By Michael Stillman

A detailed look at book auction results for 2009 reveals that virtually every important number was down. The most telling number - median sales price - was down. Sell through rates were down. The ratio of items sold above the high estimate to those sold below the low estimate was down. The number of auctions held and number of items offered were down. So why are we celebrating these seemingly woeful results? ...more

By Bruce McKinney

For years, the changing economics of booksellersˇ¦ catalogues have caused headaches for booksellers. In decades past, such catalogues were often substantial; the number of items listed sometimes running into the thousands, the descriptions minimal, the prices low. Today much of the material that was once the backbone of such catalogues is online. What's left for cataloguers are focused offerings of the hard ...more

By Susan Halas & Chris Volk

Many independent booksellers found 2009 was a better than expected year with a stronger than expected finish. It was also marked the end of a decade when everyone and his dog became a bookseller.

The rush to bookselling was not surprising given an economy that turned sour and an occupation with a very low threshold of entry. The field generated as many business models as there were ...more

By Bruce McKinney

Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas, the ascendant auction house rising from the flat lands of Texas, is entering the west coast collectibles auction market - bringing its unique combination of meticulous cataloguing and marketing to California and offering its first sales in the category during the week of the ABAA Book Fair - February 11th and 12th. The firm recently took over the Beverly Hills gallery ...more

By Michael Stillman

It was a most unmerry Christmas for book thief William Jacques. Jacques is England's notorious "Tome Raider" of the 1990s, who allegedly did not learn his lesson. As they say, those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Mr. Jacques once again finds himself in jail.

Jacques, 40, originally from Selby in North Yorkshire, was an economics major, 1990 graduate of Cambridge University, ...more

By Karen Wright

Wow! When I put a call out to two different booksellers' organizations, IOBA and my ABS group, asking for comments and opinions about wrapping books in new or reused materials, I didn't know I was about to be barraged with a hurricane of replies. But, thanks very much to all of you who did reply, you helped get this article off the ground and though I couldn't use all the info you sent, I've tried to paraphrase ...more

By Bruce McKinney

The ABAA, the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America, stages its biennial Book Fair in Los Angeles at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza from February 12-14. The ABAA expects about two hundred rare book exhibitors and many of the great collectors to attend. This year's theme is "all about great books turned into great movies." The material available however will reflect the specialties of each participating ...more

By Michael Stillman

There were several developments and news items concerning electronic readers appearing over the past few weeks, and while we will attempt to summarize a few of them, we don't think any one is the real story. For us, the real story is we are ready to project a winner in the battle between electronic readers and print media, and while the returns are early, we believe we see enough data to make our predictions. ...more

By Bruce McKinney

Sotheby's recently completed an exhibition of material from the James S. Copley collection of printed and manuscript Americana that will be sold beginning later this year. The exhibition was a celebration for the auction house that received this important commission from the Copley heirs. As many as eight sales are envisioned but if the estimates of value are correct it seems likely 4 to 6 sales will suffice. ...more

By Michael Stillman

It was one of the largest, single owner book sales in recent memory, but it passed by virtually unnoticed. This was not an ordinary sale, as it also involved the extremely touchy issue of library de-accession. We have written about this controversial topic in the past (click ...more

By Bruce McKinney

In a day or two Sotheby's will add an auction to its calendar. It will be the necessary next step for Frank Benevento, a map collector who entered the collecting field a decade ago, began to acquire important maps, and now confronts serious health issues and other priorities.

His sale, The Frank A. Benevento II Collection of Important Maps and Atlases, will be sold in London during Map Week. The date ...more

By Michael Stillman

Much of a distinguished institutional book collection, hundreds of years in the making, went up for sale in January, with the results much better than anticipated. There's always some sadness when an institution is forced to dispose of a book collection for economic reasons, but this is part of the inevitable maturation and rebirth process. Collections may die, but the books go on, becoming part of new and ...more

This month we review eight new booksellers' catalogues. David Lesser Antiquarian Books focuses on Americana, while Clark Rare Books features primarily the American West. Librairie Thomas-Scheler, on the other hand, offers mostly French antiquarian works.

Aleph-Bet has 600 old children's books, while Sotheran's features 600 books on a wide variety of subjects. The Lawbook Exchange offers legal ...more