Rare Book Monthly Articles - May - 2019 Issue

Vic Zoschak and Tavistock Books: A 30th Anniversary for the President of the ABAA

For Vic Zoschak of Tavistock Books this April marked his 30th year in the rare book trade.  His experience as a rare book collector and dealer has spanned the most tumultuous years in modern times for what was once a rather sedentary, cerebral trade.  But, in considering this career that continues today, at the ripe age of 66, and which he hopes to continue on into his 80s, he expresses gratitude for the books, friends, travel and adventure the trade has brought him.  “I would absolutely do it again” and today he encourages, mentors and sponsors young [to the trade] booksellers as they find...

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Paris: Le Salon International du Livre Rare... 2019 - The Mermaids’ Song

Last month, I heard the song of the mermaids! I followed it, and it took me to the Salon international du livre rare de l’objet ancien (SILROA) in Paris, France. Hervé Valentin, President of the S...

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Highlight of a Career - Bookseller Bjarne Tokerud on Handling a Very Special Archive

Hanne Wassermann Walker died in West Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1986. She also died in obscurity. She had lived there for over 40 years, all but the last five with her husband, George Walker. ...

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“A Bigger Job Than We Realized:” Revisiting the Published Page in Cleburne, Texas

In 2017, when last we wrote about The Published Page Bookshop, owners Jim Hart, and his wife Connye had just purchased a large antique building in Cleburne, Texas on the outskirts of Ft. Worth. Aft...

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What Collecting is Becoming

Collecting has been, to my way of thinking, about acquiring material within a focus and the discussions I’ve heard over the years invariably focused on the collecting of categories, be they records...

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May 27: The First Atlas Map of America and more at Ketterer Kunst

May 27this a date many a high roller collector will want to bookmark in their calendars. Ketterer Kunst, the Munich-based auction house, will be hosting a sale of Rare Books in Hamburg that will no...

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Garry Austin: Gone to his reward

Wilmington, Vermont.  Garry Austin, a member of the ABAA, cashed in his chips on Sunday 14 April after a difficult struggle with one condition and then another that began with the need for hip surg...

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Over 600 Books Stolen After World War II Returned to Owner

Over 600 stolen books from World War II were recently returned to their rightful owner. This is not the typical war era returned books story. The normal story, common even today as repatriation has...

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eCatalogues: they are becoming important. Post them here!

With the rise of the internet and rare and used book listing sites the formulas, processes and costs for dealers have been undergoing generational changes every few years.  Not so long ago dealers ...

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AbeBooks Top 20 Highest Prices Paid for Books in the First Quarter of 2019

AbeBooks has released their list of the 20 most expensive books purchased on their website in the first quarter of 2019. The books are too diverse to describe succinctly, with the common thread bei...

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Stolen Library Books Returned Almost 50 Years Later

It took almost 50 years and a guilty conscience, but a couple of first American editions of J. R. R. Tolkien books have made their way back to the university libraries from which they were stolen n...

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Major Fire at the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum in St. Louis

A major fire struck the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum in St. Louis on the night of March 26. It both was and was not devastating. There was extensive damage to the building, with flames shooti...

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Waite, Waite Don’t Tell Me

Recently, the somber news was quick to come out; John Waite was dead.  There are, to many people but not to me, awareness that the name John Waite is shared by more than one person in my data feed ...

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Man Caught Stealing Almost $10,000 Worth of Comic Books at Chicago Show

A thief at a recent comic book trade show was caught, but it was a matter of luck - good luck for the exhibitors, bad luck for the thief. It is a reminder to all that even at trade shows, amidst cr...

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Seven New Book Catalogues Reviewed This Month

This month we review seven new book catalogues. John Windle Antiquarian Bookseller features 35 works of natural history. These are important and beautiful items. Jonathan A. Hill Bookseller targets...

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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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