• Freeman’s, May 15: William Shakespeare’s Fourth Folio, Printed by Robert Roberts, Robert Everingham, and John Macock for Henry Herringman, 1685. $60,000 – 80,000.
    Freeman’s, May 14: Tolkien, J.R.R.. The Lord of the Rings trilogy. All First Editions and First Impressions. 1955. $15,000 – 20,000.
    Freeman’s, May 15: A significant archive of works on communications theory, comprising foundational texts by leading mathematicians. $20,000 – 30,000.
    Freeman’s, May 15: ALS, Albert Einstein to President Hoover, Berlin, 1929. “I alone am but a grain-of-dust in the development of the human spirit.” $15,000 – 20,000.
    Freeman’s, May 14: William Shakespeare’s As You Like It and The Taming of the Shrew. First Printings of Two Complete Plays From Shakespeare's First Folio. 1623. $30,000 – 50,000.
    Freeman’s, May 14: Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four, 1949. First Edition with the Rare Publisher’s Printed Wrap-Around Band. $8,000 – 12,000.
    Freeman’s, May 15: Complete Set of 52 Tinted Lithographed Plates Containing Pre-Fire Chicago City Views by Louis Kurz and the Chicago Lithographing Company. $10,000 – 15,000.
    Freeman’s, May 14: Jefferson, Thomas. Notes on the State of Virginia. First London Edition. $10,000 – 15,000.
    Freeman’s, May 15: A significant archive of works on game theory, comprising foundational texts by leading mathematicians. $20,000 – 30,000.
    Freeman’s, May 14: Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Raven" in The American Review. Volume I, number II. February 1845. First Printing in Original Wrappers. $8,000 – 12,000.
    Freeman’s, May 14: Stoker, Bram. Dracula. First Edition, First Issue. $6,000 – 8,000.
    Freeman’s, May 15: A group of artifacts relating to the Pre-Fire Chicago courthouse bell, ca 1871-1877. $800 – 1,200.
  • Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 18th
    Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: Linschoten, Navigatio ac itinerarium. 1599. Est: € 80,000
    Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: Basilius Besler, Hortus Eystettensis, 1640. Est: € 180,000
    Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: Alberto Giacometti, Paris sans fin, 1969. Est: € 15,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 18th
    Ketterer Rare Books, May 18:
    J. Glogoviensis, Introductorium compendiosum in tractatum spere, 1513. Est: € 8,000
    Ketterer Rare Books, May 18:
    G. W. Knorr, Verlustiging der oogen en van den geest, 1717-50. Est: € 5,000
    Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: Albert Einstein, Signifcant scientific letter to his Princeton colleague E. G. Straus, 1945. Est: € 10,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 18th
    Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: Ostrog Bible, 1581. Est: € 18,000
    Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: PAN, 10 volumes, 1895-1900. Est: € 12,000
    Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: Kurt Schwitters, Merz 11, 1924. Est: € 10,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 18th
    Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: H. Schedel, Liber chronicarum, 1493. Est: € 35,000
    Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: A.-E. Gautier d’Agoty, Cours complet d’anatomie, 1773. Est: € 8,000
    Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: Ch. Bukowski & K. Price, Heat Wave, 1995. Est: € 5,000
  • Heritage, May 13: Isaac Asimov. I, Robot. The dedication copy, inscribed to John W. Campbell, Jr.
    Heritage, May 13: Aldous Huxley. Brave New World. A fine copy, in a brilliant dust jacket.
    Heritage, May 13: Ray Bradbury. Fahrenheit 451. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author.
    Heritage, May 13: Robert A. Heinlein. Stranger in a Strange Land. A fine copy, signed by the author.
    Heritage, May 13: Jules Verne. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas. Exceedingly rare true first American edition, first issue.
  • Sotheby’s
    Original Film Posters
    Open for bidding 5-20 May
    Sotheby’s, May 5-20: King Kong (1933). Rare Czech poster for King Kong, 1933. £40,000 to £60,000.
    Sotheby’s, May 5-20: Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986). British One Sheet for Ferris Bueller's Day Off, 1986. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Sotheby’s, May 5-20: Goldfinger (1964). British Quad for Goldfinger, signed by Shirley Bassey, 1964. £7,000 to £10,000.
    Sotheby’s, May 5-20: Alice in Wonderland / Alice au Pays des Merveilles (1951). French Grande for Alice in Wonderland / Alice au Pays des Merveilles, 1951. £7,000 to £10,000.
    Sotheby’s, May 5-20: Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). US poster for Breakfast at Tiffany’s, 1961. £15,000 to £20,000.
    Sotheby’s, May 5-20: Star Wars (1977). British Quad for Star Wars, 1977. £5,000 to £8,000.

