DEIGHTON BELL CATALOGUE 106, circa 1950, with pp 20-35, fine print, right after WWII many extraordinary chess items, (including most of Alekhine's chess library,in Paris) were available in Europe because most countries were in poor shape with populations more worried about survival than chess. Here there are offered 3 Vidas, a Shastree, 3 Salvios, a Bertin, a Carrera, and many more rarities among 557 lots. $30.  S-2016

COHN CATALOGS OF CHESS BOOKS, These chess catalogs of the German dealer Albert Cohn were well known and highly respected for he had many rarities and was likely the leading chess book dealer in the world until his death in 1905, after which the American, Will Lyons, held sway until Quaritch and some other British dealers took over. In 1938  the German, Albrecht Buschke, emigrated to the United States and based on his own collection which he was able to bring with  him; and his great knowledge of the subject enabled him to predominate along with Walter Goldwater. Then a cloud of dealers including Hildebrand in Sweden, Nees in Denmark, Rattmann and Loefller in Germany, and by the 70’s Wilson, Rather and Brandreth came forth.

ALBERT COHN KATALOG DES ANTIQUARISCHEN BÜCHERLAGERS: #150, 1883, 260 entries,18p,  $75. b) #165, 1885, 1057 entries, 72p,  $125.  c)#176, 1886, 66p, 971 entries incl a 10th edition Damiano and some 12 manuscripts, $125.   d)#208, 1896,  29p, $65

THE COMPLETE CHESS LIBRARY OF MICHAEL MACDONALD ROSS together with ENGLISH PLAYING CHESS SETS OF THE 19th CENTURY AND PRINTS, 525 lots. Phillipps Sale No. 26563, March 26, 1987. p, exc, over 3000 books, pamphlets, etc from 1530 to the present. $40

THE CHESS LIBRARY OF THE LATE RICHARD JOHN FORD, ESQ.  357 lots Phillips Sale No.25,724, October 3, 1985. Comprising over 2000 volumes including a complete set of the British Chessc Magazine, 1881-1985; Damiano de Odemira's The Pleasant and Wittie Playe of the Cheasts renewed,...  $40 

CESKA SACHOVA LITERATURA 1806-1945, K. Mokry, 2nd ed. Prostejov 2015. xxiv + 286p, h, mint. A very well done and useful bibliography of Czech literature in the indicated period. Includes a very useful small Czech-English dictionary. Excellent for librarians, chess historians, and chess book  collectors. $90

DAVID DELUCIA'S CHESS LIBRARY - A FEW OLD FRIENDS, Darien, 2003, 1st edition, h, mint, 150 copies. 236p, nicely bd. on heavy glossy paper.  This exquisite volume exhibits some of the highlights of Delucia's superb collection of significant chess books with brief descriptions and full color renditions of many. The items range from the Lucena Paris Manuscript  and other extreme rarities to score sheets of Spassky vs Korchnoi in his hand, a scoresheet of Smyslov's vs Spassky in the 1960 USSR Championship, among other scoresheet by top players. Also one of Fischer's passports, the 1st, third, and 5th editions of Saul (The Famous Game of Chesse-play),one of Capablanca's scoresheets from his titanic match with Alekhine, Morphy's score of a game vs James Thompson at the First American Chess Congress and hundreds more wonderful items. $300.  

NIEMEIJER LISTS FOR SALE OR TRADE, These lists issued by Dr. Niemeijer even back in the 1930's and resumed after WWII, were his way of increasing the holdings of the chess collection of the Royal Dutch Library. For a period of roughly half a century he issued these lists on airmail paper (to decrease his postage costs) to collectors and selected libraries throughout the world. He always favored exchanging items to further his augmenting the Royal Dutch Library, but also on more common items to simply clear duplicates from collections he bought. For this reason the prices are not a real guide to relative values either then or now. However, from a bibliophilic standpoint, there are occasional great rarities such as #32 under "Rariora" in his List # 52 of January 1955  A. PORTO, Libro da Imparare a giocare a scacchi Di bellislimi partite, 1606. Since these lists went to relatively few people, they are difficult to obtain today. Individual lists are $15 irrespective of their length (most are 6 to 10 pages on legal-size paper). Here are the available issues: #52  (Jan 1955); 53;  54;  55; 56 (May 1956);  57;  58;  59;  60 + 60a;  62;  64;  65 + 65a;  66;  67;  68 + 68a;  69;  70;  71;  72;  73(Sept. 1960);  74;  78; 87;   89;  91;  95;  96(Aug. 1965);  97;

105(Nov 1971). The lot of 29 issues $400.   

