Recently I received a heavy package that contained a copy of Thomas Minckler’s book detailing his collection of Montanaiana. It is large in every respect; 10.25” x 12.25” x 1.5”, 440 pages with images on more than 80% of them. It weighs 6+ lbs. And oh yes, he has 12,000 items relating to his magnificent obsession of which several hundred are contextualized and explained. Welcome to collecting nirvana!
<-------- Click on these images and they become a full size slide show!!
Over the years I’ve received a thousand or more dealer catalogues and umpteen auction catalogues. Anymore, mo...
An article in Palm Springs' Desert Sun recently caught my eye. Writer Mike Rivkin said he had asked ChatGPT to identify five categories of antiques that were rising and five in decline. He said Cha...
On October 11, Sotheby’s will inaugurate a series of sales the likes of which, in terms of celebrity, magnitude, and value, has not been seen in the book world since the heady days of the Papal Cou...
Rare Book Hub is a paid self-appraisal service. Nevertheless, we frequently receive requests for free “advice” about what an owner should do with their old books. Over the years, from their random...
I received an obscure manuscript from the South of France the other day, dealing with a mysterious animal that devoured more than a hundred people between 1764 and 1767—the infamous Beast of Gévaud...
Recently, 15 books were stolen from Graffiti Books in the town of Montana, just north of Pretoria, in South Africa. They were all copies of the same book, Truth to Power: My Three Years Inside Esko...
Where has the truth gone?
Facts have become malleable in a world where traditional sources have been set in competition
against loud voices that tell you what you want to hear.
Daily ne...
There seems to have been a rash of stories about long overdue library books being returned many years late recently. Perhaps people's consciences have become more sensitive, or maybe it's because m...
On July 8 9 Case Auctions will soon be holding a two day sale featuring “fine art, antiques, and jewelry and a solid 150 lots of ephemera, manuscripts, early images, relics and flags. Do I now ha...
Library censorship has become a major concern in the United States this past year, but the issue is not limited to America. Other nations are ahead of us, and as such, perhaps, provide a road map a...
This month we review seven new catalogues in the field of books and related paper. They represent seven different subjects. Shapero Rare Books offers a collection of modern first editions. Bulls He...
