Auction Update Review

M: Rare Book Hub: 60 Auctions Archived, another 80 Upcoming this Week

For the week ended 5 September, 60 auctions have been archived to Rare Book Hub’s Transactions+: 1 denominated in Columbian pesos, 12 in euros, 8 Britiah pounds, 1 in Mexican pesos, 1 in Norwegian krone, 2 in New Zealand dollars, 2 in Polish zlotys, 32 in US dollars and 1 in South African rand. This past week’s win rate was a red hot 91.10%.

 

Turnover was $7,715,323.95. The average lot price was $798.85.

 

This report also includes this past week's Top 25s for a dozen categories as well a full listing of this coming week’s 80 auctions. 

 

To get into the details, click here!

Top 25 Lots Reported This Past Week.
  1. Potter and Potter Auctions The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon, Upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi... on September 4th Actual price: USD $240,000.
  2. Rago Arts and Auctions Kiku on September 3rd Actual price: USD $69,850.
  3. De Baecque and Associes DE VIRIBUS ELECTRICITATIS MOTU MUSCULARI COMMENTARIUS. on September 4th Actual price: USD $68,221.
  4. Kedem Auctions Ltd. Torah with Or HaChaim Commentary -- Slavita, 1824-1825 -- Five-Volume Set on September 2nd Actual price: USD $60,000.
  5. University Archives Bob Dylan Handwritten & Signed Lyrics to "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall" w/ Jeff Rosen & JSA Authentication on August 27th Actual price: USD $53,125.
  6. Thomaston Place Auction Galleries Marilyn (F. & S. 28) on August 30th Actual price: USD $46,875.
  7. University Archives George Washington As Pres. Sends Slavery-Associated Acts about North Carolina to Governor on August 27th Actual price: USD $46,875.
  8. Rago Arts and Auctions Celia with Green Hat (from the Moving Focus series) on September 3rd Actual price: USD $45,720.
  9. Rago Arts and Auctions Wallpaper with Blue Floor Interior on September 3rd Actual price: USD $44,450.
  10. Rago Arts and Auctions Composition III on September 3rd Actual price: USD $44,450.
  11. Thomaston Place Auction Galleries This one-of-a-kind piece was created by well-known Maine artist on August 30th Actual price: USD $40,625.
  12. Rago Arts and Auctions Mammy (from the Myths series) on September 3rd Actual price: USD $35,560.
  13. Rago Arts and Auctions Green Face (from the Brushstroke Figures series) on September 3rd Actual price: USD $35,560.
  14. Rago Arts and Auctions Water Lily on September 3rd Actual price: USD $34,320.
  15. Rago Arts and Auctions Black Bean (from the Campbell's Soup I portfolio) on September 3rd Actual price: USD $33,020.
  16. Rago Arts and Auctions Sling-Shots Lit #5 on September 3rd Actual price: USD $31,680.
  17. De Baecque and Associes UNIQUE MANUSCRIT ATLAS IN COLOR, DRAWN BY JEAN VIDEL, brianconnais, drawn in 1662 and 1663, totaling 58 maps (all dated between 1661 and 1663) on September 4th Actual price: USD $30,320.
  18. Potter and Potter Auctions The Negro Mother and Other Dramatic Recitations... With Decorations by Prentiss Taylor. on September 4th Actual price: USD $28,800.
  19. Heritage Auctions Journey Into Mystery #83 (Marvel, 1962) CGC VF- 7.5 White pages. on September 2nd Actual price: USD $26,400.
  20. Potter and Potter Auctions The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon, Upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi... on September 4th Actual price: USD $26,400.
  21. Heritage Auctions Giant-Size X-Men #1 (Marvel, 1975) CGC NM/MT 9.8 White pages. on September 2nd Actual price: USD $25,200.
  22. University Archives Massive Benjamin Disraeli Archive of Nearly 160 ALS, Many to Secretary Algernon Turnor- 775+ Pages of Material! on August 27th Actual price: USD $25,000.
  23. Rago Arts and Auctions Blah Blah Blah (Inverse) on September 3rd Actual price: USD $24,130.
  24. Bogota Auction Manuscritos sobre esclavos siglo XVIII-XIX on August 28th Actual price: USD $22,500.
  25. Rago Arts and Auctions Cow on September 3rd Actual price: USD $22,440.

Join us on Rare Book Hub.

