Rare Book Monthly

Articles - December - 2008 Issue

Hollywood: No Laughing Matter

Lot 3009. 4000 scripts. Est. $200-$300

If you missed you comfortable to see 'culture' and 'Hollywood' in the same sentence and LIKE to read lot 2488 is '10,000+ issues of Film and Hollywood Culture Magazines.' You will never have to buy Hollywood Confidential again at the grocery store check-out. YOU will be the inside source.

For 'students of' as opposed to 'collectors of' Hollywood lot 2491 is your gateway to researching tinsel town. It includes more than 150 general film and TV reference books.

Do you own a barn and feel a hankering to fill it? Lot 2492 will go a long way. It's 140,000 photographs of various stars. Lot 2493 will get you another 500,000 photographs. Lot 2494 will add 60,000 more. And then there is lot 2495. It's 160 cartons [estimated to contain 200,000+] of photographs. If you remember liking your school pictures and trading them with friends here is a chance to go global as a free lance agent. "I'll trade you one Marilyn Monroe for your signed Morely Schaffer and throw in a Captain Kirk." Your world may never be the same.

There are also posters. A typical lot includes about a thousand of them. A small lot includes 300 and a large lot 5,000. There are many such lots and something for every taste. Lot 2774 is a thousand+ adult film posters. Decorators, collectors and eBay resellers will all be buyers of posters, most of which are for wholesome entertainment.

For one and done collectors of James Bond lot 2775 will both begin and end your collecting. Hundreds of posters as well as ancillary material movie material is included.

For older folks lot 2776 is a complete archive of Lucille Ball material. To understand what's included in the lot think of every conceivable item and then multiply by two. You'll be close.

For thirty somethings lot 2777 is a Star Wars archive. I'll give you a hint. You'll never need to buy wallpaper again.

I started this story at lot 2331 so you must be wondering if the lot numbering begins there. The answer is no. It begins at 1. The first two thirds of the sale are photographs of some very famous people. The subjects, sizes and number of photographs vary from a single image to more than 10,000 in a single lot. Here is a random list of the famous, not-so-famous, and the once famous and now forgotton. This is .001 of the list. The number of images is almost beyond calculation.

Joan Bennett

Wallace Beery

Tullulah Bankhead

Clara Bow

Charles Boyer

Rare Book Monthly

  • Bonhams, Apr. 28 – May 7: Isaac Newton on chemistry and matter, and alchemy, Autograph Manuscript, "A Key to Snyders," 3 pp, after 1674. $100,000 - $150,000
    Bonhams, Apr. 28 – May 7: Exceptionally rare first printing of Plato's Timaeus. Florence, 1484. $50,000 - $80,000
    Bonhams, Apr. 28 – May 7: On the Philosophy of Self-Interest: Adam Smith's copy of Helvetius's De l'homme, Paris, 1773. $40,000 - $60,000
    Bonhams, Apr. 28 – May 7: "Magical Calendar of Tycho Brahe" - very rare hermetic broadside. Engraved by Merian for De Bry. c.1618. $30,000 - $50,000
    Bonhams, Apr. 28 – May 7: Author's presentation issue of Einstein's proof of Relativity, "Erklärung der Perihelbewegung des Merkur aus der allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie." 1915. $30,000 - $50,000
    Bonhams, Apr. 28 – May 7: First Latin edition of Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed. Paris, 1520. $20,000 - $30,000.
    Bonhams, Apr. 28 – May 7: De Broglie manuscript on the nature of matter in quantum physics, 3 pp, 1954. $20,000 - $30,000
    Bonhams, Apr. 28 – May 7: Tesla autograph letter signed on electricty and electromagnetic theory. 1894. $20,000 - $30,000
    Bonhams, Apr. 28 – May 7: Heinrich Hertz scientific manuscript on his mentor Hermann Von Helmholtz, 1891. $20,000 - $30,000
    Bonhams, Apr. 28 – May 7: The greatest illustrated work in Alchemy: Micheal Maier's Atalanta Fugiens. Oppenheim, 1618. $30,000 - $50,000
    Bonhams, Apr. 28 – May 7: Illustrated Alchemical manuscript, a Mysterium Magnum of the Rosicurcians, 18th-century. $30,000 - $50,000
    Bonhams, Apr. 28 – May 7: Rare Largest Paper Presentation Copy of Newton's Principia, London, 1726. The third and most influential edition. $60,000 - $90,000
  • Gonnelli
    Auction 51
    Antique prints, paintings and maps
    May 14st 2024
    Gonnelli: Leonard Bramer, The descent from the cross, 1634. Starting price 3200€
    Gonnelli: Gustav Hjalmar de Morner Karel, Rome’s Carnival, 1820. Starting price 1000€
    Gonnelli: Various Authors, Mater Dolorosa, 1700. Starting price 200€
    Gonnelli: Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Carcere Oscura, 1790. Starting price 180€
    Gonnelli: Jan Brueghel, Marine fauna view, 1620 ca. Starting price 28000€
    Gonnelli: Ippolito Scarsella, Mary and Christ with Sant Rocco and Arch-Angel Michele,1615. Starting price 8000€
    Gonnelli: Hans Sebald Beham, Adam and Eve, 1543. Starting price 600€
    Gonnelli: Francesco Burani, Baccanale, 1630. Starting Price 280€
    Gonnelli: Giuseppe Maria Mitelli, Plance from Ventiquattr’ore, 1675. Starting price 800€
    Gonnelli: Giuseppe Angeli, Livorno’s Plan, 1793. Starting price 240€
    Gonnelli: XIV Century Artist, Capital “N” letter, 1350 ca. Starting price 340€
  • Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Winston Churchill. The Second World War. Set of First-Edition Volumes. 6,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard. A Collection of The Pooh Books. Set of First-Editions. 18,600 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Salvador Dalí, Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Finely Bound and Signed Limited Edition. 15,000 USD
    Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die. First Edition. 9,500 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Series. Finely Bound First Printing Set of Complete Series. 5,650 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms. First Edition, First Printing. 4,200 USD

Article Search

Archived Articles

Ask Questions