Auction Update Review

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Twelve Auctions Archived, 30 More Next Week

For the week ending September 9, twelve auction were archived to the Rare Book Hub Transaction Database, 9 in U.S. dollars, 2 in euros, and one in British pounds. Sales were light, just $1,214,911 as 3,839 lots were offered, 3,286 sold, for a sales rate of 85.6%. The average lot was a modest $370. This is the calm before the storm, the end of summer and the Labor Day holiday in the U.S. Look for larger numbers beginning next week.

 

No auctions saw their total proceeds reach a million dollars:


2 auctions saw total sales exceed 100% of the high estimates of all lots offered in the sale:

Dominic Winter Book Auctions. Printed Books, Maps and Documents on September 6th: 118.55%
Bruun Rasmussen. Prints on September 5th: 101.34%


7 sales saw at least 80% of their lots sell:

National Book Auctions. Books & Ephemera - Signed, Modern, Colonial Ephmera, etc. on August 26th: 100.00%
National Book Auctions. Books and Ephemera – Firsts, Exploration, Signed, Limited, etc. on August 12th: 100.00%
Forum Auctions in Italy. No Reserve Online Sale: Antiquarian and Rare Books on August 31st: 100.00%
Heritage Auctions. Sunday Internet Comics - bidstart 8/27 on September 3rd: 99.49%
Heritage Auctions. Sunday Internet Movie Posters - bidstart 8/27 on September 3rd: 96.00%
Dominic Winter Book Auctions. Printed Books, Maps and Documents on September 6th: 91.65%
Bruun Rasmussen. Prints on September 5th: 90.57%


12 total sales reported this week:

Eldreds. Collectibles Online on September 6th: 68.00%
Dominic Winter Book Auctions. Printed Books, Maps and Documents on September 6th: 91.65%
Forum Auctions in Italy. No Reserve Online Sale: Antiquarian and Rare Books on August 31st: 100.00%
Grays Auctioneers. Fine Art, Furniture and Decorative Arts - Prints on August 30th: 27.59%
PBA Galleries. Rare Books and Manuscripts on September 7th: 55.73%
Cowans Auctions. Treasures of the Caren Archive - How History Unfolds on Paper: Live Salesroom Auction on September 8th: 79.91%
Bruun Rasmussen. Prints on September 5th: 90.57%
JellyFishTree. August Collectible Book Auction on August 9th: 22.46%
National Book Auctions. Books & Ephemera - Signed, Modern, Colonial Ephmera, etc. on August 26th: 100.00%
National Book Auctions. Books and Ephemera – Firsts, Exploration, Signed, Limited, etc. on August 12th: 100.00%
Heritage Auctions. Sunday Internet Comics - bidstart 8/27 on September 3rd: 99.49%
Heritage Auctions. Sunday Internet Movie Posters - bidstart 8/27 on September 3rd: 96.00%