Bruce McKinney

Rare Book Hub

  • Sotheby's
    Fine Books, Manuscripts & More
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s: William Shakespeare. The Temple Shakespeare. Housed in Custom Bookcase. $6,365.
    Sotheby’s: Frederick Douglass. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Boston: Anti-Slavery Office, 1845. $14,000.
    Sotheby’s: Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol. London: William Heinemann, 1915. $2,900.
    Sotheby’s: F. Scott Fitzgerald. First Edition Set, Including This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, and others. Charles Scribner's Sons. 1920 – 1941. $24,180.
    Sotheby’s: Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson], John Tenniel. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland First Edition. Macmillan & Co., 1866. $15,000.
  • Swann
    Autographs
    November 6, 2025
    Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 93: Autograph album containing 29 autograph letters signed by each president from Washington to Coolidge, 1785-1945.
    Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 166: Franz Schubert, Autograph Musical Manuscript, fragment from Die Taucher, 1813.
    Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 111: Thomas Jefferson, holograph plat drawing: map of field near Monticello, 1790s.
    Swann
    Autographs
    November 6, 2025
    Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 208: George Sand, Autograph Manuscript Signed, draft of her one-act play, Francia, ca. 1872.
    Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 218: Walt Whitman, Manuscript Signed, draft of three complete poems from Leaves of Grass, 1891.
    Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 8: James Dean, Photograph Signed and Inscribed, still from Giant, 1955.
    Swann
    Autographs
    November 6, 2025
    Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 20: John Lennon, Typescript Signed, interview discussing Paul, Linda, and Yoko, 1971.
    Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 215: Mark Twain, engraved portrait Signed, "Mark Twain / SL. Clemens," 1890s.
    Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 81: Vaslav Nijinsky, reproduction of an artwork by Léon Bakst Inscribed and Signed, 1916.
    Swann
    Autographs
    November 6, 2025
    Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 73: Malcolm X, The Harvard Crimson Signed and Inscribed: his street address and phone number, 1961.
    Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 11: Lou Gehrig, Photograph Signed and Inscribed, ca. 1939.
    Swann, Nov. 6: Lot 153: George Gershwin, Photograph Signed and Inscribed, portrait by Renato Toppo.
  • Old World Auctions (Nov 12):
    Lot 75. The Second Printed Map of the North American Continent - Full Contemporary Color (1593) Est. $35,000 - $40,000
    Old World Auctions (Nov 12):
    Lot 37. Schedel's Ancient World Map with Fantastic Humanoid Creatures (1493) Est. $16,000 - $18,000
    Old World Auctions (Nov 12):
    Lot 104. Important Revolutionary War Plan of Battle of Quebec in Contemporary Color (1776) Est. $4,000 - $4,750
    Old World Auctions (Nov 12):
    Lot 43. Mercator's Map of the North Pole - the First Printed Map Devoted to the Arctic (1606) Est. $2,750 - $3,500
    Old World Auctions (Nov 12):
    Lot 237. Rare and Striking Bird's-Eye View of Lawrence, Kansas (1880) Est. $2,000 - $2,500
    Old World Auctions (Nov 12):
    Lot 10. Rare Map from Atlas Maior with Representations of the Seasons in Contemporary Color (1662) Est. $14,000 - $17,000
    Old World Auctions (Nov 12):
    Lot 374. Bunting's Map of Europe Depicted as the Queen of the World (1589) Est. $2,000 - $2,400
    Old World Auctions (Nov 12):
    Lot 590. Willem Blaeu's Magnificent Carte-a-Figures Map of Asia (1634) Est. $2,750 - $3,500
    Old World Auctions (Nov 12):
    Lot 647. The Earliest and Most Decorative Map of the East Coast of Africa (1596) Est. $3,000 - $3,750
    Old World Auctions (Nov 12):
    Lot 710. Ruscelli's Complete, Third Edition Atlas with 65 Maps (1574) Est. $9,500 - $11,000
    Old World Auctions (Nov 12):
    Lot 696. Superb Hand-Colored Image of the Adoration of the Shepherds (1502) Est. $800 - $950
  • Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!
  • Doyle, Nov. 5: The Director's copy of the first edition of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, inscribed by Beckett. $7,000 to $10,000.
    Doyle, Nov. 5: Don McLean's personal test pressing of American Pie before mass production, gifted in 1971. $8,000 to $12,000.
    Doyle, Nov. 5: The important and extensive archive of original fashion photographs of model Dorothy Rice, 1945-58. $20,000 to $30,000.
    Doyle, Nov. 5: A Charles Adams theater advertisement. $8,000 to $12,000.
    Doyle, Nov. 5: A Small Patinated Bronze Bust of Marlene Dietrich. $800 to $1,200.
    Doyle, Nov. 5: Marlene Dietrich Studio Photograph. $100 to $200.
    Doyle, Nov. 5: The very large and uncommon British Quad for Hitchcock's The Birds. $500 to $800.
    Doyle, Nov. 5: An Original Crystal "Sputnik" from the 1966 Met Opera Chandelier. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Doyle, Nov. 5: The rare poster from the first American performances of Endgame, 1958. $1,000 to $1,500.
    Doyle, Nov. 5: The original Coconut Grove Playhouse poster for Waiting for Godot, possibly unique. $3,000 to $5,000.