Rare Book Monthly Book Catalogue Reviews May - 2026 Issue

Literary Masterpieces from Whitmore Rare Books

Literary Masterpieces from Whitmore Rare Books

Whitmore Rare Books recently issued their Catalogue 29. Whitmore features literary masterpieces in the best condition likely to be found considering their age. There are works of both fiction and nonfiction, human stories and scientific discoveries. Some books are fairly recent, others go back several centuries. They differ widely, but all are significant books in top condition. These are a few of them.
 
The cover of the August 6, 1945, issue of Time featured the following quote on its cover - “My God what have we done.” That quote comes from the following manuscript, written onboard the...

New Acquisitions at the William Reese Company

New Acquisitions at the William Reese Company

The William Reese Company has issued a catalogue of New Acquisitions. It is catalogue #380 in their long-running series. Their focus is on Americana, and there is much of historic significance in t...

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Books for the California Antiquarian Book Fair from Libreria de Antano

Books for the California Antiquarian Book Fair from Libreria de Antano

Libreria de Antano of Buenos Ayres, Argentina, published a catalogue for the recent 57th California Antiquarian Book Fair. The material is primarily from south of the border, the American-Mexican b...

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All Americans II from Langdon Manor Books

All Americans II from Langdon Manor Books

Langdon Manor Books has released their latest selection of various sorts of material, Catalog 22 ALL Americans II. There aren't a lot of printed books here, but many personal items such as photogra...

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The American Revolution from the George S. MacManus Co.

The American Revolution from the George S. MacManus Co.

The George S. MacManus Co. has published a catalogue of The American Revolution. What can be said of the American Revolution? A lot. Here are 100 books that tell much of the story. Many of the item...

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Rare Americana from David M. Lesser Fine Antiquarian Books

Rare Americana from David M. Lesser Fine Antiquarian Books

David M. Lesser Fine Antiquarian Books has released their Catalogue 217 of Rare Americana. This is a new group of old items, mostly 19th century. There are books and various other forms of paper co...

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Books on Display at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair by The Lawbook Exchange.

Books on Display at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair by The Lawbook Exchange.

The Lawbook Exchange will be exhibiting at the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. The show will be held at the Park Avenue Armory and continues until May 3. Here is a look at a few of th...

