Cult writers and story-liners

January 11, 2013
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In comic books, favorite writers are often bound to have more collectable value even if the storyline isn’t that great. If Stan Lee was to write an issue of Spiderman, for instance, it is guaranteed to sell out before it is even distributed. But what about cult writers or the ones who are often contracted to write a story […]

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Rare Book Sale Monitor update – 4th Quarter 2012

January 8, 2013
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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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The monumental epic of American literature

January 4, 2013
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Among the many valuable and enlightening rare books to be barely found in the rare book market today, none come close to surpassing Herman Melville’s 1851 masterpiece, Moby Dick or The Whale. In addition to providing the reader with a tantalizingly realistic picture of what life on a whaling ship in the middle of the […]

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Year end thoughts of the rare book kind

December 28, 2012
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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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Christmas with children’s book illustrator Tasha Tudor

December 21, 2012
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As the yuletide season is upon us, it is only natural that among merry thoughts of snowfalls, wrapped gifts and fires flickering on the hearth, the rare books of the festive author and illustrator Tasha Tudor should come to mind. Tasha Tudor took great delight in the Christmas season, and put much creativity into lovely […]

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The first book printed in America

December 18, 2012
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The first Christian book printed in English in North America was also the first book printed in North America. The Bay Psalm Book was first printed in 1640 in Cambridge, Massachusetts by Stephen Daye, a locksmith whose name does not appear on the title page but who is nevertheless credited as the first printer of the first […]

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The book that brought us “Bah! Humbug!” and “Merry Christmas”

December 13, 2012
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What do Christmas and rare vintage books have in common?  The answer is …the famous first edition of the Charles Dickens book – A Christmas Carol.  This immortal novel written by Charles Dickens is easily one of the most loved Christmas stories ever written, while the scarcity of its first edition has given some fortunate […]

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The Tchaikovsky – Hoffmann – Dumas – Sendak – Disney Nutcracker

December 11, 2012
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Few performances or storylines have ushered in the Christmas season quite like The Nutcracker.  The ballet masterpiece by the Russian composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is based on a little known novella entitled Nussknacker und Mausekönig (The Nutcracker and the Mouse King), which was published in 1816 by the German author, Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann. It […]

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Les Propheties by Nostradamus

December 7, 2012
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Once more the world is believed to be ending on December 21, 2012. This time it is believed to have been the prediction of our famous prophet from the 16th century,  Nostradamus (Michel de Nostredame)   The year 1999, seventh month,  From the sky will come a great King of Terror:  To bring back to […]

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On the most serious economic crisis

December 4, 2012
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The economy might be down, but as we are approaching the end of 2012 we are looking at yet another banner year for the rare book market. This increasingly popular vehicle in collectible investing, allows for better diversification with long-term investment planning. Last week we looked at two finance books written around the times of […]

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