Wednesday Auction Reports
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Weekly Reports
The Week at Auction Ending May 1, 2026
Looking back at auction sales last week in the books and paper collectibles field, the top prices were dominated by items from the Islamic World and India. That sounds a bit unusual, but there is an explanation. Last week was London Islamic Art Week, and both Sothebys and Christies held auctions in London to coincide with the celebration. They even had similar names, Arts of the Islamic World & India at Sothebys, Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds including Rugs and Carpets at Christies. Nine of the 10 highest priced items came from one of these two sales. So, it's time to take a...
The Week at Auction Ending April 24, 2026
The prior week's top items at auction sales in the field of books and collectible paper was for prints. The week before it was trading cards. This past week, it was nothing in particular....
The Week at Auction Ending April 17, 2026
Once again, the money was flowing at auction in the field of rare books, manuscripts, prints and other forms of collectible paper. The previous week, trading cards were the big sellers. The past...
The Week at Auction Ending April 10, 2026
by MikeWhen the Rare Book Hub was founded in 2003 (then known as Americana Exchange), its purpose was to provide auction prices for rare books and related works on paper. Books dominated the...
The Week at Auction Ending April 3, 2026
by MikeAt Rare Book Hub we track not only auction sales of rare books, but also of other forms of collectible paper, such as manuscripts, maps, comic books, prints, trading cards, and photographs....
The Week at Auction Ending March 27, 2026
A mighty wave crashed over the auction results for the week ending March 27 in the field of rare books, manuscripts, prints and other forms of collectible paper. Two of the three highest prices...
The Week at Auction Ending March 20, 2026
by Mike Auction results for the past week (ending March 20) looked much like the previous week, though on a reduced scale. Once again, the most expensive item was a scroll that ran through the...
The Week at Auction Ending March 13, 2026
By MikeThis past week at auction was unusual in terms of where the dollars flowed. The runaway winner by value was the sale with the fewest lots*. It was the Jim Irsay Collection sold at Christie's...
THE WEEK THAT WAS AT THE AUCTIONS ending March 6, 2026
By Hammer PriceThis week, Heritage dominated the big ticket auctions with antique baseball cards, comics, other sports items, gaming card collectibles, posters, entertainment and pop culture. In...
THE WEEK THAT WAS AT THE AUCTIONS ending Feb. 27, 2026
Kedem (Jerusalem) landed eight of RBH’s top 25 positions with their Incunable and First Editions | Illuminated Manuscripts and Esther Scrolls | Jewish Ceremonial Art auction on Feb. 24. Their #1...
Rare Book Monthly
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Sotheby’s
Original Film Posters
Open for bidding 5-20 MaySotheby’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. -
Forum Auctions
Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
28th May 2026Forum, May 28: Book of Hours.- Heures de nostre dame a l'usaige de Romme, Paris, Antoine Chappiel pour Germain Hardouin, [1504]. £6,000-8,000Forum, May 28: Colonna (Francesco). La Hypnerotomachia di Poliphilo, second edition, Venice, Sons of Aldus Manutius, 1545. £15,000-20,000Forum, 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]. £2,000-3,000Forum Auctions
Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
28th May 2026Forum, May 28: Jackson (Shirley). The Haunting of Hill House, first English edition, signed presentation inscription from the author to Claude Fredericks, 1960. £2,000-3,000Forum, May 28: Lennon (John). In His Own Write, first edition, first impression, signed by the author, 1964. £3,000-4,000Forum, May 28: Doves Press.- Keats (John). [Poems], one of 200 copies on paper, Doves Press, 1914. £5,000-7,000Forum Auctions
Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
28th May 2026Forum, May 28: Rodrigues (João Barbosa). Sertum Palmarum Brasiliensium, 2 vol., first and only edition, Brussels, 1903. £8,000-12,000Forum, May 28: Newton (Sir Isaac). Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica…editio ultima, auctior et emendatior, Amsterdam, Sumptibus Societatis, 1714. £8,000-12,000Forum, May 28: Kepler (Johannes). Ad Vitellionem paralipomena, wuibus astronomiae pars optica traditur, first edition, Frankfurt am Main, 1604. £5,000-7,000Forum Auctions
Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
28th May 2026Forum, May 28: Tagliacozzi (Gaspare). De Curtorum Chirurgia per insitionem, libri duo, first edition, Venice, Gasparo Bindoni, 1597. £7,000-10,000Forum, May 28: Lootsman (Jacobsz). The Lightning Colomne, or Sea-Mirrour, containing the Sea-Coasts of the Northern, Eastern and Western Navigation..., 1670. £8,000-12,000Forum, 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 -
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 18thKetterer Rare Books, May 18: Linschoten, Navigatio ac itinerarium. 1599. Est: € 80,000Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: Basilius Besler, Hortus Eystettensis, 1640. Est: € 180,000Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: Alberto Giacometti, Paris sans fin, 1969. Est: € 15,000Ketterer Rare Books
Auction May 18thKetterer Rare Books, May 18:
J. Glogoviensis, Introductorium compendiosum in tractatum spere, 1513. Est: € 8,000Ketterer Rare Books, May 18:
G. W. Knorr, Verlustiging der oogen en van den geest, 1717-50. Est: € 5,000Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: Albert Einstein, Signifcant scientific letter to his Princeton colleague E. G. Straus, 1945. Est: € 10,000Ketterer Rare Books
Auction May 18thKetterer Rare Books, May 18: Ostrog Bible, 1581. Est: € 18,000Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: PAN, 10 volumes, 1895-1900. Est: € 12,000Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: Kurt Schwitters, Merz 11, 1924. Est: € 10,000Ketterer Rare Books
Auction May 18thKetterer Rare Books, May 18: H. Schedel, Liber chronicarum, 1493. Est: € 35,000Ketterer Rare Books, May 18: A.-E. Gautier d’Agoty, Cours complet d’anatomie, 1773. Est: € 8,000Ketterer 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.