I've been in the rare book trade for over 25 years, co-founding The Manhattan Rare Book Company in 1999. One of our first acquisitions was a 1685 Shakespeare Fourth Folio, bought sight unseen, bidding by phone at four in the morning — a Sotheby's sale in London. Our first printed catalogue, in 2001, featured that Folio alongside a first edition of Gatsby in the first state dust jacket.
These days my focus has shifted toward archives and manuscript material. Some offerings are in association with MRB; others I offer separately. I'm still buying more than I should, but less than I'd like.
What draws me is the living pulse. It's there if you let the material speak on its own terms — letters, manuscripts, documents that catch a hinge moment: a new idea, a private reckoning or revelation, a hidden fault line suddenly exposed, an artistic pivot, a newly surfaced document or archive that forces us to reconsider what we thought we knew. What strikes me every time — and I find it both eerie and thrilling — is that the people behind these documents almost never fully understood what they were part of. If you find the right material, curiosity and empathy will breathe new life into ink on paper.
I buy and sell manuscripts, documents, archives, and rare books. The best moments in this work have a distinctive quality. You are looking at something you didn't know existed. Your pulse quickens. Your mind races. "Is this what I think it is?" Sometimes the answer is yes. You feel like Indiana Jones.
But it's more than adventure. There is a responsibility in that moment, and you feel that too.
— Jeremy
A comprehensive working archive documenting the casting and production processes of Fred Roos, spanning more than six transformative decades of American filmmaking.
23 manuscript notebooks, 2,868 pages. Apple's first COO, 1983–1995, together with 1,000+ business documents annotated by Jobs, Sculley, and others.
26 manuscript broadcast journals, over 12,000 pages, documenting more than 3,500 episodes of her daily radio program, 1935–1954.
Further holdings available. Inquiries welcome.
Coming soon: An archive documenting the birth of New Hollywood, with material that reveals how a generation of filmmakers reinvented American cinema; working storyboards by Buckminster Fuller integrating the geometric, planetary, and social foundations of Spaceship Earth, with Indira Gandhi, Golda Meir, and Jiang Qing circled at the center; an Einstein mini notebook documenting a key phase of work toward General Relativity, and more.
I also co-host Rare Book Chat, a podcast about the rare book trade, with Michael DiRuggiero. Michael and I have been having a good time talking about and trading rare books since last century, and we're still at it — so please give us a listen on whatever pod platform you call home.
Are Prices Real?
June 12, 2026Bonhams Auctions dedicated a sale this week to a "curated selection" of items owned by the great Diane Keaton and one item in particular caught the eyes of Jeremy and Michael. Her own copy of the Annie Hall script? Pretty cool, we thought. But how much is it worth? We had our own guesses, but (at least) two bidders had very different ideas. All of which led to the big question: What do prices really mean in our wonderful world of rare books and manuscripts? We'd love to hear your thoughts! As always, please direct any questions or comments to hello@rarebookchat.comEnjoy the show!