Rare Book Monthly

Articles - October - 2025 Issue

Exhibits, Talks and Symposium - Upcoming and Ongoing London, Austin, Philadelphia

London: A free exhibition of 60 books from the Royal College of Physicians Museum is on view through July 23, 2026.

London: A free exhibition of 60 books from the Royal College of Physicians Museum is on view through July 23, 2026.

LONDON

Royal College of Physicians Museum

A BODY OF KNOWLEDGE - 500 Years of Book Collecting

Through July 23, 2026



The Royal College of Physicians Museum, 11 St. Andrews Place, London hosts a new free exhibition 'A Body of Knowledge: 500 years of book collecting at the Royal College of Physicians'. 



The event which runs through July 23, 2026, features 60 rare and early printed books from the RCP Heritage Library and artefacts from the history of printing. It is accompanied by a new site-specific art installation by Catherine James. James' work 'Making visible' foregrounds the contributions of women to the history and composition of the RCP Heritage Library. 



*  View 'A Body of Knowledge' online here 

Visit in person at the RCP at Regent's Park, London. Usual opening hours are Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm. Visitors are advised to check the website in advance for any closure dates.

*  Exhibition events and activities will be listed throughout the run on the RCP Museum website: 

*  Please contact the RCP museum to book a guided tour of the exhibition with an expert guide: 

*  Teaching sessions with rare materials from the RCP collections are also available on request: please contact me directly if you are interested in bringing a student group

 

London: A free exhibition of 60 books from the Royal College of Physicians Museum is on view through July 23, 2026



AUSTIN, Texas

Ransom Center, University of Texas

SNL LIVE FROM NEW YORK - The Lorne Michaels Collection



The exhibit at the Ranson Center based on the archives of legendary television producer Lorne Michaels is ongoing through March 15, 2026. Live from New York: The Lorne Michaels Collection explores his remarkable career, from his early writing on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In to his pivotal role in shaping Saturday Night Live and beyond. Key moments from SNL's history are highlighted, especially its role in reflecting and shaping societal discourse on politics, culture, and identity. Featuring sketches, behind-the-scenes photos, annotated scripts, and rare materials from SNL, as well as Kids in the Hall, 30 Rock, Mean Girls, ¡Three Amigos!, Wayne's World, and more. This exhibition highlights Michaels's enduring influence on comedy and culture.

This exhibition is guest curated by Steve Wilson. Learn more about the Lorne Michaels Collection here.

 

Television producer Lorne Michaels is shown with Ray Charles in this 1977 photo from the Lorne Michaels Archives at the Ransom Center.


PHILADELPHIA

Penn Libraries - Kislak Center

Exhibit: REINVENTING ARISTOTLE and related Symposium



Reinventing Aristotle at the Penn Libraries Kislak Center from Oct. 3, 2025 to Jan.16 2026 introduces Aristotle as a historical figure who has changed profoundly and unexpectedly over time. The public is invited  to consider “The Philosopher” in his many forms and to reflect on how his life and work have served simultaneously as an inspiration and source of ridicule for many centuries. It is up to us to invent Aristotle for the 21st century — a task best undertaken in dialogue with this colorful history. 

Curated by Lynne Farrington, Director of Programs and Senior Curator of Special Collections, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania Libraries; Hannah Marcus, Professor of the History of Science and Faculty Director of the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments, Harvard University; Eva Del Soldato, Associate Professor of Italian Studies, University of Pennsylvania. 

A November symposium related to the Aristotle exhibition hosted by the Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies announced that registration is open for the 18th Annual Lawrence J. Schoenberg Symposium on Manuscript Studies in the Digital Age this year titled Interpreting the Ancients to be held in person and online Nov. 20-22. This year's symposium centers on the ongoing conversations with antiquity held across the pages of manuscripts, before and after the age of print. Embracing a transnational perspective, speakers will explore how the material media of transmission influenced the reception of ancient authors and contributed to their reinterpretation, reinvention, and rediscovery over the centuries.

All are invited to attend. The symposium will be held in person at the Kislak Center and the Rare Book Department of the Free Library of Philadelphia, with an option to join virtually. Click on the link for more information  registration and program details 

 

An Aristotle exhibit is ongoing at the Kislak Center - Penn Libraries from Oct. 3 through Jan.16, 2026. Register now for a related symposium on Nov. 20-22.

 

Rare Book Monthly

  • Heritage Auctions
    Rare Books Signature Auction
    December 15, 2025
    Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: Bram Stoker. Dracula. Westminster: Archibald Constable & Co., 1897.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
  • Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!
  • Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
  • Sotheby’s
    Book Week
    December 9-17, 2025
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.
    Sotheby’s
    Book Week
    December 9-17, 2025
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.

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