Are books purchased in America, shipped from a foreign country, subject to tariffs? Not long ago, the easy answer was “no.” Now it's “I don't know.” The tariff situation is so confusing and changing day to day that it is hard to know. The President undoubtedly always tells the truth, but he does change his mind a lot. Add to that the incomprehensible legalese that envelopes everything that comes out of Washington and we have a problem. What nations and which goods are subject to tariffs?
There is something called the Harmonized Tariff Schedule which lists various goods. Then there is so...
Our Weekly Auction Updates are becoming more robust. As the auction market has broadened, it has become practical to provide more versions of Top 25s on a weekly basis. This week we have added Map...
Auctions are a window on human experience. Strong feelings fade with time. When we accept what happened, we tend to wax philosophical, it wasn’t us, the world was different. Auction lots have long...
At Rare Book Hub this is a refrain we hear frequently as collectors in their 70s and 80s, struggle to make decisions about what to do with their books. These are decisions they have put off for far...
Do you believe in the tooth fairy? A recent press release for a new book really got my attention. The press release announced, “new childrens' book series makes dental care fun, easy and magical fo...
Two book collecting friends from Detroit and Santa Fe were recently in town (San Francisco) and spent an easy hour talking about how books are treating us. Ryan M. Place (Detroit) spoke about his c...
There are some interesting possibilities to visit book fairs during August and September. For those on Cape Cod, August quickly starts with the Martha’s Vineyard Book Festival on August 1-3rd, on S...
Le Père Duchesne, or Father Duchesne, is a straightforward and cocky character invented by the French satirists of the 18th century. In 1790, René-Jacques Hébert entitled his revolutionary journal ...
The Thousand-year-old Pannonhalma Archabbey Library in Hungary has been struck by a pest older than the library itself. They are dealing with an infestation of bookworms. Actually there is no such ...
Nineteenth century photography prices got a healthy boost and a major increase in interest with the recent auction of the Maillet Daguerreotype Collection at Christie’s on June 26. The sale feature...
Once upon a time collectible paper auctions were unusual and well-spaced out. In the past, when there was a quiet month, auction houses took opportunities to have siestas. Anymore, quiet months are...
Fablelistik Editions, the fine press of Macmillan Publishers, launched last October, has announced the publication of their fifth book. The first was a classic, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, reminis...
Frieze Masters is one of the great shows and gatherings. However, it is devoted to art, not books. But... Dr. Jorn Gunther Rare Books is attending Frieze Masters 2025 in October. Maybe most books a...
Joel Munsell, the mid-19th century Albany, New York printer has recently reappeared thanks to the keen eyes of De Wolfe and Wood, of Alfred, Maine. In their recent offers were imprints associated ...
These are dangerous times in which we live. War is again in the air. America mostly feels distance, our only recent experience being a one-sided thrashing of Iran from the air. We are far enough aw...
It's summertime and the living is easy... for catalogue writers. Only one new dealer catalogue arrived in our mailbox this month. Hordern House presents the Whitmont Collection of Australiana and r...
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.
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: 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…
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9a74d9ff-42dd-46a1-8bb2-b636c4cec796.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.")
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
