Emma: Jane Austen’s rare book

November 29, 2011
Thumbnail image for Emma: Jane Austen’s rare book

A mere four years after Sense and Sensibility by “A Lady” was published, Jane Austen’s fourth and final book to be printed during her lifetime (1775-1817) was released.  Jane Austen began writing her book, Emma on the 21st of January 1814 and finished it in March 29th 1815. The book was published by John Murray […]

Read the full article →

When censorship affects rare books

November 23, 2011
censorship KKK

Mark Twain once said “Censorship is telling a man he can’t have a steak just because a baby can’t chew it.” He was responding to his detractors that banished his book Huckleberry Finn from the Concord Public Library in Massachusetts and Brooklyn Public Library in New York.  Surprisingly, the controversy was not due to the […]

Read the full article →

Boston Book Fairs

November 21, 2011
book fairs Boston

To a rare book collector, there is nothing so delightful as escaping to a local event for a day to closely examine and perhaps acquire some rare books. Attending two such events during the same day can quite possibly double the pleasure for some, while perhaps be a bit too overwhelming to others. I was […]

Read the full article →

Rare comic books – what makes them so rare

November 15, 2011
rare comic books

When people hear of super rare comics that are bought and sold at extremely high prices, they are convinced that these books are worth so much more because of their age.  A reasonable assumption considering that there is a significant correlation between scarcity and age.  Old age has a way of eating away at tangible […]

Read the full article →

Ten Tips for a safe Rare Book Purchase

November 14, 2011
rare book buying guide

If you are looking to invest in a book or books defined as rare, old, used, vintage, unusual, antiquarian and so forth, chances are you will spend some hefty amounts of money. A lot of people become skeptical when buying a rare book for all sorts of reasons:  Is it as described?  Is it going to […]

Read the full article →

The Rare Books of Science – The Early Years

November 3, 2011
rare science books

In compiling our list of the most significant scientific discoveries published since the second millennium AD (the time period of the invention of the printing press), we primarily considered the significance of the work, while keeping scarcity secondary. What we ended up with are 9 rare books that have something unique to tell us about […]

Read the full article →

Jane Austen’s rare books: Sense and Sensibility

October 29, 2011
Jane Austen Sense & Sensibility

On October 30th 2011 we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the publication of Jane Austen’s first contribution to the world of rare books, Sense and Sensibility. This is the first book that she published but was not the first that she wrote. Sense and Sensibility was published on October 30th 1811 by Thomas Egerton, having Jane’s […]

Read the full article →

Rare book fair review – Pioneer Valley

October 23, 2011
book fair Pioneer valley

  There is something to be said for attending a rare book fair in the mid autumn season. As I travelled down curving roads that were lined with brilliant hues of reds and golds on my way to the Pioneer Valley Book and Ephemera Fair in Northampton MA last Sunday, I felt a sense that […]

Read the full article →

Jane Austen’s Rare books

October 16, 2011
Jane Austen

The remarkable English writer Jane Austen is one of the few women of the 19th century who dared to make a living using her pen.  Austen was well known for her  realism and vision, as well as her caustic social criticism about the morals of the era. She remains one of the most widely read writers of all time, and one […]

Read the full article →

Rare Book Sale Monitor update – 3rd Quarter 2011

October 8, 2011

The 3rd Quarter of 2011 contained no major surprises to any of our tracking monitor – RBSM, sales trends previously established. The book category of Art/Photography/Architecture is still leading the way in the rare book category breakdown. The higher sale price comeback for this category started at the beginning of this year and has been […]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →