Books & Periodicals

Material in this specialist market ranges from the early printed works of the Gutenberg Press and William Caxton right through to Modern First Editions and now up to signed copies of Harry Potter. Condition and rarity are the keys to this sector.


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First issue of James Joyce’s 'Ulysses' in Chicago sale

28 October 2019

Copy No 74 of the 100 signed, first issue copies of James Joyce’s 'Ulysses' is estimated at $120,000-180,000 in November 5 sale being held by Hindman of Chicago.

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Letters reveal a time of turmoil

28 October 2019

English Civil War material is of particular note in a broad-ranging Somerset auction

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Dickens first survives as an auction rarity

28 October 2019

As expected, the copy of Great Expectations shown below proved the star turn when Sotheby’s (25/20/13.9%) offered the splendid Charles Dickens collection formed by London accountant Lawrence Drizen.

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18th century floral frills at Sotheby’s

28 October 2019

Billed as a ‘luminescent’ copy of one of the finer of all published florilegia, a copy of Jakob Christoph Trew’s 'Hortus nitidissimus… floribus' is estimated at £70,000-90,000 at Sotheby’s on November 12.

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Vroom shows a sense of perspective

28 October 2019

It was a visit to the Palazzo Ducale in Urbino with his parents that first whetted the 15-year-old Thomas Vroom’s appetite for perspective.

British and Irish book auctions: October 29-November 8, 2019

28 October 2019

Our regular listing of British and Irish book auctions.

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Book collector interview: Social history of the printed word

28 October 2019

Collector turned dealer is writing an in-depth series on this often overlooked aspect of books.

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Famous fables at Christie's sale of French family library

28 October 2019

From November 26-28 Christie’s Paris will disperse part of the family library of the Comtesse Martine de Béhague (1869-1939) and Hubert de Ganay (1888-1974).

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Nineteenth century views of Constantinople at Chiswick Auctions

28 October 2019

Pictured below is one of the 26 views, after Coke Smyth, that form a first edition copy of John Frederick Lewis’ 'Illustrations of Constantinople, Made During a Residence in that City &c., in the Years 1835-6'.

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Bank account: the earliest days in Britain

28 October 2019

This newly discovered ledger, dated August 18, 1660, to March 16, 1661, was kept in person by Edward Backwell while acting as paymaster to both the Excise and the House of Commons. It carries an estimate of £20,000-40,000 at Bonhams’ Fine Books and Manuscripts sale in Knightsbridge on December 4.

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William Nicholson’s 'Alphabet' in San Francisco sale

28 October 2019

With the title and 26 plates tipped onto brown paper leaves, a large ‘library edition’ copy of William Nicholson’s famous Alphabet, published by Heinemann in 1898, is estimated at $800-1200 in a November 7 sale at PBA Galleries of San Francisco.

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Charlotte Brontë’s teenage miniature manuscript returns to auction

28 October 2019

Parsonage Museum ‘determined to make the most of second opportunity’ to own miniature manuscript

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Dealer interview: Quaritch’s specialists on a moving market

28 October 2019

Venerable London rare book dealership Bernard Quaritch, established in 1847, has recently moved from Mayfair to Holborn. Here ATG talks to two members of the firm, Andrea Mazzocchi and Donovan Rees, about its new location and some wider trends in the book trade

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Modern First Editions sale goes Greene

28 October 2019

A sale of Modern First Editions at Bloomsbury Auctions on November 14 includes this ‘near mint’ 1950 copy of Graham Greene’s 'The Third Man and The Fallen Idol'.

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Actress Judi Dench and the Brontë Museum call on public to help fund bid for miniature manuscript by a 14-year-old Charlotte Brontë

24 October 2019

The Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth in West Yorkshire has begun a public campaign to raise the final funds needed to bid for a rare manuscript from the Brontës' childhood.

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The ‘very prosy’ Miss Strickland

21 October 2019

Diaries, journals and letters kept by Lady Anne Cullum (1807-95) of Hardwick House, near Bury St Edmunds, sold for a total of around £8000 in a recent East Anglian auction.

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All in good taste: Bernard Quaritch new premises

21 October 2019

Bernard Quaritch marked the opening of its Bedford Row premises last week with a red velvet cake in the shape of the new shop.

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A beautiful Boccaccio binding

21 October 2019

‘Grolieresque’ cover on 1527 edition of key Italian Renaissance work boosts auction value.

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Where Judge Dredd rules and Eagles dare

21 October 2019

Three pieces of original artwork were the big money spinners in a Comic Book Auctions (20% buyer’s premium) timed online sale on thesaleroom.com which closed on September 1.

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Games make serious money

21 October 2019

Offered at a recent sale at Mullock’s in Ludlow were three early-19th century games pitched at £150-200 apiece but sold at much higher sums.

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