth?” and the question almost always gets a careful listen because once in a great while the book or books you have are very good.  But that said, the process is time consuming and rarely successful for the person providing perspective.   For people who have these questions there are a few straightforward ways to find out, without spending a dime or anyone’s time.  You should go to the listing sites; Biblio, Alibris, Abebooks or Rare Book Hub that provide listings of books for sale.  Or, if you are diligent, go to all...

An Amazing Find within the Pages of a 500-year-old Book

There are two dreams we have when discovering an old book in the attic. One is that it is of great value; the other is that there is something of great value tucked away inside. The latter happened...

“Good Until Cancelled”: The Rant of a soon to be Ex-eBay Power Seller

I am a soon to be ex-eBay Power seller. I joined eBay in the heady days of the late 1990s and for the next 20+ years I maintained a productive relationship and a 100% positive feedback rating. I’m ...

The Markets are Converging

The structure of the old and rare book market is rapidly changing.  Within a generation what has long looked like parallel tracks that never converge, eBay and traditional auctions, are converging....

A Search Underway for Thousands of Books Looted Almost Four Centuries Ago

The theft of books is a centuries-old problem that has received increasing attention in recent years as tools for locating them have improved. Not just better scientific means of identifying copies...

Cyberbullying

We recently received a request from a reader that is outside the normal scope of this site. It was to post a link to a guide offering advice on how to stay safe from cyberbullying. We will provide ...

Ongoing thru April 11: Impressive autograph material at One of a Kind Collectibles

As of the release of this month’s issue of Rare Book Monthly, One of a Kind Collectibles’ online auction of Rare Autographs, Manuscripts, Books Photographs is already accepting bids and closes on ...

Baltasar Gracian, The Art of Prudence

Imagine going back in time, and ending up at the Palace of Versailles in the 17th century! Welcome to this golden jungle, populated with fierce courtesans ready to devour you. How will you survive ...

The Statute of Limitations

Even 2,000 years later it’s not easy to be named Pilate and God help you if your first name is Pontius.  Names can become symbols, and when the association is dark, there is a price to pay.  In New...

J. Fernando Pena joins Christies and they are lucky for it

Fernando Peña, whose DNA is said to include ink, is making his mark again. To academics across the United States and Grolier Club members in New York who for ten years (2001-2011) could expect to f...

Jail Time Assessed for Theft of Mormon Books and Photographs from Utah Library

Kevin Mark Ronald Schuwer has been sentenced to four months in jail for the theft of eight books and a photograph from the Brigham Young University Library. The prosecutor felt that Schuwer deserve...

Herding Cats

Anymore it seems like every aspect of the rare paper category is in flux.  On line listings work but the responses are a little slower and the prices a bit more negotiable.  Printed catalogues are ...

12 New Catalogues Reviewed This Month

For April we review 12 new catalogues. This month, the greatest concentration is in various types of Americana. David M. Lesser Fine Antiquarian Books and the George S. MacManus Company both offer ...

Rare Book Monthly

  • 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.
  • Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Edition of Piccolomini's De La Sfera del Mondo (The Sphere of the World), 1540.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Edition of Vellutello's Commentary on Petrarch, With Map, 1525.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: Finely Bound Definitive, Illustrated Edition of I Promessi Sposi, 1840.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: Rare First Edition of John Milton's Latin Correspondence, 1674.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: Giolito's Edition of Boccaccio's The Decamerone, with Bedford Binding, 1542.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Edition of the First Biography of Marie of the Incarnation, with Rare Portrait, 1677.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Aldine Edition of Volume One of Cicero's Orationes, 1540.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Edition of Bonanni's Illustrated Costume Catalogue, with Complete Plates, 1711.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: An Important Incunable, the First Italian Edition of Josephus's De Bello Judaico, 1480.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Edition of Jacques Philippe d'Orville's Illustrated Book of the Ruins of Sicily, 1764.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: An Incunable from 1487, The Contemplative Life, with Early Manuscript.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: Ignatius of Loyola's Exercitia Spiritualia, 1563.
  • 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.
  • 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

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