Rare Book Monthly

Articles - January - 2024 Issue

It was two nights before Christmas

5 of 179 Catalogues

5 of 179 Catalogues

When I was a kid, in the 1950’s, Christmas was the way my family compensated for the disaster we were living through.  It was almost worth it but left me memories of how my family when in trouble, tried hard to make those few days seem perfect.  My family lived suspended between feast and famine and when there was feast, it was wonderful.  One such Christmas my father bought me a Lionel 0 Gauge Santa Fe 3 part engine for $65 when our rent was $25.  It was a treasure.

 

On the recent 23rd December, a gift arrived that topped it by a very wide margin, 3 brown boxes each weighting 18 pounds.  What could it be?:  the collected records of the Waverly Auction Company, 1978 to 2004.

 

The Lionel trains arrived in a single box, the Waverly Auctions in three, holding 179 auctions, 147 of them priced, altogether 100,992 lots.  Hallelujah!  For a person who loves the history of the printed word, Waverly’s records tracing the explosion of interest in collectible paper at auction in the pre-Internet period, providing a unique perspective on how the market was adjusting.  They will soon be added to Rare Book Hub’s Transactions+.

 

We expect to start January 1st and expect to complete them by the end of February.  Along the way, Waverly’s records will show up in the Advanced Search. 


Posted On: 2024-01-05 16:02
User Name: bluto

What a great story. I find myself reminiscing about similar stories from my childhood. Things were so much different back then. So much better in so many respects too. People actually valued their relationships and there was even respect for the opinions of others. It is sad that today's society refuses to take note of what worked so well (maybe just ignorance or improper raising by their parents) instead of turning everything into societal issues. Thanks very much.


Posted On: 2024-01-12 22:29
User Name: rarerobinson127

Great memory. Thanks Bruce


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  • Forum Auctions
    Online Sale:
    The Detective Fiction Collection of John Cooper
    Ending 7th November, 2024
    Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). The Thirteen Problems, first edition, The Crime Club, 1932. £15,000 to £20,000.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Dumb Witness, first edition, 1937. £3,000 to £4,000.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Cards on the Table, first edition, The Crime Club, 1936. £2,000 to £3,000.
    Forum, Nov. 7: [Carr (John Dickson)], "Carter Dickson" and John Rhode. Drop to his Death, first edition, Heinemann, [1939]. £600 to £800.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Berkeley (Anthony). Jumping Jenny, first edition, Hodder and Stoughton, 1933. £800 to £1,200.
    Forum Auctions
    Online Sale:
    The Detective Fiction Collection of John Cooper
    Ending 7th November, 2024
    Forum, Nov. 7: Marsh (Ngaio). Overture to Death, first edition, The Crime Club, 1939. £600 to £800.
    Forum, Nov. 7: [Day-Lewis (Cecil)] "Nicholas Blake". The Beast Must Die, first edition, 1938. £750 to £1,000.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Brand (Christianna). Green for Danger, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author, John Lane the Bodley Head, 1945. £600 to £800.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Murder is Easy, first edition, signed by the author, 1939. £3,000 to £4,000.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Sayers (Dorothy L.) Lord Peter Views the Body, first edition, Gollancz, 1928. £6,000 to £8,000.
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    Sotheby’s: J.R.R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. 11,135 USD
    Sotheby’s: Edgar Allan Poe. The Raven and Other Poems, 1845. 33,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Leo Tolstoy, Clara Bow. War and Peace, 1886. 22,500 USD
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    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: LEROUX, Gaston. The Phantom of the Opera. FIRST AM. ED, FIRST ISSUE IN THE VERY RARE DUST JACKET. 1911. $6,000 – 8,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: GOULD, John. A Monograph of the Trochilidae...Humming-Birds. L., [1849-] 1861. $60,000 – 80,000.
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    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: ORWELL, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. Lon., 1949. FIRST EDITION IN A VERY FINE DUST JACKET. $6,000 – 8,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: GOULD. A Monograph of the Ramphastidae...Toucans. L., [1852-] 54. SECOND ED. $35,000 – 45,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: The Federalist. NY, 1788. FIRST EDITION, THICK PAPER COPY. $60,000 – 80,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: SELBY. Plates to Selby’s Illustrations of British Ornithology. Edin., [1833-] 34. $20,000 – 30,000.
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    APRES DE MANNEVILLETTE
    Le Neptune Oriental
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    Eaux fortes de la Sicile et quelques vues d’Espagne
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    CASSINI DE THURY
    Carte générale et particulière de la France.
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    Vues des côtes de France dans l'Océan et dans la Méditerranée
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    LA PÉROUSE
    Voyage autour du monde
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    LE GENTIL DE LA GALAISIERE
    Voyage dans les Mers de l’Inde
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    LICENT
    Hoang Ho, Pai Ho, Loan Ho, Leao Ho. Itinéraires suivis dans le bassin du golfe du Pei Tcheuly
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    FRENCH SCHOOL FROM THE 19th CENTURY
    Panorama d’Athènes
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
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    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    PÉRON; FREYCINET
    Voyage de découverte aux terres australes
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    STACKELBERG
    La Grèce : vues pittoresques et topographiques.
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
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