Just a gentle reminder of the Hyraxia quiz, there's no rush but if there's a tie breaker, the first entry will win. We've got a fair few entrants already (nobody has got 100% I might add, so there's still plenty of chance). Click here for the article.

The prize is a new copy of the excellent Blue Fairy book from the Folio Society.

The BBC has a report here regarding the future of a collection of rare books, owned by the Cardiff Council. The Council were looking to sell the books to raise funds - A sensible idea - what would councils be doing with rare books anyway? Cardiff University, The Welsh Assmebly and the Higher Education Funding Council sent a collection plate round and checked their pockets and managed to raise £1.2m to secure the books for the Univerisity's library. A number of scholars were very much against a public sale (or probably any sale outside of Cardiff institutions) and understandably so, but it raises the question: how do we make rare items, owned privately, available for scholarly research?

Annie Winifred Ellerman. (Bryher) REGION OF LUTANY. Chapman & Hall, London, 1914.

Current Selling Prices
$1500 /£1000

POETRY
A serious sleeper and now almost impossible to find. The writer's first book. I once called up the British Library copy and as I recall it is like a little gift book, 16mo in size ( the Bodleian copy gives the height as 13 cms which is taller than I recall--possibly it had yapped edges) published in limp suede covers. I have never seen or heard of a copy in commerce and my evaluation may be cautious.

 

 

 

 

J. G. Ballard. THE ATROCITY EXHIBITION. Cape, London & Doubleday New York, 1970.

Current Selling Prices
$300-$9000 /£200-£6000

MODERN FIRST EDITION
A re-post in hommage to and in memory of J.G. Ballard who died on 19/4/09. Will Self claimed (with a few caveats) that JGB was the most significant post war novelist. I second that emotion. Certainly in terms of knowing what was really going on (and often well before it happens) he was the supreme figure-- his novels and short stories have demonstrably foreshadowed global warming, environmental disasters, the grotesque rise of celebrity culture, science parks, 'retail therapy', even the death of Princess Diana (Crash).

For those who are not aware of the Tartarus Press' Guide to First Edition Prices we've opened one of the articles up to public access so you can see what it's like. The Price Guides have prices for around 50,000 rare books. You can pay for a year's subscription here at Hyraxia by clicking the "Subscribe Via Paypal" button at the bottom of the left-hand menu. For more details click here. For the Edward Abbey Price Guide click Read More below:

Welcome back to the What's Hot on eBay series. It's been a while, and it's been a while because I haven't been on eBay. I don't really sell there any more and rarely buy. I had about 500 automated searches setup but slowly stopped looking at them. Anyway, this isn't about eBay's demise, because there are still things out there. So here are some of the more interesting ones:

Incunabula from 1500, being the first to contain Italic Type - An important piece no doubt and bids are reflecting this - as of writing there are 21 bids and the highest is currently $8500. Printed in Venice by Aldus Manutius in Italian. Click here.

Bloomsbury Auctions held another bibliophile sale last week, and a thorough examination suggests it was somewhat successful. 348 of 441 lots sold representing a decent sell-through rate of around 79%. The total sale was £64,570 with an average lot price of £186. A number of the lots, consisted of numerous volumes making them attractive purchases not only for collectors but also for resellers. The lots were a mixed bunch, I've outlined some of the highlights or interesting pieces below.

One of a huge lot of angling books sold for a respectable £750 against an estimate of £200 to £300. The books in question included W. Walker's Angling in the Kumaun Lakes and Major F.P. Hopkins' Fishing Experiences of Half a Century and about 140 others.

Another interesting lot was lot number 29 which contained, amongst about 20 other items, a presentation copy of William Randolph Hearst's Wonder of Italy signed by Hearst to the ffep. Other items included signed books by Laurence Olivier, Dirk Bogarde and Arthur Miller. Hearst was to a large extent the inspiration for the character Citizen Kane in the seminal Orson Welles film. The collection sold for £420 against a seemingly low estimate of £120 - £180.

 

 

I picked up If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things a couple of years ago and keep thinking back to it. Not something I do often. There are few books that really stick with me, but Remarkable Things has. I picked up my paperback copy second hand and was intrigued only by the title - I remember the occasion vividly; I was not in the habit of buying books I hadn't heard of (it was a car boot sale, and I'd have too much to carry). But this book had something about it, so I bought it and started reading it that night. The book is very well crafted, you're expectations are set from the off and that keeps you going, until finally a magical moment, almost unprecedented, finishes the book.