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.


img_24-1.jpg

Momentous lots of Irish history sold at Fonsie Mealy

16 January 2023

Easter Rising republic proclamation and Wolfe Tone’s revolutionary tract are sold on home turf.

img_24-3.jpg

Mystery lot goes from £40-60 guide to £24,000

16 January 2023

A December 6 auction in Exeter was dominated by a lot estimated at just £40-60 but sold instead at £24,000.

img_25-1.jpg

Presentation copy of Paddington Bear first edition sells to American bidder

16 January 2023

Having featured prominently on television in a specially made part of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, Paddington Bear hardly needs any more publicity.

British and Irish book auctions: January 17-February 4, 2023

16 January 2023

Our regular listing of UK and Irish book auctions.

img_21-3.jpg

Letter details horrors of ‘Black Hole of Calcutta’

09 January 2023

Thought by the auction house to be an early copy, a letter that details the horrors of the ‘Black Hole of Calcutta’ in 1756 was sold for £2900.

British and Irish book auctions: January 10-31, 2023

09 January 2023

Our regular listing of UK and Irish book auctions.

img_21-2.jpg

Transparencies bring to light the secrets of a French work

09 January 2023

Les Portes Fermées ou Les Doubles Surprises, a rare and tiny French work of c.1820, sold for £1600 at a Newcastle auction.

img_20-1.jpg

Gillray drawing stars in a satirical selection

09 January 2023

Highlights from London auction also include art historian’s collection and extraordinary Orwell oddity

img_5-4.jpg

Herschel museum buys manuscript memoir

02 January 2023

Two Herschel family-related historic items – a Royal Society King’s medal and a manuscript memoir – have changed hands at auction and in a private sale.

img_26-1.jpg

Bizet and Caxton in the mix

02 January 2023

Highlights including signed opera score from a varied auction held in North Yorkshire

British and Irish book auctions: January 4-26, 2023

02 January 2023

Our regular listing of UK and Irish book auctions.

img_26-2.jpg

Don’t think twice, it’s all right to make a bid for Bob Dylan love letters

02 January 2023

Running to over 150pp in all, an archive of 42 love letters sent by Bob Dylan to a high school sweetheart, Barbara Ann Hewitt, featured in a November 17 Marvels of Modern Music sale held by RR Auctions of Amherst, New Hampshire.

img_27-1.jpg

Polar explorer Scott’s farewell in his own hand

02 January 2023

“We have been to the Pole and we shall die like gentlemen.”

Darwin manuscript

News in Brief – including the sale of a Darwin autograph manuscript

19 December 2022

A round-up of art and antiques news from the previous seven days, including the auction of a Darwin autograph manuscript at Sotheby’s.

img_28-5.jpg

Big catches in angling collection

19 December 2022

Bonhams New York (27.5/26/20/14.5% buyer’s premium) had bidders hooked by the angling books included in its wide-ranging November 15 auction.

img_29-1.jpg

Washington letters sell but constitution on hold

19 December 2022

“Yesterday put an end to the business of the Federal Convention. Enclosed is a copy of the Constitution it agreed to recommend.”

img_8-1.jpg

Pick of the week: EH Shepard's Wind in the Willows drawing sells with a swagger at auction

19 December 2022

Since its first publication in 1908, Kenneth Grahame’s 'The Wind in the Willows' has appeared in various editions and reprints illustrated by nearly 50 artists.

img_37-3.jpg

Mars collection lands in Manhattan

19 December 2022

Anyone familiar with HG Wells’ 'War of the Worlds' knows that the chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one – but the things that do make it come with some serious firepower.

British and Irish book auctions: December 20-February 23

19 December 2022

Our regular listing of UK and Irish book auctions.

img_22-5.jpg

George Richardson: a man with high standards

12 December 2022

The sale at Minster Auctions (20% buyer’s premium) in Leominster on November 24 included a copy of an important work on neoclassical interiors.

Categories

News