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Rare Book Monthly

  • Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th May 2026
    Forum, May 28: Book of Hours.- Heures de nostre dame a l'usaige de Romme, Paris, Antoine Chappiel pour Germain Hardouin, [1504]. £6,000-8,000
    Forum, May 28: Colonna (Francesco). La Hypnerotomachia di Poliphilo, second edition, Venice, Sons of Aldus Manutius, 1545. £15,000-20,000
    Forum, May 28: The Christ Child holding a crystal orb and surrounded by banderoles with devotional exhortations, on a leaf most probably from a Book of Hours, [Southern Netherlands, last decades of the fifteenth century]. £2,000-3,000
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th May 2026
    Forum, May 28: Jackson (Shirley). The Haunting of Hill House, first English edition, signed presentation inscription from the author to Claude Fredericks, 1960. £2,000-3,000
    Forum, May 28: Lennon (John). In His Own Write, first edition, first impression, signed by the author, 1964. £3,000-4,000
    Forum, May 28: Doves Press.- Keats (John). [Poems], one of 200 copies on paper, Doves Press, 1914. £5,000-7,000
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th May 2026
    Forum, May 28: Rodrigues (João Barbosa). Sertum Palmarum Brasiliensium, 2 vol., first and only edition, Brussels, 1903. £8,000-12,000
    Forum, May 28: Newton (Sir Isaac). Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica…editio ultima, auctior et emendatior, Amsterdam, Sumptibus Societatis, 1714. £8,000-12,000
    Forum, May 28: Kepler (Johannes). Ad Vitellionem paralipomena, wuibus astronomiae pars optica traditur, first edition, Frankfurt am Main, 1604. £5,000-7,000
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th May 2026
    Forum, May 28: Tagliacozzi (Gaspare). De Curtorum Chirurgia per insitionem, libri duo, first edition, Venice, Gasparo Bindoni, 1597. £7,000-10,000
    Forum, May 28: Lootsman (Jacobsz). The Lightning Colomne, or Sea-Mirrour, containing the Sea-Coasts of the Northern, Eastern and Western Navigation..., 1670. £8,000-12,000
    Forum, May 28: Ribelles y Helip (José), Attributed to. An album comprising 33 finely executed watercolours of Spanish costume, bull-fighting scenes, and other genre subjects, [circa 1830]. £10,000-15,000
  • Lion Heart Autographs
    Landmark Auction of Rare & Important Autograph Letters & Manuscripts—Fresh to the Market and Unseen for Decades
    May 20, 2026
    Lion Heart, Ending May 20: Dr. King will “follow Christ to death” for Racial Equality & “the health of Democracy”. $12,000 to $14,000.
    Lion Heart, Ending May 20: 1775 George Washington Naval DS for a “Freind [sic.] to American Liberty”. $15,000 to $18,000.
    Lion Heart, Ending May 20: Marie Antoinette Orders Payment for Swiss Guard’s Elite “Cent-Suisses”. $10,000 to $12,000.
    Lion Heart Autographs
    Landmark Auction of Rare & Important Autograph Letters & Manuscripts—Fresh to the Market and Unseen for Decades
    May 20, 2026
    Lion Heart, Ending May 20: Einstein On the Mystery of the Unbelievable. $3,250 to $3,500.
    Lion Heart, Ending May 20: Brahms Signed Autograph Musical Manuscript Last Auctioned in 1938. $42,000 to $45,000.
    Lion Heart, Ending May 20: John Adams Signed Land Grant for the Army’s Quartermaster General. $3,500 to $4,000.
    Lion Heart Autographs
    Landmark Auction of Rare & Important Autograph Letters & Manuscripts—Fresh to the Market and Unseen for Decades
    May 20, 2026
    Lion Heart, Ending May 20: Darwin Letter Referring to a Photograph. $3,000 to $3,500.
    Lion Heart, Ending May 20: Rare Ltd. Ed. of Alfred Dreyfus’ Memoir Inscribed to French Politician and Dreyfusard. $12,000 to $15,000.
    Lion Heart, Ending May 20: Unique, Ten Year Post WWII Jazz Archive Including Brubeck, Desmond, Feather, Kenton, Paul, Taylor, Yaged, and Many Others. $1,000 to $1,200.
    Lion Heart Autographs
    Landmark Auction of Rare & Important Autograph Letters & Manuscripts—Fresh to the Market and Unseen for Decades
    May 20, 2026
    Lion Heart, Ending May 20: Detailed 8-Page Mendelssohn ALS Mentioning the Completion of his "Violin Concerto". $2,600 to $2,800.
    Lion Heart, Ending May 20: Rare, Signed Book from Susan B. Anthony’s Library with Remarkable Associations. $2,200 to $2,400.
    Lion Heart, Ending May 20: Unique Puccini ALS to His Lover Mentioning Five Operas and Two Great Sopranos. $2,200 to $2,500.

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