Voynich – “the world’s most mysterious manuscript”

April 16, 2012
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No other copy of the Voynich manuscript, “the world’s most mysterious manuscript,” exists in any other collection in the world, besides the one at Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. The book was donated to the university library in 1969 through a gift of the legendary rare book dealer, Hans P. Kraus, who […]

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Smart Rare Book Collecting

April 12, 2012
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I was watching an episode of the TV show Pawn Stars the other day, where a man sold a book potentially owned by Sir Isaac Newton to a pawn star for $7000. The rare book published in Latin in 1546 is titled De Natura Fossilium (On the Nature of Fossils), and is by Georgius Agricola. […]

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Rare Book Sale Monitor update – 1st Quarter 2012

April 8, 2012

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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Mediterranean Rare Books – East

April 5, 2012
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The Mediterranean Sea has been the cradle of civilization and many books have been written by travelers about their journeys to and from the Mediterranean lands. Unfortunately due to the many wars and uprisings suffered throughout history, many of the regional books have been destroyed. Many rare books capturing voyages through Constantinople and the Byzantine and […]

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Happy Birthday to the Rare Book Sale Monitor

April 1, 2012
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 One year ago we launched a very ambitious project that involved a very special team of database engineers and bibliophiles. We called the project Rare Book Sale Monitor. Today we are proud to report that the success of the RBSM has exceeded our initial expectations thanks to your overwhelming interest and support.  Not a single […]

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Edgar Rice Burroughs Rare Tarzan Books

March 29, 2012
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One Hundred years ago, a young American author by the name of Edgar Rice Burroughs, wrote his second story, “Tarzan of the Apes” for the pulp magazine All-Story Magazine. The publication paid $700 for the work, which was enough to send Burroughs the message that he could quite possibly make a living as a writer. […]

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Luigi Serafini’s other rare book – Pulcinellopedia

March 25, 2012
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 As is the case with Luigi Serafini’s Codex Seraphinianus Franco Maria Ricci (1981) edition, Pulcinellopedia Piccola is extremely scarce (only 5000 copies) and incredibly valuable. It is written in Italian text by Serafini’s imaginative co-author, “P. Cetrulo,” and contains over sixty extraordinary pencil illustrations (approx. 9.5″ x 12.5″), some depicted in comic strip style. It […]

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Mudfog Papers – Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

March 22, 2012
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 No other Charles Dickens book has been through significant controversy quite like Oliver Twist. Published by Richard Bentley in 1838, it is considered to be Charles Dickens’ second novel following The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club.  Despite the long story’s popularity, Oliver Twist was criticized for introducing criminals and prostitutes; was delivered by an […]

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The soul of a rare book – To Kill a Mockingbird

March 18, 2012
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Few tales in American literature have grasped the soul and remained an eternal presence in the mind as greatly or as deeply as Harper Lee’s immortal tale, To Kill a Mockingbird. It is no surprise that the first edition of the novel is quite a rare book which won many honorable awards and received great […]

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Ian Fleming’s rare book – Casino Royale

March 15, 2012
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Have you ever wondered how an author becomes the writer of one of the rarest books of modern literature?  One thing for certain is that the author must be a pretty good writer and story teller to attract a large following and favorable critic. Limited publication can also help, but that usually is secondary.  A […]

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