Rare Book Monthly

Articles - November - 2025 Issue

New Certification Assures Your Book Was Written by a Human

The Books By People seal.

The Books By People seal.

Books have never had a rating system like movies, but a new certification process has recently been developed to combat an issue Shakespeare never faced. Actually, no publisher or author has been questioned on this until very recently. However, it is now enough of an issue that a new certification process has been developed to reassure readers their books were actually written by people. The certifier is a recently formed organization called "Books By People."

 

This may sound crazy, but what Books By People certifies is that books were written by people. The concern is not the infinite monkey theorem - that monkeys given an infinite amount of time can write the works of Shakespeare by randomly tapping on the keys. The culprit here is a creation of technology - AI. Artificial Intelligence is replacing human creativity in so much of what you read on the internet, even though you may not know it. It is writing books too, or giving the "author" a major hand, with ten additional fingers to pound on his or her imaginary typewriter. Pity those authors from five years ago who had to write their books by themselves.

 

Books By People describes the issue succinctly, "AI is flooding the literary world with imitations of human storytelling, challenging the publishing world to respond. Without safeguards, authentic human work will inevitably struggle to maintain the visibility and credibility it deserves." They even have a name for human created literature, "organic literature." No artificial ingredients, pumped out by a machine. This is real literature, created the old-fashion way, by a human being. Books By People defines organic literature as "books conceived and written by humans, where structure, voice and character development originate from the author. If there is AI use involved, it is for spelling or formatting, not for generating or rewriting meaningful content." Their mission, they explain, is "to uphold a trusted and recognisable ‘Organic Literature’ market by supporting publishers and authors who champion human writing, and by making that commitment clear and valuable to readers."

 

Books By People will review a publisher's editorial practices, check some samples of their titles, and if all is in order, issue certification that their books were actually written by people.

