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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Howzat? Cricket book at £6400

08 July 2019

Disbound, but complete and still in the original covers, an 1830 first of William North’s Correct Account of all the Cricket Matches Played by the Nottingham Old Cricket Club from 1771 to 1829 came into bat in a recent Staffordshire sale with an estimate of just £50-100, but went on to score £6400 online via thesaleroom.com.

British and Irish book auctions: July 9-19, 2019

08 July 2019

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from July 9-19, 2019.

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The ILAB Breslauer Prize for Bibliography gets £25,000 boost

04 July 2019

The Breslauer Prize for Bibliography, organised by the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB), has received an additional endowment of $25,000.

Men charged over 2017 Feltham book theft

01 July 2019

Two men will appear in court in connection with the 2017 theft of rare books from a west London warehouse.

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15th century maths book merits own catalogue and sells for $1m in New York auction

01 July 2019

Published in Venice in November 1494, a copy of Luca Pacioli’s 'Summa de arithmetica, geometria, proporzioni et proporzionalità…' offered in a recent US sale was granted the rare privilege in the book auction world of having a catalogue all of its own.

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Metellus maps out a sale success

01 July 2019

Beyond the Horizon was the title given to the remarkable Mopelia collection of atlases and travel books offered in a June 5 sale in London.

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Hamburg sale is a books best

01 July 2019

Running up a total of over €2m on 600 lots, a smaller number than usual, the May 27 sale held by Ketterer Kunst (23/21% buyer’s premium) in Hamburg produced the book department’s best-ever results.

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Tintin meets Egyptian queen

01 July 2019

A rare signed ink and gouache image in which Tintin carves a makeshift propellor to replace that damaged by a forced landing of his aeroplane in the Soviet Union sold for $900,000 (£708,660) in a June 8-9 sale of European comic artworks held in the US.

British and Irish book auctions: July 2-13, 2019

01 July 2019

Our listing of British and Irish book auctions taking place from July 2-13.

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Previews: £30,000 plus

01 July 2019

Our weekly selection from salerooms and dealerships.

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Sister among brothers in arms

01 July 2019

The story of a woman who bound her chest with sacking and cotton, cut her hair and dyed her skin using furniture polish to get to the Western Front is one of the highlights at Norwich Book Fair.

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International organised crime group arrested in €2m rare books heist

27 June 2019

Members of a crime gang believed to be behind the 2017 theft of 260 rare books in west London have been arrested in a joint operation with authorities across Romania, the UK and Italy.

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Origin of Species takes record result in US sale

24 June 2019

Uncut and partially unopened, a truly exceptional presentation copy of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species… sold for a record $400,000 (£316,353) in a recent US sale.

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Boar binding brings a bard connection

24 June 2019

A poet and dramatist, Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, was once considered by many to be the true author of Shakespeare’s plays.

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Thumb nails Hawkings at four figures

24 June 2019

Bearing a thumbprint on the title-page – along with a note by a secretary, Susan Macey, witnessing it as genuine – a 1988 UK edition of Stephen Hawking’s A Brief of History of Time… was estimated at £200-400 but sold for £3000 in a May 30 sale.

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Single buyer reunites second Dandy and jumping frog toy

24 June 2019

Pictured here is the front page of the scarce second issue of Dandy, published in January 1937, along with an even rarer example of the jumping frog toy that was given away with the comic as a promotion.

British and Irish book auctions, June 15-July 7, 2019

24 June 2019

ATG's listing of British and Irish book auctions held from June 15-July 7, 2019.

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Signed Harry Potter book comes to auction in County Durham

19 June 2019

A signed hardback copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, plus other associated memorabilia, will be offered at Vectis Auctions in Stockton-on-Tees.

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Leonard Cohen's love letters to muse Marianne sell for five times estimate at Christie’s auction

17 June 2019

Letters from Canadian poet, singer-songwriter and novelist Leonard Cohen to his muse Marianne Ihlen have sold for a total $700,800 ($876,000 including buyer’s premium).

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Footfall rises and sales top £3m for ABA’s Rare Book Fair in Battersea

17 June 2019

Visitors to the ABA’s 'Firsts: London’s Rare Book Fair' spent more than £3m over the events three days.

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