Wednesday Auction Report
RBH Auction Report for Week ending May 8, 2026 (#40)
RBH Auction Report for Week ending May 8, 2026 (#40)
Hammer Price
Heritage led the RBH top 25 auction results with 11 of their offerings on the list. Placing first was a 1977 Luke Skywalker rookie card (Topps Star Wars - Series 1) graded PSA 10 which sold for $687,500 on May 4. Also prominent on the list were University Archives with items from their May 6 sale of rare autographs, manuscripts and books and Swann Galleries with a variety of important signed photographs. See below for other highlights of the week.
For the week ended May 8, a total of 58 auctions were archived to Rare Book Hub’s database of rare and collectible books, manuscripts, maps and ephemera.
Turnover was $11.9 million. The average lot brought $1,164. There were 14,489 lots offered, of these 10,297 found new homes. For the week 71.07% of all lots offered were sold. Two auctions saw their total proceeds reach a million dollars.
Next week's calendar includes 84 sales. Reports were provided primarily in Dollars ($), Pounds (£), and Euros (€)
This is the FREE LINK - any viewer may use this link to see the complete report for the past week and list of upcoming auctions for next week:
https://www.rarebookhub.com/auction_updates/1096
All other links require an RBH subscription to view the complete text of the archived record.
Selected Highlights
1. The 1896 Kelmscott Chaucer sold at Bonhams on May 5 (David Godine Collection Part I) for $140,200. The high presale estimate was $90,000.
https://www.rarebookhub.com/auction_lot_books/9718440?key=10221150292c95f81e6f116eef2f6bc4d3004592
2. Joseph Smith’s Book of Mormon ca. 1830 sold at University Archives on May 6 for $168,750, somewhat below the presale estimate of $220,000.
https://www.rarebookhub.com/auction_lot_books/9698799?key=d5a3380ed2bdd327905cc983b567f17f706821c0
3. A collection of 18 Bauhaus postcards from the Weimar Bauhaus Exhibition of 1923 including
images by Feininger; Kandinsky; Klee; Marcks; Moholy-Nagy and others sold at Kiefer Buch und Kunstauktionen Book and Art Auction Day 3 on May 8 for €112,500 ($132,102).
https://www.rarebookhub.com/auction_lot_books/9726334?key=d3c4c6c2f6d674c4a75236eb638e7b3b9d666e53
4. A signed and inscribed photo of John Wilkes Booth ca. 1862-1865 sold at Swann Galleries on May 7 for $107,950. The presale high estimate was $10,000.
https://www.rarebookhub.com/auction_lot_books/9718859?key=629a2dcffcb49a292e28c41f84dfab83ba5147b3
5. An 1893 letter by Frederick Douglass on Slavery sold at University Archives on May 6 for $68,750.
https://www.rarebookhub.com/auction_lot_books/9698795?key=f17f8742010a4fafd4b36c1cd05c5354459ab6f8
6. A 1652 Map of America by J. Blaeu sold on May 7 in Germany at Kiefer Buch und Kunstauktionen (Day 2) for €60,000 ($70,454). The presale high estimate was €9,000.
https://www.rarebookhub.com/auction_lot_books/9701409?key=8771af1627c228535d56feaef42707e083b1a43f
7. Yellow Cruise, Citroen Central Asia Expedition, 1931-31 3rd G.M. Haardt Audouin-Dubreuil Mission sold at Gros & Delettrez (France) on May 6 for €44,200 ($51,952). The presale high estimate was €2,500.
https://www.rarebookhub.com/auction_lot_books/9718126?key=1a41acbf1148fe5e9526e214728a694becc32fa4
8. Stride Toward Freedom: the Montgomery Story, 1958 signed by Martin Luther King sold at University Archive Rare Autographs, Manuscripts and Books sale on May 6 for $10,000. The presale estimate was $4,000.