Rare Book Monthly

  • ALDE, Dec. 3:Les Chants de Maldoror, Paris, Albert Skira, 1934. €30,000 to €40,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 3:Braque le Patron, Paris, Fernand Mourlot, 1945. €8,000 to €10,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 3:Le Soleil des eaux, Paris, Matarasso, 1949. €3,000 to €4,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 3:Des Hirondelles et de quelques oiseaux connus, méconnus, ou inconnus décrits par le Comte de Buffon et Dado, Fontfroide, 1988. €3,000 to €4,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 3:
    ALDE, Dec. 3:Ne coupez pas mademoiselle ou les erreurs des P.T.T., Paris, Galerie Simon, 1921. €5,000 to €6,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 3:Les Pélican, Paris, Galerie Simon, 1921. €4,000 to €5,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 3:Quatre histoires de blanc et noir, Paris, s.n., 1926. €15,000 to €20,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 3:Le Chef-d'œuvre inconnu, Paris, Ambroise Vollard, 1931. €5,000 to €6,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 3:Hommage à Pablo Picasso, Paris, s.n., 1966. €8,000 to €10,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 3:Qu'est-ce que Thérèse ? C'est les maronniers en fleurs, Paris, Le Soleil Noir, 1974. €5,000 to €6,000.
    ALDE, Dec. 3:Traité des Excitants Modernes, Paris, Yves Rivière, 1989. €6,000 to €8,000.
  • Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!
  • Swann
    Illustration Art
    December 4, 2025
    Swann, Dec. 4: William Wallace Denslow (1856-1915). Pen and ink illustration for the first edition of Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Chicago: George M. Hill, 1900), page 33. $60,000 to $80,000.
    Swann, Dec. 4: Jerry Pinkney (1939-2021). The Great Minu, African folk tale complete book, group of 15 illustrations. 1974. $12,000 to $16,000.
    Swann, Dec. 4: Charles Schulz (1922-2000). Peanuts, Snoopy's brother Spike Christmas Cactus illustration. 1989 $8,000 to $12,000..
    Swann
    Illustration Art
    December 4, 2025
    Swann, Dec. 4: James Montgomery Flagg (1877-1960). Dean Cornwell in his studio. Watercolor and pencil on board. 1920. $5,000 to $7,000.
    Swann, Dec. 4: Charles Samuel Addams (1912-1988). Study for "Movie Scream," 1947. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Swann, Dec. 4: Edmund Dulac (1882-1953). "Q was a quaint dainty queen." Watercolor and ink on paper. 1906. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Swann
    Illustration Art
    December 4, 2025
    Swann, Dec. 4: Albert Hirschfeld (1903-2003). Camelot. Pen and ink on board. 1960. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Swann, Dec. 4: Maurice Sendak (1928-2012). "Chicken Soup" sketch. Ink on paper. Circa 1962. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Swann, Dec. 4: Kay Nielsen (1886-1957). But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. Pastel on board. Circa 1955. $5,000 to $7,000.
    Swann
    Illustration Art
    December 4, 2025
    Swann, Dec. 4: Julian De Miskey (1898-1976). Equestrian riding across 5th Avenue. Mixed media on board. Circa 1930. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Swann, Dec. 4: Walt Disney Studios. Pinocchio "When You Wish Upon A Star" Jiminy Cricket Courvoisier animation cel. Gouache on celluloid over airbrushed background on board. 1940. $2,000 to $2,500.
    Swann, Dec. 4: Arnold Lobel (1933-1987). "I will tell you a story while we are waiting," graphite on tracing paper. 1976. $1,500 to $2,000.
  • SD Scandinavian Art & Rare Book Auctions
    The Odfjell Collection
    Polar – History – Ornithology – Colour Plate Books
    Ending December 4th
    Scandinavian Art & Rare Books Auctions, Dec. 4: ROALD AMUNDSEN: «Sydpolen» [ The South Pole] 1912. First edition in jackets and publisher's slip case.
    Scandinavian Art & Rare Books Auctions, Dec. 4: AMUNDSEN & NANSEN: «Fram over Polhavet» [Farthest North] 1897. AMUNDSEN's COPY!
    Scandinavian Art & Rare Books Auctions, Dec. 4: ERNEST SHACKLETON [ed.]: «Aurora Australis» 1908. First edition. The NORWAY COPY.
    Scandinavian Art & Rare Books Auctions, Dec. 4: ERNEST SHACKLETON: «The heart of the Antarctic» + SUPPLEMENT «The Antarctic Book», 1909.
    Scandinavian Art & Rare Books Auctions, Dec. 4: SHACKLETON, BERNACCHI, CHERRY-GARRARD [ed.]: «The South Polar Times» I-III, 1902-1911.
    SD Scandinavian Art & Rare Book Auctions
    The Odfjell Collection
    Polar – History – Ornithology – Colour Plate Books
    Ending December 4th
    Scandinavian Art & Rare Books Auctions, Dec. 4: [WILLEM BARENTSZ & HENRY HUDSON] - SAEGHMAN: «Verhael van de vier eerste schip-vaerden […]», 1663.
    Scandinavian Art & Rare Books Auctions, Dec. 4: TERRA NOVA EXPEDITION | LIEUTENANT HENRY ROBERTSON BOWERS: «At the South Pole.», Gelatin Silver Print. [10¾ x 15in. (27.2 x 38.1cm.) ].
    Scandinavian Art & Rare Books Auctions, Dec. 4: ELEAZAR ALBIN: «A natural History of Birds.» + «A Supplement», 1738-40. Wonderful coloured plates.
    Scandinavian Art & Rare Books Auctions, Dec. 4: PAUL GAIMARD: «Voyage de la Commision scientific du Nord, en Scandinavie, […]», c. 1842-46. ONLY HAND COLOURED COPY KNOWN WITH TWO ORIGINAL PAINTINGS BY BIARD.
    Scandinavian Art & Rare Books Auctions, Dec. 4: JAMES JOYCE: «Ulysses», 1922. FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS.
  • Sotheby’s, Dec. 9: Pliny. Historia naturalis, the Macclesfield copy, printed on vellum, Rome: Sweynheym and Pannartz, 1470. $900,000 to $1,200,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 9: Aristotle. The fine Doheny set of Aldo's editio princeps, Venice, 1495–1498. $400,000 to $600,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 9: Euclid. The Norman copy of one of the most influential, enduring, and beautiful books in the history of science, Venice, 1482. $100,000 to $150,000.

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