Fine Books News: Recent

A new permanent exhibition charting more than 200 years of Jane Austen publishing history has…
The New York Historical has announced the launch of The Story of America in 7 Books, part…
News
An outstanding private collection of ten lots of playing cards has sold for a total hammer price of £14,040 in the Books, Maps and Manuscripts Sale at Tennants Auctioneers.Going for 10 times the pre-sale low estimate, the cards, which were sold in group lots, dated from the 18th and 19th centuries…
Fairs
The Empire State Rare Book and Print Fair will take over St. Bartholomew’s Church at 325 Park Avenue in New York City, from October 5 through October 7. Here are some highlights:* a first printing of Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone by J.K. Rowling (1 of 500) for $225,000* a first…
Current Events & Trends
This is a guest post by Beth Kephart, author of My Life in Paper: Adventures in Ephemera (Temple University Press, out on November 3)
News
A new study by psychologists at the University of Durham has found the answer to creating the best first impression in a virtual meeting, such as Teams or Zoom, is a visual background of books. 
News
Two world auction records for books by Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle have just been set today at Christie’s London in the 'Part I of Charlie Watts: Gentleman, Collector, Rolling Stone – Literature and Jazz' sale.
Compelling Collections
Our new Compelling Collections series featuring special collections around the world continues today with an interview with Katherine Litwin, Library Director for the Poetry Foundation Library in Chicago.
News
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) has acquired the largest private collection of items to bring new context and perspective to the life and literary impact of poet Phillis Wheatley Peters (c.1753–1784), including one of the few manuscripts written in…
News
With poems by Adeena Karasick and visualization by Warren Lehrer, publishers Lavender Ink describe Ouvert Oeuvre: Openings as "an ecstatically wrought exploration of openings in a (never quite) post-Covid world. 
Auctions
On October 25 in New York, Bonhams will offer a huge collection of letters, manuscripts, diaries, presentation copy novels, and personal ephemera of John Steinbeck in a single-owner auction, John Steinbeck: The Mary Steinbeck Dekker Family Collection. The material comes…
News
The Raab Collection has announced that it has discovered, acquired, and is offering for sale for the first time ever a letter of great importance in the history of the Revolutionary War, one in which George Washington thanks God and Heaven for American victory in the Revolution.