Rare Book Monthly Articles - August - 2025 Issue

Are Books Subject to the New Tariffs?

Are Books Subject to the New Tariffs?

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 have Additional Top 25s

Our Weekly Auction Updates have Additional Top 25s

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...

We need to know, even if we don’t like it

We need to know, even if we don’t like it

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...

I’m getting old, I want to sell my collection, but I don’t know how……

I’m getting old, I want to sell my collection, but I don’t know how……

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...

Are Book Reviews Always Honest, Does the Internet Tell the Truth? Tammy the Tooth Fairy Leads Us on a Strange Journey Down the Internet.

Are Book Reviews Always Honest, Does the Internet Tell the Truth? Tammy the Tooth Fairy Leads Us on a Strange Journey Down the Internet.

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...

Every Book has a Story. This one is a mystery

Every Book has a Story. This one is a mystery

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...

Book and Paper Events during August-September

Book and Paper Events during August-September

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...

Father Duchesene, for f...’s sake!

Father Duchesene, for f...’s sake!

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 ...

Thousand-Year-Old Library dealing with “Bookworm” Infestation

Thousand-Year-Old Library dealing with “Bookworm” Infestation

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 ...

Maillet Sale at Christie’s Realizes Strong Prices for Rare Early Daguerreotypes

Maillet Sale at Christie’s Realizes Strong Prices for Rare Early Daguerreotypes

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...

During August, the market will hum

During August, the market will hum

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 Issues a Fine Press Edition of Fourth Wing

Fablelistik Editions Issues a Fine Press Edition of Fourth Wing

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...

Dr. Jorn Gunther Rare Books is Bringing Some Amazing Works to Frieze Masters

Dr. Jorn Gunther Rare Books is Bringing Some Amazing Works to Frieze Masters

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 is back in the spotlight

Joel Munsell is back in the spotlight

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 ...

Protecting Books and Other Cultural Assets in Time of War

Protecting Books and Other Cultural Assets in Time of War

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...

One New Catalogue Reviewed This Month

One New Catalogue Reviewed This Month

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...

Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby’s
    Year in Review
    Sotheby’s Year in Review: A Rare Hebrew Bible with Micrographic Masorah. Sold: 1,514,000 USD
    Sotheby’s Year in Review: "The Freedman's Primer.” Sold: 241,300 USD
    Sotheby’s Year in Review: Smith, William. "The Map that Changed the World." Sold: 139,700 USD
    Sotheby’s Year in Review: Psalter, C13th. Illuminated Psalter. Sold: 330,200 GBP
    Sotheby’s Year in Review: Lincoln, Abraham. The abolition of slavery. Sold: 13,697,500 USD
    Sotheby’s Year in Review: Vergilius. Opera, Venice, Aldo Manuzio, 1501. Sold: 1,041,400 USD
  • University Archives
    Rare Autographs & Books Including Lincoln & Space Exploration
    January 7, 2026
    University Archives, Jan. 7: Jefferson's Owned & Signed "Plutarch's Morals" Vol. 4. - 1st Time At Auction In Nearly 200 Years!
    University Archives, Jan. 7: Flown NASA Hasselblad 203S Space Camera On Endeavour STS-111, With Components, Data Module & Flown Film Magazine!
    University Archives, Jan. 7: One Of The Finest Lincoln Assassination Letters Extant, April 15, 1865 - Illustrated & Beyond Dramatic! 8pp.
    University Archives
    Rare Autographs & Books Including Lincoln & Space Exploration
    January 7, 2026
    University Archives, Jan. 7: Isaac Newton Highly Important Religious Manuscript With 85+ Words In His Hand, Ex-Bonhams
    University Archives, Jan. 7: Marilyn Monroe Gorgeous Signed & Inscribed Photograph, PSA Authenticated
    University Archives, Jan. 7: Rare Ernest Hemingway, 1 Of 10 Signed Presentation Copies Of "Farewell To Arms"
    University Archives
    Rare Autographs & Books Including Lincoln & Space Exploration
    January 7, 2026
    University Archives, Jan. 7: Ayn Rand 11pp Revised AMS "The Cold Civil War" For LA Times Newspaper- 900+ Words In Her Hand!
    University Archives, Jan. 7: Mary Todd Lincoln Calls Abe A "great & good man, who loved & served his country so well"
    University Archives, Jan. 7: Abraham Lincoln Gives Rebel Woman Pass To Visit Prisoner Of War Husband, Showing A Very Human Lincoln!
    University Archives
    Rare Autographs & Books Including Lincoln & Space Exploration
    January 7, 2026
    University Archives, Jan. 7: Babe Ruth PSA Type II Signed Conlon Photo, With Ruth Miniature Louisville Slugger, 16.25"
    University Archives, Jan. 7: Armstrong, Collins, Aldrin Signed Photo - Prime Crew Apollo 11 - PSA Authenticated
    University Archives, Jan. 7: Huge Abraham Lincoln Hesler Photo, Ca. 1880 - As If He Were In The Room!
  • Case Antiques
    2026 Winter Fine Art & Antiques
    January 31 and February 1, 2026
    Case Antiques, Jan. 31-Feb. 1: 1775 Map of Virginia, Fry and Jefferson, ex-John Tyler. $6,000 to $8,000.
    Case Antiques, Jan. 31-Feb. 1: Albrecht Durer Engraving, The Peasant Couple at Market. $3,400 to $3,800.
    Case Antiques, Jan. 31-Feb. 1: 1777 Map: Wm. Faden, British Colonies in N. America, ex. John Tyler. $2,000 to $2,400.
    Case Antiques
    2026 Winter Fine Art & Antiques
    January 31 and February 1, 2026
    Case Antiques, Jan. 31-Feb. 1: 30 Vols. George Eliot 1st Editions; Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner, Deronda, etc. $1,400 to $1,800.
    Case Antiques, Jan. 31-Feb. 1: Celestial Floor Globe c. 1800. $1,400 to $1,800.
    Case Antiques, Jan. 31-Feb. 1: Lewis Carroll: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, 1866 London MacMillan. $900 to $1,200.
    Case Antiques
    2026 Winter Fine Art & Antiques
    January 31 and February 1, 2026
    Case Antiques, Jan. 31-Feb. 1: President Andrew Jackson Signed Patent, 1831. $1,000 to $1,200.
    Case Antiques, Jan. 31-Feb. 1: Civil War Tintype of Calvin “Old Ballie” Walker, CSA 3rd TN Infantry, KIA, plus 3 Union Images. $800 to $1,000.
    Case Antiques, Jan. 31-Feb. 1: 1855 Georgia Pocket Map, W. G. Bonner. $800 to $1,000.
    Case Antiques
    2026 Winter Fine Art & Antiques
    January 31 and February 1, 2026
    Case Antiques, Jan. 31-Feb. 1: Audubon c. 1835 Birds of America Common Cormorant, Havell Edition. $800 to $900.
    Case Antiques, Jan. 31-Feb. 1: George Eliot, Middlemarch, 1st Edition in 8 Volumes. $600 to $800.
    Case Antiques, Jan. 31-Feb. 1: Four NASA Moon Survey Photos; 144M, 148M, 149M, 149H1. $400 to $600.

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