KEN WHYLD CHESS LISTS: #V, 1967, 4p, $3.  b) #40, Spring 19856, 2 legal-size pages, $3.  c) # 42, Spring 1988,  4p, $4. d) #43, Autumn 1988, 4p.  $4

THE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE, January 1894 issue, with photo and article on Miron Hazeltine, editor of his chess column in the New York Clipper for 37 years with commendation for the style and high quality of that column. Also has an article, a.o. things, on the conclusion of the match Chigorin-Tarrasch, with detailed notes of games to games 13 to 22. $18

WALKER - A CHESS BIBLIOGRAPHY, Reprinted from the May 1838 issue of The Philidorean. With a 3-page introduction by Brandreth on Walker. The 40-page Bibliography by Walker includes all the items known to him, but he defines the limits of his selections with appropriate deletions of casual references, etc. $7

THE AMERICAN CHESS COLONNADE, reprinted from the May 1861 issue of The Chess Monthly, Morphy & Fiske, 4 current pages. This is a list of American Chess columns beginning with Stanley's Spirit of the Times and 86 more. Quite useful for chess researchers. $3

CATALOGUE OF THE DUCLOS COLLECTION, Caissa Limited Editions, (1973), 16p. plus a copy of a Nov. 21, 1918 letter from John G. White to the American chess book dealer and chess bibliographer, A. J. Souweine explaining problems with the rough copy of the Duclos catalogue. ringbound. $15

GAZETTE OF THE GROLIER CLUB, June/Dec 1975, p, mint, with the article CHESS: A BIBLIOPHILE'S VIEW, Stephen Weissman, Catalogue of the Exhibition at the Grolier Club,21 October to 6 December, 1975. The items ranged from the rarest chess manuscripts known to some famous but mundane (to collectors) books rather easily obtainable. 39 pages of sumptous items. $60

THE CATALOGUE OF VON DER LASA'S COLLECTION OF CHESS BOOKS PUBLISHED IN WIESBADEN IN 1887, A reprint with an English translation of v.d. Lasa's preface by Robert Sherwood, Caissa Editions , Yorklyn, 1911, one of 75 copies. plastic ring bd, mint, $45

AUSGEWÄHLTE STÜCK DER SCHACHBIBLIOTHEK V.D. LASA, Caissa Editions reprint of the chess part of this auction in Munich in 1935. Buscke attended this auction and bid on some items (marked on his copy of the catalogue). Prices realized are given at the end. Only the very choicest items are given—often at prices less than one thousandth what they would sell for today.  $12

"CHESS: The Bibliophile's View", a few critical remarks to the Grolier Club Exhibition Oct. 22 - Dec. 6, 1975, Dr. Albrecht Buschke, New York, 3p. The Dean of Chess Bibliographers vents his views on an exhibition in which he surely should have been included. $3

GEORGE ALLEN'S LIFE OF PHILIDOR -The First Book Printed on Vellum in the United States, Huntington, Library Quarterly, 9 original pages(5 current  pages). Details on the book as well as Prof. Allen and Philidor. $4

MY CHESS BOOKS, ETC., H.J.R. Murray, a 19 page catalogue of this famous chess historian's chess library. Little more than title, author, date. $12

THE DR. ROBERT BLASS LIBRARY, Christie's Auction Catalogue, May 8, 1992. p, mint, 62p, In terms of the value and rarity of the items auctioned, this is the most significant auction of chess items held since the Rimington-Wilson collection in London in 1928 and 1931, the likes of which will likely never be approached.  A very nice job in terms of reproductions of some of the title pages of many rare items together with descriptions.  However, an auction of the chess letters and photos from the Lawson collection would vastly win out in that category by a wide margin. The one exception there would be the very early manuscripts where the Blass collection had some 14 entries compared to none in the Lawson Collection. $30

