The book market has long bubbled along with the underlying economy. Rivers were our first highways, advances in transportation made it possible to bring food and fuel to support cities. With population concentration, universal education was needed to facilitate inventions and manufacturing advances. Step by step the printed word became the connective tissue to build societies. Books, which had been the property of the well to do, were now finding their place with the emerging green sprouts of what would become the middle class.
As both printing and papermaking became more efficient and...
A lost, or unknown short story by Jack Kerouac was recently discovered among the artifacts of a Mafia crime boss who died 40 years ago. Too bad Kerouac isn't here to write this story as he could ha...
MatchMaker Saves Time and avoids Missed Opportunities
Buying and Selling online has been quickly evolving.
These days the number of auctions continues to increase. Ninety a month is common....
It seems like Brian Cassidy, 53, has been on my radar forever. Sure enough, when I looked in the files I found emails going back to 2010. In those days he was Brian Cassidy Bookseller, his own firm...
Fire isn't the only thing that doesn't mix with water. As any librarian will tell you, another is books. No one wants a leaky roof, but librarians are particularly averse. This issue has come to th...
eCatalogues on Rare Book Hub: Are they part of your future?
Rare Book Hub is used to follow the world-wide collectible paper auction market. As a sidebar, we now provide a side-by-side eCatalog...
When the last day of the month is a Sunday, we include a brief announcement in Rare Book Monthly about our just to be released Weekly Auction Update. Today is one of those occasions.
This week’...
A 1914 Babe Ruth rookie baseball card sold a few weeks ago for an astronomical price of $4,026,000. You might think the seller was very happy with that, but probably not. That price represented a $...
It was preordained this one was going to break all records. If there was a surprise, it was by just how much. Comic books are highly collectible items, with prices in recent years reaching astronom...
Fewer than ten Latin Gospels of the 10th century or earlier have been offered at auction in the past hundred years—and none have been connected to a women’s scriptorium. That changes this December,...
Amidst a very busy December schedule for Sotheby’s global Books and Manuscripts Department, “The Library of Bary Yampol: A First Selection” stands out as the highlight of the month. Barry Yampol (1...
Portrait of a misdated political book that portrays a fake and bigger than life bandit!
Les Amours de Cartouche...
Louis-Dominique Cartouche was the 1st French public enemy. The rich feare...
One Bookstore, 3 Sisters and 100 Years
A Midtown Manhattan anomaly, the Argosy Book Store continues to thrive thanks to the dedication of the three women who have presided over it for decades. A p...
When a periodical closes down, it's generally not sufficiently newsworthy to mention. A lot of newspapers have closed down recently. But, how about when one that has been in continuous publication ...
Jeffrey Ying of Fremont, California, has pleaded guilty to a charge of stealing a historical Chinese document from the East Asian Library at UCLA (University of California Los Angeles). Actually, h...
For December, we have reviewed three new dealer catalogues. Kenston Rare Books presents a selection of books on Texas and the American West. The Kelmscott Bookshop features artists' books, private ...
Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: Linschoten, Navigatio ac itinerarium. 1599. Est: € 80,000
Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: Basilius Besler, Hortus Eystettensis, 1640. Est: € 180,000
Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: Alberto Giacometti, Paris sans fin, 1969. Est: € 15,000
Ketterer Rare Books Auction May 18th
Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: J. Glogoviensis, Introductorium compendiosum in tractatum spere, 1513. Est: € 8,000
Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: G. W. Knorr, Verlustiging der oogen en van den geest, 1717-50. Est: € 5,000
Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: Albert Einstein, Signifcant scientific letter to his Princeton colleague E. G. Straus, 1945. Est: € 10,000
Ketterer Rare Books Auction May 18th
Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: Ostrog Bible, 1581. Est: € 18,000
Ketterer Rare Books, May 18:PAN, 10 volumes, 1895-1900. Est: € 12,000
Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: Kurt Schwitters, Merz 11, 1924. Est: € 10,000
Ketterer Rare Books Auction May 18th
Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: H. Schedel, Liber chronicarum, 1493. Est: € 35,000
Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: A.-E. Gautier d’Agoty, Cours complet d’anatomie, 1773. Est: € 8,000
Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: Ch. Bukowski & K. Price, Heat Wave, 1995. Est: € 5,000
Sotheby’s Original Film Posters Open for bidding 5-20 May
Sotheby’s, May 5-20: King Kong (1933). Rare Czech poster for King Kong, 1933. £40,000 to £60,000.