Top 25 Lots Reported This Past Week.
  1. PBA Galleries The English Bible, Containing the Old Testament & the New Translated Out of the Original Tongues by Special Command of His Majesty King James the First... on September 7th Actual price: USD $16,800.
  2. Cowans Auctions “LEET ALL OUR HARTS UNITED BEE IN THE DEFENCE OF LIBERTY", Siege of Boston Powder Horn Identified to Barnabas Webb, April 1 on September 8th Actual price: USD $15,600.
  3. Cowans Auctions Abraham Lincoln and his Son Tad, Last Formal Photograph of the President, in Exceptional Folk Art Carved Emancipation Proclam on September 8th Actual price: USD $14,400.
  4. Cowans Auctions Mordecai M. Noah, Jewish American Editor & Journalist, Extraordinarily Lengthy ALS to James Monroe, May 1823 on September 8th Actual price: USD $14,400.
  5. Cowans Auctions Mathew Brady, Original Photograph Maquette, Union Cavalry Leaders & Raiders, Including George Armstrong Custer on September 8th Actual price: USD $13,800.
  6. Dominic Winter Book Auctions Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of the H.M.S. Challenger during the years 1873-76, under the command of Captain George S. Nares and Captain Frank Tourle Thomson, 40 volumes bound in 50, on September 6th Actual price: USD $11,831.
  7. Dominic Winter Book Auctions Highgrove Florilegium. The Highgrove Florilegium, Watercolours depicting Plants grown in the Garden at Highgrove on September 6th Actual price: USD $11,042.
  8. Cowans Auctions Buffalo Bill's Wild West Poster Maquette on September 8th Actual price: USD $8,400.
  9. Cowans Auctions Western Legends, "Wild Bill" Hickok, "Texas Jack" Omohundro, and "Buffalo Bill" Cody, Imperial-Size Cabinet Photograph of the on September 8th Actual price: USD $7,800.
  10. Cowans Auctions Bound Volume of Confederate Newspapers, Many Titles Represented on September 8th Actual price: USD $7,800.
  11. PBA Galleries Moby Dick or the Whale on September 7th Actual price: USD $7,800.
  12. Dominic Winter Book Auctions The Graphic. An Illustrated Weekly Newspaper, 60 volumes on September 6th Actual price: USD $7,572.
  13. Cowans Auctions Early Issue of the Extremely Rare, First Continuously Published American Newspaper, The Boston News-Letter, with Pirate's Con on September 8th Actual price: USD $7,200.
  14. Bruun Rasmussen The artist's self-portrait. on September 5th Actual price: USD $6,825.
  15. Dominic Winter Book Auctions Philipot Pedigree Roll - Capel Family of Cassiobury House. The Series, and Genealogie of the Auntient and Illustrious Family of the Capells; on September 6th Actual price: USD $6,625.
  16. Cowans Auctions Babe Ruth Sold to the Yankees, One of the Most Historic Sports Issues Ever Published. The Boston Post, January 6, 1920 on September 8th Actual price: USD $6,600.
  17. Cowans Auctions Buffalo Bill and Pawnee Bill, The "Two Bills", Perhaps the Finest Buffalo Bill Poster Extant on September 8th Actual price: USD $6,600.
  18. PBA Galleries Six early and seminal papers on DNA, in four issues of Nature on September 7th Actual price: USD $6,600.
  19. Dominic Winter Book Auctions Gutenberg Bible. Johannes Gutenberg’s Swei und Vierzigzeilige Bibel, 2 volumes, on September 6th Actual price: USD $6,310.
  20. PBA Galleries Two letters from Queen Liliuokalani to "Cousin William," writing about the publication of her autobiography on September 7th Actual price: USD $6,000.
  21. Heritage Auctions Basil Wolverton Popular Jokes October-1961 Gag Panel Illustration Original Art on September 3rd Actual price: USD $5,736.
  22. Dominic Winter Book Auctions Le Perroquet, Journal Politique Charivarique Illustré Colorié, 2 volumes on September 6th Actual price: USD $5,679.
  23. Heritage Auctions Basil Wolverton Popular Jokes May-1973 Gag Panel Illustration Original Art on September 3rd Actual price: USD $5,497.
  24. Cowans Auctions Cincinnati Reds vs. Chicago White Sox 1919 "Black Sox" World Series, Completed Series Scorecard on September 8th Actual price: USD $5,100.
  25. PBA Galleries The Well at the World's End on September 7th Actual price: USD $5,100.

 


For the week ahead 30 sales are scheduled:

Mon. Sep. 11th
Bruun Rasmussen. Copenhagen. Prints. 50 lots

Tue. Sep. 12th
Rossini. Paris. Works of Art - Prints, and Books. 217 lots
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Tuesday Internet Currency Auction - Online bidstart 9/5. 365 lots

Wed. Sep. 13th
Old World Auctions. Glen Allen. Antique Maps, Globes, Charts, Atlases & Vintage Graphics - online bidstart 8/30. 816 lots
Leslie Hindman Auctioneers. Chicago. Fine Books and Manuscripts. 344 lots
Sothebys. London. Made in Britain - Prints. 115 lots
RR Auction. Amherst. Fine Autographs & Artifacts - Internet bidstart 8/18. 984 lots
RR Auction. Amherst. Princess Diana Tribute - Online bidstart 8/18. 47 lots
Stair Auctioneers and Appraisers. Hudson. Property from the Camilla and Earl McGrath Collection, Part II. 47 lots
Christies. New York. SOUTH ASIAN MODERN + CONTEMPORARY ART. 3 lots
Dallas Auction Gallery. Dallas. Fine and Decorative Art - Prints. 4 lots
Waverly Auctions. Falls Church. Prints. 223 lots
Alexander Historical Auctions. Chesapeake City. Summer Militaria Auction - Autographs, Photographs, Documents, Posters, etc.. 1043 lots

