I’m a collector of Ulster County specifically and the Hudson Valley generally. On the 29th of March a lot offered at Swann, No. 13 in Sale No. 2471, attracted both my bid and, since receiving it, my intense interest.
Here it is:
"TO BE BURNED AT THE STAKE . . . UNTILL HE IS DEAD, AND AFTER THAT TO ASHES" (SLAVERY AND ABOLITION.) Trial account of an enslaved New York man for arson, with the order to burn him at the stake. 3 manuscript pages, 12 3/4 x 8 inches, on 2 leaves, the last leaf with the signatures and seals of twelve officials; folds and minor wear. Kingston, NY, 28 and 29...
We are close to learning whether the U. S. Supreme Court will overturn a previous decision that has long protected retailers from having to collect sales taxes from out-of-state customers when ship...
Two weeks ago, the French state opposed the sale of four stunning manuscripts—40 pages bound in one volume—from the XIIth century. Their provenance itself is incredible: they are from the prestigio...
I grew up in Ulster County on the west side of the Hudson midway between New York and Albany. I moved away in my mid-twenties, almost fifty years ago, although some who know me say I never left, f...
Backward facing books? Apparently, it has become the rage, or outrage. It all depends upon your point of view. The trend, at least among the trendy, is to place your books backwards on a bookshelf....
As a woman who was born and raised in the trade by a mother who was also a book dealer (and ran a tight ship), this is a subject I know well from first hand experience.
And while it is true tha...
To answer the question of where are today's collectors, AbeBooks latest list of most expensive sales suggests anyplace other than the U.S.A. This list is a surprise. AbeBooks has been the largest o...
This month, on May 23rd, Il Ponte Casa d’Aste is hosting a sale of Books, Manuscripts and Engravings that includes a unique collection of artist’s books. About 150 artist’s books from the avant-gar...
Marvin Getman, who had a nice turnout for his one day fair in New York over the extended ABAA New York weekend in March, recently committed to the Sheraton to bring his fair back to their location ...
Chiswick Auctions sale on May 30th will feature many classic and highly collectable editions, in sought-after dust-jackets together with rare inscribed copies. English and American literature i...
Deliberately timed to take place just after the ABA Fair (May 24th-26th), Forum Auctions’ sale on the 31st has a wealth of enticing lots covering most areas of interest. This year the main London b...
Book thief most unusual Andrew Shannon is headed back to his home country of Ireland after a brief interlude spent in England. He has returned in the company of Irish gendarmes after being released...
It's time once again for book collectors in the Pacific Northwest to mark their calendars for the annual Rose City Book Paper Fair. This is the twelfth such yearly event set to take place in the "...
We are moving into the spring seasonal strength in the auction field for rare books, manuscripts, maps and ephemera. These fields have been strong all spring as the number of sales posted over the...
This month we review four new bookseller catalogues. Shapero Rare Books has a catalogue devoted to material from the far north and far south, the Arctic and Antarctic regions. The George S. MacManu...
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 28th May 2026
Forum, May 28: Book of Hours.- Heures de nostre dame a l'usaige de Romme, Paris, Antoine Chappiel pour Germain Hardouin, [1504]. £6,000-8,000
Forum, May 28: Colonna (Francesco). La Hypnerotomachia di Poliphilo, second edition, Venice, Sons of Aldus Manutius, 1545. £15,000-20,000
Forum, May 28:The Christ Child holding a crystal orb and surrounded by banderoles with devotional exhortations, on a leaf most probably from a Book of Hours, [Southern Netherlands, last decades of the fifteenth century]. £2,000-3,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 28th May 2026
Forum, May 28: Jackson (Shirley). The Haunting of Hill House, first English edition, signed presentation inscription from the author to Claude Fredericks, 1960. £2,000-3,000
Forum, May 28: Lennon (John). In His Own Write, first edition, first impression, signed by the author, 1964. £3,000-4,000
Forum, May 28: Doves Press.- Keats (John). [Poems], one of 200 copies on paper, Doves Press, 1914. £5,000-7,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 28th May 2026
Forum, May 28: Rodrigues (João Barbosa). Sertum Palmarum Brasiliensium, 2 vol., first and only edition, Brussels, 1903. £8,000-12,000
Forum, May 28: Newton (Sir Isaac). Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica…editio ultima, auctior et emendatior, Amsterdam, Sumptibus Societatis, 1714. £8,000-12,000
Forum, May 28: Kepler (Johannes). Ad Vitellionem paralipomena, wuibus astronomiae pars optica traditur, first edition, Frankfurt am Main, 1604. £5,000-7,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 28th May 2026
Forum, May 28: Tagliacozzi (Gaspare). De Curtorum Chirurgia per insitionem, libri duo, first edition, Venice, Gasparo Bindoni, 1597. £7,000-10,000
Forum, May 28: Lootsman (Jacobsz). The Lightning Colomne, or Sea-Mirrour, containing the Sea-Coasts of the Northern, Eastern and Western Navigation..., 1670. £8,000-12,000
Forum, May 28: Ribelles y Helip (José), Attributed to. An album comprising 33 finely executed watercolours of Spanish costume, bull-fighting scenes, and other genre subjects, [circa 1830]. £10,000-15,000
