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Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), revolutionary, statesman, and third president of the United States, was also a voracious book collector. In this three-page autograph letter to Parisian bookseller Jacques-François Froullé, Jefferson complains of a…

Engraving.

Engraving.

Lackington’s personal vanity and shrewd business acumen are lampooned in this contemporary cartoon, which appeared as the frontispiece to a satirical skit entitled Ode to the Hero of Finsbury Square.

Engraving.

Copper token.

Book auction catalogues were often produced as large single sheet advertisements, but surviving copies are extremely rare. The wonderfully miscellaneous selection includes multiple remainder copies of standards such as Fox’s Book of Martyrs and…

Thomas Rowlandson (1756–1827) was known for his satirical portraits of eighteenth century English life, and here he takes on print collectors and the sellers of prints. The auctioneer sits with his gavel at center, while his assistants display prints…

Although created to facilitate the sale of the 8,000-volume library of Jean des Cordes (1560–1642), canon of Limoges, this catalogue is neither a book auction catalogue nor a dealer catalogue, but the record of a “sale by private treaty.” It was the…

The first English book auction catalogue. Auctions on the now-familiar “ascending-price” model were a recent import from the Netherlands, and the preface to this catalogue is both an introduction to and a sales-pitch for the new practice. Lazarus…

24 volumes.

These are the earliest printed book auction records, with entries for approximately 60,000 titles and prices realized at about 300 Dutch auctions held between 1702 and 1778. The volumes are a gold mine of uniquely valuable information…