An educational and informational site about rare, old and antiquarian books.
Even before posting our feature on the “The Poor Man’s Bible” last April and, more recently, “The priceless Gutenberg Bible” in September, the excitement surrounding rare religious books and, more specifically, old Bibles was on the rise. Collectors are increasingly pouring large sums of cash into ancient religious texts. The Rare Book Sale Monitor (RBSM) recorded […]
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I talk with booksellers every day, and lately a large number of them tell me that they are finding it harder to justify the cost of producing new catalogs or catalogues to our friends across the pond. These are the publications containing a list of merchandise that the bookseller is featuring and promoting. Many booksellers […]
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Last month we published a set of tips and techniques regarding book conservation, and mentioned a number of book care supplies that can be extremely helpful in carrying out some fundamental book preservation tasks. This month we will provide more details on some of the specific products from specific conservation suppliers that are available and […]
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If you are like me you probably have accumulated a few hundred or perhaps a few thousand books that have aged significantly. I am referring of course, to inventory ageing rather than years since publication type of ageing. Why are these books not selling? These are rare books without any flaws, quite scarce in fact, […]
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The Sotheby’s auction house organized the Bande Dessinée – Comics auction in Paris on July 04, 2012. The event consisted of 95 emblematic artists’ lots of what is also known as “the Ninth Art”, and it was managed by the famous comic book specialist, Jean-Marc Thévenet. From the total of 95 lots 68 did not […]
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We all have come across books that are in bad condition. Books that have suffered the consequences of exposure to one or more of the enemies of paper books, such as water, mold, smoke, dirt, direct sunlight, dust, insects, bad shelving and so forth. As any rare book collector should be familiar with, some of […]
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If someone asked you to explain the principle of supply and demand, could you do it? What if someone asked you to apply the principle to explain the current state of the rare book market, would you be able to? The latter may not be as simple to explain by using the basic theory of […]
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As every rare book seller knows, pricing a book to market is often one of the most difficult tasks performed in the trade. Prices set too low may mean that there is additional revenue that could be earned if the potential collector is willing to spend more to acquire the book. On the contrary, prices […]
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Ever since their earth shattering beginning thousands of years ago in Greece, the Olympic Games have intrigued and excited the world, and inspired many artists and writers to depict the energy and triumph that the Games exude. While their purpose is obviously to compete internationally in sporting events, the Olympic Games also serve to […]
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During the second quarter of 2012, the Rare Book Sale Monitor (RBSM), recorded a continuing climb for the most popular categories of Arts/Photography/Architecture and Modern Firsts. The authors scale recorded a superior performance for the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and Victor Hugo. The general level for rare book pricing ticked higher in an upward trend […]
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