https://www.rarebookhub.com/auction_lot_books/9698798?key=a7f94f337b09a84b65597831ea8f89e32cb64232
9. A 1940 pen and ink portrait of Jared French by Paul Cadmus sold at Rago Arts and Auctions on May 6 for $17,920. The presale high estimate was $5,000.
https://www.rarebookhub.com/auction_lot_books/9715017?key=ab476d995ac94a6413791cd43d6fe4cc073f64c9
10. Two first editions by Cormac McCarthy: Outer Dark (1968) and The Orchard Keeper (1965) both first editions in less than pristine condition sold as a pair at New England Book Auction on May 5 for $1,920.
https://www.rarebookhub.com/auction_lot_books/9702492?key=3fa661150059597b60d49b82ac7c0b3303d5c86f
11. A 1977 Luke Skywalker rookie trading card from Topps Star Wars Series 1 graded PSA 10 sold at Heritage on May 4 for $687,500, more than double the presale high estimate of $300,000.
https://www.rarebookhub.com/auction_lot_books/9640293?key=968076f84bfc5325c39079d848e9d32a1c27beda
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Sotheby’s
Shelf Life: Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper from the Library of Stanley J. Seeger and Christopher Cone
25 June – July 7Sotheby’s, July 7: Ludwig van Beethoven. Autograph sketches for the overture "Die Weihe des Hauses", op.124, [1822], UNPUBLISHED. £150,000 to £200,000.Sotheby’s, July 7: Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice, 1813, first edition, 3 volumes, contemporary half calf. £50,000 to £70,000.Sotheby’s, July 7: Walt Whitman. Leaves of Grass, Brooklyn, 1855, first edition, first issue, original green cloth, the Doheny copy. £50,000 to £70,000.Sotheby’s, July 7: Binding—Sangorski & Sutcliffe—Omar Khayyam. Rubaiyat, London, 1872, third edition, in a magnificent jewelled Peacock binding. £15,000 to £20,000.Sotheby’s, July 7: George Eliot. Middlemarch, Edinburgh and London, 1871, first edition in the original parts. £20,000 to £30,000. -
Forum Auctions
The Private Library:
Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers
July 9, 2026Forum, July 9: Hassall (Joan) A large collection of over 300 original woodblocks of engravings for various books, v.d., with Hassall's engraver's glass water-globe (Qty) - Est. £10,000-15,000Forum, July 9: Eragny Press.- [Bradley (Katherine Harris) & Edith Emma Cooper], "Michael Field." Whym Chow, Flame of Love, one of only 27 copies, inscribed by Bradley, the rarest book from the press, 1914. - Est. £3,000-4,000Forum, July 9: [Moore (Thomas Sturge)] [Wood Engravings], 71 wood-engravings printed by David Chambers from the original blocks, the only set on Japanese Hosho paper, from an edition of 5 sets, [1970]. - Est. £3,000-4,000Forum Auctions
The Private Library:
Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers
July 9, 2026Forum, July 9: La Fontaine (Jean de) Contes et Nouvelles en vers, 2 vol., engraved plates after Eisen, fine early 19th century blue morocco, gilt, by Bradel l'ainé, Amsterdam [Paris], 1762. - Est. £2,000-3,000Forum, July 9: Erotica.- Prostitution.- Pretty Women of Paris (The); Their Names and Addresses, Qualities and Faults..., [Paris], privately printed at the Press of the Prefecture de Police, 1883. - Est. £3,000-4,000Forum, July 9: Vale Press.- Ricketts (Charles) & Lucien Pissarro. De la Typographie et de l'Harmonie de la Page Imprimée…, [one of 216 copies], bound in dark blue morocco tooled in gilt, by Sarah T.Prideaux, 1898. - Est. £1,000-1,500Forum Auctions
The Private Library:
Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers
July 9, 2026Forum, July 9: Martin (John) Illustrations of the Bible, complete set of 20 mezzotints, good impressions, rarely found in early states, [c.1831-1835]. - Est. £1,000-1,500Forum, July 9: Golden Cockerel Press.- Four Gospels of the Lord Jesus Christ (The), one of 500 copies, Mary Gill's copy, Waltham St. Lawrence, 1931 with a signed proof of engraving on japon numbered 10/10 (2) - Est. £5,000-7,000Forum, July 9: Boccaccio (Giovanni) The Decameron, 3 vol., vol.1 extra-illustrated by John Buckland Wright with c.150 erotic original drawings in pen & ink and pencil, 1886 [extra-illustrated c.1940]. - Est. £10,000-15,000Forum Auctions
The Private Library:
Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers
July 9, 2026Forum, July 9: Cox (Morris) Collection of Gogmagog Press Books, 35 vol., rare complete collection of printed books issued by the press, limited editions, most signed by Cox, 1957-83. - Est. £10,000-15,000Forum, July 9: Wynkyn de Worde.- [Terentius Afer (Publius)] [Comedie...], [Paris, Josse Badius: sold in London by Wynkyn de Worde, & others], [15 July 1504]. - Est. £4,000-6,000Forum, July 9: Mosley (James) Ornamented Types. Twenty-Three Alphabets from the Foundry of Louis John Pouchée, 2 vol., one of 10 copies for presentation, from an edition of 210, 1992-93. - Est. £1,000-2,000 -
Forum Auctions
The 10th Anniversary Sale
Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
July 16, 2026Forum, July 16: Inundation papyrus. P.Michael 4, the ‘Inundation papyrus’, a geographical account of the Nile near Canopus, in Greek, remains of two columns from a manuscript scroll on papyrus, Egypt, second century CE. £12,000-18,000Forum, July 16: Book of Hours, use of Sarum, manuscript on vellum, 6 full-page miniatures, with famous Middle English inscriptions, Southern Netherlands for the English market, [c.1430]. £30,000-50,000Forum, July 16: Qu'ran, Arabic manuscript on burnished, stencilled, and gold-flecked paper, 447ff., Sultanate Gujarat, Ahmadabad, [after 1411 but no later than 1442]. £15,000-20,000Forum Auctions
The 10th Anniversary Sale
Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
July 16, 2026Forum, July 16: Turner (William). A New boke of the natures and properties of all wines that are commonly vsed here in England, rare first edition of the first English book on wine, By William Seres, 1568. £20,000-£30,000Forum, July 16: Spenser (Edmund). The Faerie Queene. first edition, Printed [by John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, 1590. £30,000-40,000Forum, July 16: Shakespeare (William). The Comedie of Errors, extracted from the first folio, Isaac Jaggard and Edward Blount, 1623. £15,000-20,000Forum Auctions
The 10th Anniversary Sale
Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
July 16, 2026Forum, July 16: Fleming (Ian). Casino Royale, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author, 1953. £40,000-60,000Forum, July 16: d'Agoty (Jacques-Fabien Gautier). Anatomie de la Tête, first edition, Paris, chez le Sieur Gautier, 1748. £10,000-15,000Forum, July 16: Martial Arts.- Lee (Bruce). 'Praying Mantis style' Kung Fu book, containing numerous annotations, diagrams and graphs in Bruce Lee's hand, c. 1960. £50,000-70,000Forum Auctions
The 10th Anniversary Sale
Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
July 16, 2026Forum, July 16: Warre (Capt. Henry James). Sketches in North America and the Oregon Territory, first edition, rare hand-coloured issue, 1848. £30,000-40,000Forum, July 16: Norie (John William). The Marine Atlas, or Seaman's Complete Pilot for all the principal places in the known world..., 1826. £30,000-50,000Forum, July 16: Mao Tse-tung.- Kim Il-sung.-[Note book for visitors from China to Korea], signed by Mao and Kim, [Beijing, 1954]. £10,000-15,000