Rare Book Monthly Articles - June - 2024 Issue

Two Elderly Women Attack the British Library's Copy of the Magna Carta with a Hammer and Chisel

Two Elderly Women Attack the British Library's Copy of the Magna Carta with a Hammer and Chisel

In one of the more bizarre attacks in memory, one of the rare early copies of England's Magna Carta was attacked at the British Library. The Magna Carta is Britain's bill of rights, the most important document in its history. The two suspects attacked the document with a hammer and chisel. Then, the story gets really strange. The two suspects were women, elderly women. One was 82-years old, the other 85. The younger one was an Anglican priest, Reverend Dr. Sue Parfitt. The other, Judy Bruce, was a retired biology teacher. These are not the typical profiles of violent criminals.   They did...

Collectible paper, née Rare Books, is moving on

Collectible paper, née Rare Books, is moving on

Collectible paper’s value has long depended on content and priority which is often subject to interpretation and argument.  When such material is offered at auction [and often but not always sold],...

Charles Agvent: ABAA/ILAB a high visibility antiquarian dealer

Charles Agvent: ABAA/ILAB a high visibility antiquarian dealer

If you’ve been in the book trade for any length of time you’ll have heard of Charles Agvent. One reason is because he shows up every day in your inbox with two or three interesting items at various...

A Farewell to Todd Weyman: Our Congratulations on His Retirement

A Farewell to Todd Weyman: Our Congratulations on His Retirement

May 24, 2024   In an industry not particularly known for big changes, Swann Galleries is about to undergo the kind of change that only happens once in a generation. After almost 30 years at the h...

Why Do Collectors Collect?

Why Do Collectors Collect?

Why do collectors collect, or more specifically, why do book collectors collect books? If you ask them, they will probably have an explanation such as a love of books, a life-long love of reading, ...

François Hue’s Narrative, or the last days of the man who wouldn’t be king

François Hue’s Narrative, or the last days of the man who wouldn’t be king

Is the holy French Republic the saint that the French portray? Some books challenge the official narrative, and François Hue’s Dernières années du règne et de la vie de Louis XVI..., is one of them...

The Invisible Man:  Sanford L. Smith

The Invisible Man: Sanford L. Smith

The Invisible Man at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair has left the building.  Who was he?  Sanford L. Smith, the show impresario who created and ran fairs, among them The New York  ...

Freeman's | Hindman to offer over 1,400 Lots of Books, Manuscripts, and Historical Ephemera This Spring During Book Month

Freeman's | Hindman to offer over 1,400 Lots of Books, Manuscripts, and Historical Ephemera This Spring During Book Month

A selection of books to be offered in Fine Literature from the Collection of Richard C. McKenzie this June 6.   Chicago, Cincinnati, Philadelphia – Freeman’s | Hindman presents a month of books, ...

Sotheby's is Offering Some Serious Material

Sotheby's is Offering Some Serious Material

Sotheby’s New York Books and Manuscripts Department has an ambitious slate of sales scheduled for June 26, including three small but significant auctions to be conducted live.   The morning begin...

Twenty-seven Lost Books from the Brothers Grimm Library Have Been Discovered

Twenty-seven Lost Books from the Brothers Grimm Library Have Been Discovered

Generations of children have been thrilled by the stories of the Brothers Grimm. They were the writers of the fairy tales we all grew up with. They include Hansel and Gretel, Sleeping Beauty, Littl...

Rose City Book & Paper Fair to be Held June 14-15 in Portland, Oregon

Rose City Book & Paper Fair to be Held June 14-15 in Portland, Oregon

The Rose City Book Paper Fair will be back in Portland, Oregon, this month. The dates this year are Friday and Saturday, June 14-15. Hours on Friday are 2:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Saturday hours are 10...

Free Publishing Vs. Mandatory Deposit, in Australia and The United States

Free Publishing Vs. Mandatory Deposit, in Australia and The United States

In the 19th century, eccentric British collector Sir Thomas Phillipps set out to own a copy of every book in the world. He also wanted every manuscript he could get his hands on. He never quite ach...

June Grab Bag

June Grab Bag

School’s out, summer’s right around the corner. Time to kick back a little and browse through some of the interesting bookish news and information that is floating around the web. Here are a few of...

COLLECTING INSIGHTS – Registration Open for Summer 2024 Sessions

COLLECTING INSIGHTS – Registration Open for Summer 2024 Sessions

COLLECTING INSIGHTS – Registration Open for Summer 2024 Sessions   COLLECTING INSIGHTS https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/collecting-insights-summer-2024-3305979?utm-campaign=socialutm-content=creato...

Cannabis in the Library? A Strange Twist to a New Library Story

Cannabis in the Library? A Strange Twist to a New Library Story

These are tough times in the library world. Libraries and librarians have come under attack for the sin of offering books in their libraries. Some librarians have been threatened, libraries defunde...

Four New Catalogues Reviewed

Four New Catalogues Reviewed

We review four new catalogues this month. Booksellers William Reese Company, Peter Harrington, James Cummins Bookseller, and Hordern House, have combined forces (and three continents) to offer The ...

Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby's
    Fine Books, Manuscripts & More
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    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
    Sotheby’s: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, 1902. 7,500 USD
    Sotheby’s: F. Scott Fitzgerald. This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, and Others, 1920-1941. 24,180 USD
  • Freeman’s | Hindman
    Fine Printed Books and Manuscripts, Including Americana
    November 14
    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.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: A COMPLETE RUN of Limited Editions Club publications, v.p. [mostly New York], 1929-2010. $50,000 – 60,000.
    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.
  • Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    APRES DE MANNEVILLETTE
    Le Neptune Oriental
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    CASSAS
    Eaux fortes de la Sicile et quelques vues d’Espagne
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    CASSINI DE THURY
    Carte générale et particulière de la France.
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    JOUY; GARNERAY
    Vues des côtes de France dans l'Océan et dans la Méditerranée
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    LA PÉROUSE
    Voyage autour du monde
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    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:
    PEETERS
    Description des principales villes, havres et isles du golfe de Venise
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    PÉRON; FREYCINET
    Voyage de découverte aux terres australes
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    STACKELBERG
    La Grèce : vues pittoresques et topographiques.
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    VALENTINER
    Atlas des Sonnensystems.
  • 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.
  • RareBookBuyer.com
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    Specialized in Purchasing
    Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
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    We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
    ABAA Dealer
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    Specialized in Purchasing
    Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
    RareBookBuyer.com
    We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
    ABAA Dealer
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    Specialized in Purchasing
    Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
    RareBookBuyer.com
    We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
    ABAA Dealer

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