Rare Book Monthly

Articles - January - 2022 Issue

Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow

Wishing you the best!!!

Wishing you the best!!!

For Rare Book Hub, 2021 was a complex year by every measure.  The volume of auctions and number of lots posted substantially increased.  As well, the percentage of lots sold rose as the median dollar value also took a jump.  Net-net, collectible paper was a very strong category as consignors lined up, auction houses adjusted, and bidders and buyers stepped in.

 

As to the first major report encapsulating the full year, this month’s lead story, the annual top 500 lots, tells us who the big winners were.

 

In February Mike Stillman will provide detailed analysis for the full year.  From what I can tell, 2021 may well appear to have been a once-in-a-century experience.  But given the positive trends the field has been experiencing over the past five years there’s no conclusive reason to suggest collectible paper will slow down any time soon.

 

To all who have shared the experience we offer congratulations and our thanks.

 

Bruce McKinney

Managing Partner

Rare Book Hub


Posted On: 2022-01-31 02:07
User Name: bukowski

The RBG auction strikes me as odd. Commonplace books asking way too much. I deeply admire RBG, but methinks a relative is trying way too hard to make a buck.


Posted On: 2022-01-31 02:29
User Name: bukowski

I didn’t know the auction had ended when I posted my first comment. Weirdly high prices, almost as if the buyers were trying to boost RBG’s and their own liberal-democratic credentials by putting a price on her. I’m a lib-dem myself, but this auction smacks of a set-up. Reprints of obscure law articles going for hundreds of dollars? Dry legal tomes selling for thousands? Is RBG’s signature that valuable? I collect association copies of books myself, but come on, something’s fishy here.


Rare Book Monthly

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  • Sotheby's
    Bibliothèque Jacques Dauchez - Autour de Dubuffet
    5-19 June
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Bissière, Roger. Cantique à notre frère soleil de saint François. 1954. 1,000 - 1,500 EUR
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Céline, Louis-Ferdinand. La vie & l’œuvre de Philippe Ignace Semmelweis. 1924. Rare édition originale, avec envoi. Joint : La Quinine en thérapeutique, 1925. 4,000 - 6,000 EUR
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Céline, Louis-Ferdinand. Mort à crédit. 1936. Édition originale. Bel exemplaire sur Hollande. 2,500 - 3,500 EUR
    Sotheby's
    Bibliothèque Jacques Dauchez - Autour de Dubuffet
    5-19 June
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Chillida, Eduardo ─ Emil Cioran. Face aux instants. 1985. Un des 100 exemplaires sur Arches. Eau-forte signée. 600 - 800 EUR
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Dubuffet, Jean. Ler dla canpane. L’Art Brut, 1948. Édition originale. 3,000 - 5,000 EUR
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Dubuffet, Jean. L'Herne Jean Dubuffet. 1973. Un des 100 exemplaires du tirage de luxe avec une sérigraphie originale en couleurs. 1,000 - 1,500 EUR

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