Sotheby’s, May 5-20: Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986). British One Sheet for Ferris Bueller's Day Off, 1986. £4,000 to £6,000.
Sotheby’s, May 5-20: Goldfinger (1964). British Quad for Goldfinger, signed by Shirley Bassey, 1964. £7,000 to £10,000.
Sotheby’s, May 5-20: Alice in Wonderland / Alice au Pays des Merveilles (1951). French Grande for Alice in Wonderland / Alice au Pays des Merveilles, 1951. £7,000 to £10,000.
Sotheby’s, May 5-20: Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). US poster for Breakfast at Tiffany’s, 1961. £15,000 to £20,000.
Sotheby’s, May 5-20: Star Wars (1977). British Quad for Star Wars, 1977. £5,000 to £8,000.
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 28th May 2026
Forum, May 28: Book of Hours.- Heures de nostre dame a l'usaige de Romme, Paris, Antoine Chappiel pour Germain Hardouin, [1504]. £6,000-8,000
Forum, May 28: Colonna (Francesco). La Hypnerotomachia di Poliphilo, second edition, Venice, Sons of Aldus Manutius, 1545. £15,000-20,000
Forum, May 28:The Christ Child holding a crystal orb and surrounded by banderoles with devotional exhortations, on a leaf most probably from a Book of Hours, [Southern Netherlands, last decades of the fifteenth century]. £2,000-3,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 28th May 2026
Forum, May 28: Jackson (Shirley). The Haunting of Hill House, first English edition, signed presentation inscription from the author to Claude Fredericks, 1960. £2,000-3,000
Forum, May 28: Lennon (John). In His Own Write, first edition, first impression, signed by the author, 1964. £3,000-4,000
Forum, May 28: Doves Press.- Keats (John). [Poems], one of 200 copies on paper, Doves Press, 1914. £5,000-7,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 28th May 2026
Forum, May 28: Rodrigues (João Barbosa). Sertum Palmarum Brasiliensium, 2 vol., first and only edition, Brussels, 1903. £8,000-12,000
Forum, May 28: Newton (Sir Isaac). Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica…editio ultima, auctior et emendatior, Amsterdam, Sumptibus Societatis, 1714. £8,000-12,000
Forum, May 28: Kepler (Johannes). Ad Vitellionem paralipomena, wuibus astronomiae pars optica traditur, first edition, Frankfurt am Main, 1604. £5,000-7,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 28th May 2026
Forum, May 28: Tagliacozzi (Gaspare). De Curtorum Chirurgia per insitionem, libri duo, first edition, Venice, Gasparo Bindoni, 1597. £7,000-10,000
Forum, May 28: Lootsman (Jacobsz). The Lightning Colomne, or Sea-Mirrour, containing the Sea-Coasts of the Northern, Eastern and Western Navigation..., 1670. £8,000-12,000
Forum, May 28: Ribelles y Helip (José), Attributed to. An album comprising 33 finely executed watercolours of Spanish costume, bull-fighting scenes, and other genre subjects, [circa 1830]. £10,000-15,000
Lion Heart Autographs Landmark Auction of Rare & Important Autograph Letters & Manuscripts—Fresh to the Market and Unseen for Decades May 20, 2026
Lion Heart, Ending May 20: Dr. King will “follow Christ to death” for Racial Equality & “the health of Democracy”. $12,000 to $14,000.
Lion Heart, Ending May 20: 1775 George Washington Naval DS for a “Freind [sic.] to American Liberty”. $15,000 to $18,000.
Lion Heart, Ending May 20: Marie Antoinette Orders Payment for Swiss Guard’s Elite “Cent-Suisses”. $10,000 to $12,000.
Lion Heart Autographs Landmark Auction of Rare & Important Autograph Letters & Manuscripts—Fresh to the Market and Unseen for Decades May 20, 2026
Lion Heart, Ending May 20: Einstein On the Mystery of the Unbelievable. $3,250 to $3,500.
Lion Heart, Ending May 20: Brahms Signed Autograph Musical Manuscript Last Auctioned in 1938. $42,000 to $45,000.
Lion Heart, Ending May 20: John Adams Signed Land Grant for the Army’s Quartermaster General. $3,500 to $4,000.
Lion Heart Autographs Landmark Auction of Rare & Important Autograph Letters & Manuscripts—Fresh to the Market and Unseen for Decades May 20, 2026
Lion Heart, Ending May 20: Darwin Letter Referring to a Photograph. $3,000 to $3,500.
Lion Heart, Ending May 20: Rare Ltd. Ed. of Alfred Dreyfus’ Memoir Inscribed to French Politician and Dreyfusard. $12,000 to $15,000.
Lion Heart, Ending May 20: Unique, Ten Year Post WWII Jazz Archive Including Brubeck, Desmond, Feather, Kenton, Paul, Taylor, Yaged, and Many Others. $1,000 to $1,200.
Lion Heart Autographs Landmark Auction of Rare & Important Autograph Letters & Manuscripts—Fresh to the Market and Unseen for Decades May 20, 2026
Lion Heart, Ending May 20: Detailed 8-Page Mendelssohn ALS Mentioning the Completion of his "Violin Concerto". $2,600 to $2,800.
Lion Heart, Ending May 20: Rare, Signed Book from Susan B. Anthony’s Library with Remarkable Associations. $2,200 to $2,400.
Lion Heart, Ending May 20: Unique Puccini ALS to His Lover Mentioning Five Operas and Two Great Sopranos. $2,200 to $2,500.
Freeman’s, May 15: William Shakespeare’s Fourth Folio, Printed by Robert Roberts, Robert Everingham, and John Macock for Henry Herringman, 1685. $60,000 – 80,000.
Freeman’s, May 14: Tolkien, J.R.R.. The Lord of the Rings trilogy. All First Editions and First Impressions. 1955. $15,000 – 20,000.
Freeman’s, May 15: A significant archive of works on communications theory, comprising foundational texts by leading mathematicians. $20,000 – 30,000.
Freeman’s, May 15: ALS, Albert Einstein to President Hoover, Berlin, 1929. “I alone am but a grain-of-dust in the development of the human spirit.” $15,000 – 20,000.
Freeman’s, May 14: William Shakespeare’s As You Like It and The Taming of the Shrew. First Printings of Two Complete Plays From Shakespeare's First Folio. 1623. $30,000 – 50,000.
Freeman’s, May 14: Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four, 1949. First Edition with the Rare Publisher’s Printed Wrap-Around Band. $8,000 – 12,000.
Freeman’s, May 15: Complete Set of 52 Tinted Lithographed Plates Containing Pre-Fire Chicago City Views by Louis Kurz and the Chicago Lithographing Company. $10,000 – 15,000.
Freeman’s, May 14: Jefferson, Thomas. Notes on the State of Virginia. First London Edition. $10,000 – 15,000.
Freeman’s, May 15: A significant archive of works on game theory, comprising foundational texts by leading mathematicians. $20,000 – 30,000.
Freeman’s, May 14: Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Raven" in The American Review. Volume I, number II. February 1845. First Printing in Original Wrappers. $8,000 – 12,000.
Freeman’s, May 14: Stoker, Bram. Dracula. First Edition, First Issue. $6,000 – 8,000.
Freeman’s, May 15: A group of artifacts relating to the Pre-Fire Chicago courthouse bell, ca 1871-1877. $800 – 1,200.
