The Internet made it possible for auction houses to attract bids worldwide. With that ability, they invested in cataloging, photography and promotion, expecting they could encourage bidding interest. And they have. Auction sales in the collectible paper category reached $1.371 billion dollars last year. They have been extraordinarily successful.
The dealer model, composed of printed and eCatalogues, listing sites, and shows has also been effective to connect with their audience but has been losing market share to auctions. With our eCatalogues platform visible on our pages under News ...
This is one of those nightmare stories brought to us courtesy of the internet. Technology is wonderful, but...
Andrew Cope is a highly respected British children's book author. His most popular...
Are you reading the long form?
We are in the middle of an undeclared war.
We know that print was financially unhealthy. The Internet has been killing off newspapers. Books are resisting the...
If you are a regular reader of RBH Monthly you’ve noticed we have been expanding our services. We’ve increased our auction coverage both for free readers and paid subscribers. Every Sunday we send ...
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 q...
There are book fairs both large and small. Many annual book related events have storied histories, storied participating dealers and occasionally famous collectors. The Boston book fairs have all o...
Boston “Shadow Fair” Has Come Full Circle and Reports Full House
The annual Boston “shadow show”, now promoted by MW Book Fairs, has come full circle since its beginnings almost 30 years ago at th...
When Robert Badinter (1928-2024) had the death penalty abolished in France in 1981, he didn’t destroy the last guillotine, but stored it instead. He wanted it to be later exhibited in a museum. Lat...
Recently I noticed that Swann Galleries of New York was preparing an appealing sale of book and manuscript material. I asked them to send me their news release about it because I’ve bought many lot...
17 October, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The 2025 Northampton Book Antiquarian Book, Ephemera, and Book Arts Fair, the ninth edition, will be Friday, November 21st from 5 – 8pm and Saturday, Novemb...
On Saturday, November 22, 2025, the 24th Annual Antique Map, Atlas Globe Fair is to be held at Hotel Ambassador, 16 Boulevard Haussman, 75009, Paris, France. While it is a single day event, it ...
Doyle‘s November 25 auction of rare books includes a diverse and inviting array of material in many subject areas. As is usual with our sales, there is a strong component of Americana. This include...
New York—Rare Important Travel Posters at Swann Galleries continues to live up to its name, offering many of the world's most prominent travel poster designers. This season’s sale on Tuesday, N...
Don't Say “Banned Book”
Hawaii does a work-around as libraries throughout the state rebrand using the term “Freedom to Read” instead of the familiar “Banned Books” during 2025 Banned Book Week.
O...
The Ohio Attorney General and a religious institution have reached a settlement of the state's claims against the institution's alleged plans to deaccession some of the books in its library. In wha...
"Bring Out The Hellmann's, and Bring Out the Best." You've undoubtedly heard the jingle for the mayonnaise many times through the years (unless you live west of the Rockies where it's "Bring Out th...
This month we review eight new bookseller catalogues. Hale Co. has released their first catalogue and it is quite a presentation! James Cummins bookseller has combined with the George S. MacManus ...
Dominic Winter, Jan. 28: Lot 72. Edwards (George). A Natural History of Uncommon Birds… [and] Gleanings of Natural History, 7 volumes, 1st edition, 1743-64. £7,000-10,000
Dominic Winter, Jan. 28: Lot 87. Walcott (Charles D. et al.). Geologic Atlas of the United States, 227-volume set, U.S. Geological Survey, 1894-1945. £500-800
Dominic Winter, Jan. 28: Lot 236. A New Dictionary of the Terms Ancient and Modern of the Canting Crew…, By B. E. Gent., 1st edition, [1699]. £3,000-4,000
Dominic Winter, Jan. 28: Lot 245. Frost Fair Broadside. Upon the Frost in the Year 1739-40, Printed on the Ice upon the Thames at Queen-Hithe, 1739/40. £1,500-2,000
Dominic Winter, Jan. 28: Lot 270. Micheli (Antonino di). La Nuova Chitarra di Regole…, 1st edition, Palermo, 1680. £10,000-15,000
Dominic Winter, Jan. 28: Lot 280. Elgar (Edward). Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, [1910], signed presentation copy. £500-800
Dominic Winter, Jan. 28: Lot 286 - Walton (William, 1902-1983). Autograph manuscript full score for Belshazzar’s Feast, [1930-31]. £20,000-30,000
Dominic Winter, Jan. 28: Lot 304. Churchill (Winston). A terracotta maquette of Churchill by Oscar Nemon, c. 1955. £1,500-2,000
Dominic Winter, Jan. 28: Lot 364 - Russian Imperial Archaeological Commission. Mecheti Samarkanda..., Fascicule I Gour-Emir, St. Petersburg, 1905. £2,000-3,000
Sotheby’s Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana 27 January 2026
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: An extraordinary pair of books from George Washington’s field library, marking the conjunction of Robert Rogers, George Washington, and Henry Knox. $1,200,000 to $1,800,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: An extraordinary letter marking the conjunction of George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Benjamin Franklin. $1,000,000 to $1,500,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: Virginia House of Delegates. The genesis of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. $350,000 to $500,000.
Sotheby’s Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana 27 January 2026
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: (Gettysburg). “Genl. Doubleday has taken charge of the battle”: Autograph witness to the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, illustrated by fourteen maps and plans. $200,000 to $300,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: President Lincoln thanks a schoolboy on behalf of "all the children of the nation for his efforts to ensure "that this war shall be successful, and the Union be maintained and perpetuated." $200,000 to $300,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 29th January 2026
Forum, Jan. 29: Plato. [Apanta ta tou Platonos. Omnia Platonis opera], 2 parts in 2 vol., editio princeps of Plato's works in the original Greek, Venice, House of Aldus, 1513. £8,000-12,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Book of Hours, Use of Rome, In Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum, [Southern Netherlands (probably Bruges), c.1460]. £6,000-8,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Correspondence and documents by or addressed to the first four Viscounts Molesworth and members of their families, letters and manuscripts, 1690-1783. £10,000-15,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 29th January 2026
Forum, Jan. 29: Shakespeare (William). The Dramatic Works, 9 vol., John and Josiah Boydell, 1802. £5,000-7,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Joyce (James). Ulysses, first edition, one of 750 copies on handmade paper, Paris, Shakespeare and Company, 1922 £8,000-12,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Powell (Anthony). [A Dance to the Music of Time], 12 vol., first editions, each with a signed presentation inscription from the author to Osbert Lancaster, 1951-75. £6,000-8,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 29th January 2026
Forum, Jan. 29: Chaucer (Geoffrey). Troilus and Criseyde, one of 225 copies on handmade paper, wood-engravings by Eric Gill, Waltham St.Lawrence, 1927. £3,000-4,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Borges (Jorge Luis). Luna de Enfrente, first edition, one of 300 copies, presentation copy signed by the author to Leopoldo Marechal, Buenos Aires, Editorial Proa, 1925. £3,000-4,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Nolli (Giovanni Battista). Nuova Pianta di Roma, Rome, 1748. £6,000-8,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 29th January 2026
Forum, Jan. 29: Roberts (David). The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, & Nubia, 3 vol., first edition, 1842-49. £15,000-20,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Blacker (William). Catechism of Fly Making, Angling and Dyeing, Published by the author, 1843. £3,000-4,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Herschel (Sir John F. W.) Collection of 69 offprints, extracts and separate publications by Herschel, bound for his son, William James Herschel, 3 vol., [1813-50]. £15,000-20,000