CHESS IN LITERATURE, Marcello Truzzi, editor. NY, 1974, 421p. A very nice selection of chess stories, chess fantasies, etc. However the greatest fantasy of all occurs in the beginning of the book where he mentions "the recently drafted chess prodigy—Bobby Fischer—". Fischer was never drafted nor did he ever serve in any armed forces of the US or anyone else!  p, exc, $28

 CATALOGUE  OF BOOKS IN LIBRARY AND PAPERS AND PERIODICALS ON FILE, New Orleans Chess, Checkers & Whist Club, April 1st, 1889.p, exc,20p. The chess holdings are quite impressive. They also subscribed to 6 chess magazines and all six New Orleans newspapers. Extremely scarce. A good source for anyone conducting further research on Morphy. $35

 CHESS BOOK CATALOGS a) L'Esprit, Rosmalen,Jan, 1987, Dutch,  24p, p,vg, $4. 

CHESS BOOK CATALOGS a) L'Esprit, Rosmalen,Jan, 1987, Dutch,  24p, p,vg, $4. b) L'Esprit,  May, 1987, Dutch, 26p, p, exc, $4. 

CHESS & DRAUGHTS CATALOGUE NO. 40, Barrie Ellen, 1994, p, exc, 31p, p, exc, $5  

 

 JOHN RATHER CHESS CATALOG 1989-1, some 246 items, many nice items, Rather was one of the top chess book dealers on the world scene for over thirty years. $8

 SCHACH IM WALTER RAU VERLAG, catalog of their chess publications with descriptions & photos of authors. p, exc, $1

LEIDSCH SCHAAKGENOOTSCHAP CATALOGUS 1946, 23p, with  some rare items. Dutch.p, vg, covers loose.  $10

CATALOGUE No. 1 BOOKS – PERIODICALS PICTURES – AUTOGRAPHS – 670 ITEMS, DR. Albrecht Buschke, January 1940.  An extremely interesting catalogue since most of the items were those that the author managed to sneak past the border guards as he left Germany as a refugee from in 1938. Especially  notable are the catalogues of other great collections. This is the best Buschke catalogue of all. 40 pages. Last page tattered at edges. Quite scarce. Many oddities. xerox only; $30

SCHACKSÄLLKAPET MANHEM SCHACKBOKSAUKTION, a) Nr. 23 Oct. 17, 1987, p, exc, 32p. Swedish, $7   b) #24, Apr. 16, 1988, Swedish, p, exc, 36p. $7.

SCHACHARTIKEL Katalog 1981/82, Nr. 3-24  Oktober 1980, Bamberger Schachverlag, 31p, Also includes chess sets. $2

10. BUCH- & GRAPHIK-AUKTION, JOHANNES WEND KG. March 24, 2001166p plus numerous illustrations. 137 lots on chess. Entire catalog. All these auction catalogs are the complete catalogs unl;ess noted otherwise. $12

VAN GENDT BOOK AUCTIONS, #316 Sept. 16 & 17, 1997. J. Selman's collection. Selman (1910-1978)was quite important in Dutch chess composition . Items 1 to 316.  Also Magic items 816 to 1020.  $15. Note that these van Gendt catalogs usually have some fascinating reproductions of prints (usually non-chess)

VAN GENDT BOOK AUCTIONS, #336, Sept. 17, 2002. Chess #'s 810 - 905. Some 1063 total lots. $8.

VAN GENDT BOOK AUCTIONS, #321, Dec. 15 & 16, 1998. Only a few chess books, 1132 lots total. Escher autographs & prints 746 -804. $4.

