An educational and informational site about rare, old and antiquarian books.
The St. Cuthbert Gospel (formerly known as the Stonyhurst Gospel) undoubtedly qualifies as the oldest intact European book. It is currently on display in the British Library on long-term loan by both its private owners and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. The history of this book is the most dramatic exhumation of any manuscript known to mankind. Made […]
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And the winner is…..Ian Fleming. Never before in the history of the Rare Book Sale Monitor (RBSM) has there been such a spike recorded. The author that was only just last quarter added to the group of authors tracked, had his works, mostly books from Jonathan Cape and the James Bond series, see a phenomenal […]
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Historical trends on e-book sales from the last few years convinced a number of analysts to postulate and project that by the end of 2012 e-books will comprise 50% of total book sales. As the financial results from companies such as Amazon, Pearson, Simon & Schuster and Barnes & Noble got released, one indication became […]
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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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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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Among the many prominent British figures present at the opening ceremony of this summer’s Olympic Games, was the celebrated and acclaimed author J.K. Rowling. Judging from Rowling’s wild success in the literary world, it is no great surprise that she appeared at the occasion. In a span of merely fifteen years, she has captured the […]
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It should come as no great surprise to the avid rare book collector that one of the most desirable and well received gifts to present on Father’s Day is a rare book. Whether you are a first generation rare book collector, or you are a chip off the old block who has emulated your […]
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Rare books, like other collectibles such as art, fine wine, coins, gemstones and baseball cards, belong in the class of investments called hard assets. These tangible assets are considered by many to provide a safe haven from the stock and bond market and more recently the real estate market downturns (real estate is also considered a […]
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The first quarter of 2012 marks the return of the best performer of the Rare Book Sale Monitor (RBSM) category breakdown –Arts/Photography/Architecture, to pre 4th quarter 2011 levels. Our top performer showed a slight decline in price appreciation during the end of last year and had a mediocre 2011 performance overall, which was very uncharacteristic. […]
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