Rare Book Monthly Articles - February - 2014 Issue

Rothschild Prayerbook sells at Christies for $13,605,000

The year is 1999; the location, Christie’s London. A Renaissance prayer book, a Book of Hours known as the Rothschild Prayerbook, is up for sale. It is one of the finest illuminated manuscripts available to private hands. It contains illustrations from the most acclaimed and distinguished illuminators of the late 15th and early 16th centuries such as Gerard Horenbout, Simon Bening, his father Alexander Bening, and Gerard David. The quality of work is unmatched by other material publically available. It is considered a titan among the achievements of Flemish Renaissance painting, with 150 pa...

Canadian Decision to Close 7 Libraries Leads to Major Controversy

A decision by the Canadian government to shut down 7 Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) libraries has stirred up a hornets' nest of controversy among scientists, librarians, and representativ...

The California International Book Fair February 7th - 9th

The every other year ABAA book fair in South California returns to Pasadena for a three-day engagement Friday February 7th through Sunday the 9th.  This is the second time that the fair is being he...

San Francisco Antiquarian Book, Print & Paper Fair February 1st and 2nd

On Saturday and Sunday February 1st and 2nd the every other year San Francisco Antiquarian Book, Print Paper Fair will be held at the Fort Mason Festival Pavilion on the north side of the city.  M...

The Miami International Map Fair February 7-9

Over the weekend of February 7-9 the Miami International Map Fair will be held at the Miami-Dade Cultural Center.  This is the 22nd edition of this annual event and is a much-appreciated affair.  ...

Long Missing Document Returned to German Owner by American Bookseller

Stolen books and documents are too often the subject of news stories, such as the truly horrific thefts recently revealed at a major church library in Italy. Poor if not corrupt political appointme...

Highs & Lows of a Small Antiquarian Seller - Robbery & Retail Both Learning Experiences

I’ve been writing from the seller’s viewpoint for AE Monthly for quite a while now. I've looked at various genres in the book arts, visited shows and fairs, profiled other dealers and sites and dis...

A Public Library Without Books – Good or Bad?

The newswires carried a story recently about a library in San Antonio. It is a library without books. While this is not a first – there are some such libraries in educational institutions – it is a...

Old World Auctions – an important sale ending on February 19th

  Serious collectors of maps, take note. This month, Old World Auctions, an online-only auction house specializing in cartography, is holding the first of their four yearly sales. The focus will, ...

Pulpit Preschi Prescha or the Art of Preaching

Most people enjoy reading fashionable books, I prefer weird books with unexpected subjects—some titles alone have haunted me for years like the wonderful Torrent de feu sortant de la face de Dieu—S...

Collection of Early European Legal Works Being Sold by Los Angeles Law Library

Some libraries are more like collections than working libraries. Others are designed to provide material for historical research. However, most are intended for practical use by today's users. As s...

The ABAA at Christ Church

The ABAA recently hosted a one-day book fair at the Christ Church at Park and 60th in New York City in conjunction with the Grolier Club’s annual bibliography week.  The event was held on Friday Ja...

Conferences for Appraisers in San Francisco, Librarians in Malaysia

We have received notices of two completely unrelated events, but perhaps one will be of interest to you. One concerns a course for appraisers to take place in San Francisco in early March. The othe...

10 New Catalogues Reviewed This Month

This month we received 10 new catalogues to review. They are a varied bunch. Ken Lopez Bookseller offers a selection relating to modern literature and its authors. Aleph-Bet Books features children...

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
  • Doyle, May 1: Thomas Jefferson expresses fears of "a war of extermination" in Saint-Dominigue. $40,000 to $60,000.
    Doyle, May 1: An exceptional presentation copy of Fitzgerald's last book, in the first issue dust jacket. $25,000 to $35,000.
    Doyle, May 1: The rare first signed edition of Dorian Gray. $15,000 to $25,000.
    Doyle, May 1: The Prayer Book of Jehan Bernachier. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Doyle, May 1: Van Dyck's Icones Principum Virorum Doctorum. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Doyle, May 1: The magnificent Cranach Hamlet in the deluxe binding by Dõrfner. $7,000 to $10,000.
    Doyle, May 1: A remarkable unpublished manuscript of a voyage to South America in 1759-1764. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Doyle, May 1: Bouchette's monumental and rare wall map of Lower Canada. $12,000 to $18,000.
    Doyle, May 1: An rare original 1837 abolitionist woodblock. $8,000 to $12,000.
    Doyle, May 1: An important manuscript breviary in Middle Dutch. $15,000 to $25,000.
    Doyle, May 1: An extraordinary Old Testament manuscript, circa 1250. $20,000 to $30,000.
  • 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