VAN GENDT BOOK AUCTIONS,#319, June 9 & 10, 1998.  1021 total lots of which #'s 727 to 785 were on chess & checkers. $8

VAN GENDT BOOK AUCTIONS, #320, Sept. 15 & 16, 1998. 10 lots on chess of 1111 total. $6

VAN GENDT BOOK AUCTIONS,#334, Dec. 14 & 15 1999. Chess 707to 748 of 1081 lots. $8

VAN GENDT BOOK AUCTIONS, #324, Sept. 28  & 29, 1999. Chess 607 to 652 lots of 1180 lots. $10.

VAN STOCKUM SCHAAK CATALOG 1995-1996. p, exc, 70p. An impressive catalog devoted to a large stock of new chess books for that period. $6

ANTIQUARIAT A. KLITICH- PFANKUCH CATALOG NOV. 22, 1997. Lots 690 -924. With reproductions of some of the plates from some of the items such as chess bookplates, etc. $12

ANTIQUARIAT A. KLITICH- PFANKUCH CATALOG June 12, 1993.This is quite a worthwhile catalogue for the information on the early books such as the Selenus with detailed information. However, some estimates of prices are over optimistic, such as THE CHESS PLAYER'S MANUEL, #740, pictured in color, since that item except for its prettiness is so outdated that as with so many old opening manuals, it is of little interest other than  being a "museum piece". Items 446 to 1312.  $20

ANTIQUARIAT A. KLITICH- PFANKUCH CATALOG NOV. 27, 1993. Chess in lots 992 to 1100, $10.

ANTIQUARIAT A. KLITICH- PFANKUCH CATALOG June 14, 1997. Chess in lots 250 - 816. Many good tournament books and a long run of the Deutsche Schachzeitung. $16.

ANTIQUARIAT KLITTICH-PFANKUCH CATALOG NOV. 26 1994. Chess: items 867 to 960 + 2 Em. Lasker games items.  $10.

ANTIQUARIAT KLITTICH-PFANKUCH CATALOG NOV. 25 1995. Chess: 970 to 1361. $15

ANTIQUARIAT KLITTICH-PFANKUCH CATALOG JUNE18 & 19, 2004. Chess327-1585. A wealth of chess books of all types. $25

AN OVERVIEW OF YUGOSLAV CHESS LITERATURE (An Annotated Bibliography) I Period 1886 - 1952, D. Drajic. Belgrade 2010, h, exc, one of 300 copies, 105p. $28

BIBLIOTHECA SHAHILUDI - BIBLIOTHEK DES SCHACHSPIELS, E. M. Oettinger, Leipzig, 1844, an early chess bibliography, p, exc, 269 entries for early books. 49p, xerox copy, $30

 

BLOOMSBURY BOOK AUCTIONS CATALOG July 24, 2003, p, mint, 155 chess lots incl. some great rarities. With good descriptions and reproductions of some title pages. $26

BONUS SOCIUS - JUILEUMUITGAVE VOOR MEINDERT NIEMEIJER, Royal Dutch Library, The Hague, 1977, p, exc. A collection of articles presented to Dr. Niemeijer on the occasion of his 75th birthday. With errata sheet. 296p. The papers cover a wide range of subjects from chess problems to descriptions of collections, details of the Alekhine-Capa match (it too was roiled with tensions and arguments), rithmomachia, chess publications of Dr. Niemeijer, ... Many are in Dutch and German.  $65

 

CATALOGUE OF THE CHESS LIBRARY OF F. H. WILLING, comprising over 1200 volumes, ringbd xerox ed, exc, 37p. This library found its way to the Free Library of Philadelphia around 1916. Includes the Cobarubias and the Cozio, the 1597 Gianutio, the Shastree, etc $22

 

CHESS COLUMNS - A LIST, K. Whyld, Olomouc, 2002, 587p.h, exc. An indispensable reference for any chess researcher even though, as the author admits, there are many errors. In fact it would be close to impossible to ever compile a totally accurate list due to the start-stop nature of chess columns in many periodicals along with frequent title changes and the enormous number of columns throughout the world. Still, most of the key columns are cited and without this list any individual efforts are likely to fruitless. One glaring and indefensible error is that he does not give credit to Dr. Albrecht Buschke for the 150-page columns list that Buschke compiled and which I furnished to Whyld years before he published this book. $48

 

