Auction Update Review

M-Rare Book Hub: 94 Auctions Archived, another 92 Upcoming this Week

For the week ended 31 October, 94 auctions have been archived to Rare Book Hub’s Transactions+: 1 denominated in Australian dollars, 24 in euros, 17 in British pounds, 1 in Hong Kong dollars, 1 in Mexican pesos, 1 in New Zealand dollars, 1 in Polish zloty, 1 in Swedish krona, and 47 in US dollars.

 

Turnover was $58,218,532.50. The average lot brought $3,558.16.

 

This report includes this past week’s Top 25s for 14 categories, full details for this past week’s sales, as well as a full listing of the upcoming week’s 92 sales. 

 

 

Start by clicking on the tabs for the top 25s. They are live!

 

Best wishes for a good week!

 

Bruce McKinney


Click Here

Top 25 Lots Reported This Past Week.
  1. Heritage Auctions 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth Rookie SGC VG 3 -- Only One Superior in Any Population! on October 26th Actual price: USD $4,026,000.
  2. Sothebys Maharaja Ranjit Singh in procession, riding on an elephant through a bazaar, by Bishan Singh, on October 29th Actual price: USD $1,258,302.
  3. Sothebys An exceptionally rare and important Qur'an manuscript with eight tafasir with the combined title al-Itqan fi 'Ilm al-Qur'an ('Perfection in Qur'anic Science') from the library of Akbar (r. 1556-1605), on October 29th Actual price: USD $1,140,861.
  4. Sothebys Costumes of India: an album of occupations, on October 29th Actual price: USD $805,313.
  5. Christies Details of Renaissance Paintings (Sandro Botticelli, Birth of Venus, 1482) on October 24th Actual price: USD $666,750.
  6. Sothebys An extremely rare illustrated manuscript of the Ka'banameh (A history of the Ka'ba) by Abdulrahman Gubari (d.1566), signed by Ahmad [...] al-Khatib, Kaposvar, on October 29th Actual price: USD $587,208.
  7. Heritage Auctions Signed 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #144 PSA Good 2, Auto 7. on October 26th Actual price: USD $585,600.
  8. Christies Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century on October 24th Actual price: USD $571,500.
  9. Sothebys A large illuminated Qur'an, copied by Ahmad al-Nayrizi, commissioned for Muhammad Ibrahim Bega Yuzbashi, on October 29th Actual price: USD $469,766.
  10. Heritage Auctions Signed 1984 Star Co. Michael Jordan Rookie #101 PSA EX-MT 6, PSA/DNA Auto 8. on October 26th Actual price: USD $439,200.
  11. Christies QUR'AN on October 30th Actual price: USD $434,404.
  12. Heritage Auctions 1956 Topps Mickey Mantle (Gray Back) #135 PSA Mint 9 -- Only Four Superior! on October 26th Actual price: USD $414,800.
  13. Christies Moonwalk: one print on October 24th Actual price: USD $406,400.
  14. Heritage Auctions 1916 M101-5 Blank Backs Babe Ruth Rookie #151 SGC Good 2. on October 26th Actual price: USD $353,800.
  15. Sothebys Ibn al-Shatir (d.1375), Nihayat al-su'al fi tashih al-usul, on astronomy, on October 29th Actual price: USD $335,547.
  16. Heritage Auctions 1968 Topps Mickey Mantle #280 PSA Gem Mint 10. on October 26th Actual price: USD $335,500.
  17. Sothebys A line from the 'Baysunghur Qur'an', attributed to 'Umar al-Aqta, on October 29th Actual price: USD $318,770.
  18. Christies Untitled on October 24th Actual price: USD $317,500.
  19. Christies Afternoon Swimming on October 24th Actual price: USD $304,800.
  20. Heritage Auctions 1977 Topps Star Wars #1 "Luke Skywalker" #1 PSA Gem Mint 10. on October 26th Actual price: USD $268,400.
  21. Heritage Auctions 1996 Select Certified Mirror Gold Derek Jeter #100 PSA Gem Mint 10 -- Population Two! on October 26th Actual price: USD $268,400.
  22. Heritage Auctions 1909-11 T206 White Border SGC Graded Near Set (518/524)! on October 26th Actual price: USD $268,400.
  23. Christies A FRAGMENTARY MONUMENTAL KUFIC QUR'AN FOLIO on October 30th Actual price: USD $250,617.
  24. Christies Apple, from Ads on October 24th Actual price: USD $241,300.
  25. Sothebys An early Kufic Qur'an leaf, on October 29th Actual price: USD $234,883.
  • 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
  • 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.