Book

Potter & Potter, specialist in auctions of magic memorabilia, is holding its summer sale in Chicago on August 25.

Illustrated with coloured engravings, The History of Sixteen Wonderful Old Women is a work of 1821 that is “thought to be the first printed book of Limericks”.

Rare books and prints valued at millions of dollars remain at large in the international market in the wake of a US library theft.

The set of flicker books published c.1930 titled 'Drive and Mashie', 'Brassie and Iron' and 'Out the Rough and Putt', were once used as teaching aids for golfers.

Fabrizio Govi of Libreria antiquaria Alverto Govi (Italy) and Govi Rare Books (New York) was elected vice-president of ILAB this year.

It was in December 2014 that Sotheby’s put an estimate of £100,000-150,000 on what it called at the time “probably the most famous and evocative illustration of the 20th century”.

A beautifully preserved 1937 first state copy of Tolkien’s 'The Hobbit' sold for £35,000 at Forum Auctions.

Shown below is one of 20 hand-coloured plates from 'Masken des Römischen Carnevals'. This was a rare and separate 1790 Weimar issue of the plates that illustrated a work by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe on Roman carnivals published the previous year – an item that is itself a great rarity*.

Bid to a record €18,000 (£15,660) in a May 15-17 series of sales held by Reiss & Sohn (18% buyer’s pemium) of Königstein, near Frankfurt, was a first edition of Immanuel Kant’s 'Critik der reinen Vernunft'.

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from June 4-16, 2018.

Much of Thomas Chippendale’s renown is thanks to his forward-thinking approach to business in the first decades of consumerism – and in particular the creation of a pioneering catalogue of furniture designs in the style of the great architectural books of the period.

Boasting a new name and venue, the ABA’s annual book fair seems poised to expand its reach to a wider range of clients while retaining its strong exhibitor base.