CHESS LIBRARIES IN AMERICA, A. Buschke, reprint of Princeton U. Library Chronicle from 1941. 6p, $8

 

CHESS: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WORKS PUBLISHED IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE 1850-1968,compiled by Douglas Betts, Boston, 1974, original edition, h, exc, with the bookplate of Norman Reider. 659p, despite its many omissions and errors this is a valuable resource for the collector of chess books in English. $295.  b) h, vg, sl. warped, $150

CHESS: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WORKS PUBLISHED IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE 1969-1988, A. Lusis, London & New York, 1991, h, exc, corners bumped, 320p, a very useful book, especially for libraries. $125

 

DAS SCHACHSPIEL IN LITERATUR UND KUNST, A. Kiefer, Munich, 1958, h, exc, with dj, 233p. Among other notable notable chess poems and essays is the German translation of Vida's The Game of Chess. $30

 

JOHN RATHER CATALOG, catalog, 1979#1, $8, p, exc, Rather was one of the leading chess book dealers from the 1970's to the 1990s and issued excellent catalogs.

 

LITERATUR DES SCHACHSPIELS, Anton Schmid, Vienna, 1847, DDR quality reprint of the original 1847 edition. h, exc, 402p. A good bibliography for early chess books (up to that day) with extensive material o the more important works. $80

 

PRIMER ENSAYO DE BIBLIOGRAFIA ESPANOLA DE AJDREZ, Paluzie, Barcelona,1912. 39p. L/N 78, p. fair. complete but several pages chipped,not affecting text. Scarce. $80 

 

QUARITCH CATALOGUE OF THE RIMINGTON-WILSON COLLECTION OF CHESS BOOKS, Cat. #428(1929), London, 96p, Xerox copy, ringbd, exc. The Rimington-Wilson Collection was at that time the finest collection of early chess works ever assembled up to that time, and if still held together in one place would still be the best such collection ever assembled for cherss books before 1900, beyond any question beating the White Collection, the Schmid Collection, etc. $42

 

SACHOVA LITERATURA, F. Holek, Brno, 1993, p, mint, 356p. A bibliography of chess literature. In Czechoslovakian. 2395 entries. $30

SCHACHLITERATUR AUS FÜNF JAHRHUNDERTEN, Auction 314, Nov. 24, 1995. HAUSWEDELL & NOLTE, p, mint, a superb catalog, 88 + iv pages. 720 items with good descriptions anfd with a separate booklet giving the prices realized. In German, $75. 

SCHACHLITERATUR & SCHACHFIGUREN, Auction 327, May 31, 1997, Hauswedell & Nolte, p, mint. w/o the list of prices realized with 3 pages of pages of some of the items. 210 items incl. many scarce ones. $25

SHAKHMATNAYA LITERATURA SSSR - BIBLIOGRAPHIYA 2nd edition, Moscow 2001, p, exc, (1775-1997), 319p. $38.

 

SOME RARE CHESS BOOKS, J.W. Adan, from an issue of The Bookman's Journal and Print Collector, of Feb. 1923. Discusses some of the earliest and rarest of chess books with prices realized in auctions in the early 1900s. xerox copy of just the article on chess books. $4.

 

THE BOOK OF CHESS LISTS,Andy Soltis, Jefferson, 1984, h, mint. Not strictly a bibliography book, but with some such material. Certainly a fascinating book with such items as Bobby Fischer's List of the Ten Greatest Players of All Time, Eleven Master Games with Illegal Moves, Seven Botches Brilliancies,... This is the most readable chess book ever! $38

 

THE LITERATURE OF CHESS, J. Graham, Jefferson, 1984, h, exc, 250p, a useful book for the neophyte in chess who wants a guide to some of the better-known books on chess in the common categories of openings, middle game, endings, games collections, etc. There are, however, numerous rather foolish statements such as (of the Alekhine-Capablanca 1927 match): "Alekhine won by four games to three with 25 draws!" Can the author even count? Or this one on Vukovic's book The Art of Attack in Chess: "It has already transformed many a lackluster player into a tiger." Prove it! It is an excellent book none the less. $40.