Thu. Sep. 14th
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Books. 706 lots
Tajan. Paris. Books. 391 lots
Bloomsbury Auctions. London. The Glory of Science: Photos, Maps, Prints and Autographs. 109 lots
Sothebys. Paris. Timeless Elegance. 2 lots
Waverly Auctions. Falls Church. Books. 431 lots

Fri. Sep. 15th
Sothebys. Paris. Timeless Elegance. 11 lots
Ferraton. Bruxelles. Books and Engravings. 1026 lots
Leslie Hindman Auctioneers. Clayton, Missouri. St. Louis Fall Auction - Books and Prints. 31 lots

Sat. Sep. 16th
Brunk Auctions. Asheville, NC . September 16 Catalogue Auction - Books, Prints. 66 lots
Treadway Toomey Auctions. Cincinnati, OH. 20th Century Art and Design - Prints. 80 lots
Leland Little Auctions. Hillsborough, NC. The Fall Quarterly Auction featuring The Collection of Esther B. Ferguson, Secessionville Manor, SC. 63 lots
Clars Auction Gallery. Oakland. Fine Art and Antiques - Books, Prints. 165 lots

Sun. Sep. 17th
Henri Godts Books and Prints Auctions. Bruxelles . Silent Auction (Books) - Internet bidstart 9/6.
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Sunday Internet Comics - bidstart 9/10.
Heritage Auctions. Dallas. Sunday Internet Movie Posters - bidstart 9/10.
Carlsen Gallery. Greenville, NY. September Anniversary Antique Auction - Books, Prints. 13 lots
Clars Auction Gallery. Oakland. Prints, Books. 42 lots

Now, the busy season begins, and it will continue until the middle of December.

Michael Stillman

RBH and AE

  • Forum
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    Thursday 19th November
    Forum, Nov. 19: The ‘Saxe-Meiningen Psalter’, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum, [northern France or adjacent southern Netherlands, second half of the thirteenth century]. £30,000 - £50,000
    Forum, Nov. 19: Crescenzi (Bartolomeo). Nautica mediterranea, 2 parts in 1, second edition, with rare engraved folding map, Rome, Bartolomeo Bonfadino, 1607. £15,000 - £20,000
    Forum, Nov. 19: Aristotle. [The Works], 10 vol.,, translated by Thomas Taylor, Printed for the Translator... by Robert Wilks, 1807-12. £6,000-8,000
    Forum
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    Thursday 19th November
    Forum, Nov. 19: Turing (Alan).- Alan Turing's Slide Rule, engraved initials "A.M.T. Noli Hoc Furari", alongside other ephemera, housed in early 20th-century letter box, [mid.1920s-40s]. £6,000-8,000
    Forum, Nov. 19: Vitruvius Pollio (Marcus). I Dieci Libri dell'Architettura, translated by Daniele Barbaro, Venice, Francesco Marcolini, 1556. £7,000-10,000
    Forum, Nov. 19: Rowling (J.K.) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, first edition, hardback issue, first printing, Bloomsbury, 1997. £50,000-70,000
    Forum
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    Thursday 19th November
    Forum, Nov. 19: Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Lord of the Rings, later impressions, each vol. signed by the author, London, George Allen & Unwin, 1957-58. £15,000-20,000
    Forum, Nov. 19: Gould (John). The Birds of Great Britain, 5 vol., first edition, [1862]-73; plus a presentation copy of Gould's Introduction to the Birds of Great Britain (6). £35,000-45,000
    Forum, Nov. 19: Galilei (Galileo). Istoria e Dimostrazioni intorno alle Macchie Solari e loro accidenti, comprese in tre lettere scritte all’illustrissimo signor Marco Velseri Linceo, first edition, Rome, 1613. £15,000-20,000
    Forum
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    Thursday 19th November
    Forum, Nov. 19: Gersdorff (Hans von). Feldtbuch der Wund-Arzney, enlarged edition, Strassburg, Hans Schotten, 1540. £20,000-30,000
    Forum, Nov. 19: Kitchin (Thomas). A New Universal Atlas, first edition with maps in full original hand-colouring, Printed and Published by Robert Laurie and James Whittle, 1796. £8,000-12,000
    Forum, Nov. 19: Cassas (Louis François). Voyage Pittoresque de la Syrie, de la Phenicie, de la Palestine, et de la Basse Egypte, 2 vol., first edition, [Paris], 1799. £10,000-15,000
  • Old World Auctions (Nov 11): Lot 41. Rare First State of the First Printed Map Devoted to the Arctic (1595) Est. $14,000 - $17,000
    Old World Auctions (Nov 11): Lot 63. The Largest of the Strada "Leo Belgicus" Editions (1632) Est. $3,250 - $4,000
    Old World Auctions (Nov 11): Lot 71. Blaeu's Stunning Carte-a-Figures Map of the Americas (1640) Est. $4,000 - $4,750
    Old World Auctions (Nov 11): Lot 8. Mariette's Rare and Decorative Map of the World Based on the Work of Hondius (1642) Est. $4,750 - $6,000
    Old World Auctions (Nov 11): Lot 172. 1775 Edition of the Landmark Fry-Jefferson Map of Virginia and Maryland (1775) Est. $12,000 - $15,000
    Old World Auctions (Nov 11): Lot 46. Doppelmayr's Fine Celestial Chart (1742) Est. $800 - $950
    Old World Auctions (Nov 11): Lot 212. First Edition Ski Country Map by Pioneer Hal Shelton (1965) Est. $500 - $700
    Old World Auctions (Nov 11): Lot 732. Ruscelli's Complete Atlas with 69 Maps and Updated Maps of the Continents (1599) Est. $8,000 - $9,500
    Old World Auctions (Nov 11): Lot 329. Ortelius' Map of Iceland Surrounded by Sea Monsters (1585) Est. $11,000 - $13,000
    Old World Auctions (Nov 11): Lot 600. Heinrich Bunting's Rare Map of Asia in the Form of a Pegasus (1581) Est. $3,000 - $3,750
    Old World Auctions (Nov 11): Lot 716. Bible Leaf with Hand-Colored Image of the Adoration of the Magi (1490) Est. $2,000 - $2,300
  • Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction November 23
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: L. Feininger, Collection of autograph letters to Alois J. Schardt, 1920-1955. Est: € 150,000-250,000
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: Flemish book of hours, Ghent-Bruges School around 1480-1500. Est: € 40,000
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: F. de Wit, Atlas maior, um 1700. Est: € 50,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction November 23
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: A. Stieglitz, Camera Work, 48 volumes, 1903-1914. Est: € 60,000
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: M. Merian & M. Zeiller, Sämtliche Topographien, 21 volumes, 1642-1736. Est: € 50,000
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: R. Indiana and R. Creely, Numbers, 1968. Est: € 4,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction November 23
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: Salerno Breviarium, Latin manuscript on vellum, North Italy around 1470-1476. Est: € 40,000
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: M. S. Merian, Surinaamsche (&) europische Insecten, 1730. Est: € 30,000
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: M. Beckmann, Jahrmarkt, Portfolio of 10 signed etchings, 1922. Est: € 25,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction November 23
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: Justinianus, Infortiatum, 1475. Est: € 10,000
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: B. Besler, Hortus Eystettensis, um 1750. Est: € 28,000
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: J. Gris and P. Reverdy, Au soleil du plafond, 1955. Est: € 3,000
  • Heritage, Nov. 18: Orson Welles. Signed Third Revised Final Draft for Citizen Kane (RKO, 1941). July 16, 1940.
    Heritage, Nov. 18: Bob Dylan. Autograph manuscript working lyrics to "Man on the Street."
    Heritage, Nov. 18: Ernest Hemingway. Death in the Afternoon. Inscribed by the author to the daughter of the Spanish Ambassador.
    Heritage, Nov. 18: Jack London. The Call of the Wild. Inscribed by the author.
    Heritage, Nov. 18: John Steinbeck. East of Eden. Inscribed by 27 members of the movie cast and crew, including James Dean and Elia Kazan.
  • Sotheby’s
    Nelson, His Life and His Navy:
    The Clive Richards Collection of Letters and Manuscripts
    November 18, 2026
    Sotheby’s
    Nelson, His Life and His Navy:
    The Clive Richards Collection of Letters and Manuscripts
    November 18, 2026
    Sotheby’s
    Nelson, His Life and His Navy:
    The Clive Richards Collection of Letters and Manuscripts
    November 18, 2026