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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Four lots take half sale total at Christie's New York

14 December 2020

Four lots between them raised $1.5m including premiums to rack up more than half the total at an online sale in New York.

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Justin Croft's catalogue includes rare Niklaus Bohny edition

14 December 2020

In his latest catalogue, 'Edification', Justin Croft offers works such as this French version of Niklaus Bohny’s 'Neues Bilderbuch' (New Picture Book).

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Peter Harrington's catalogue includes inscribed Rudyard Kipling first edition

14 December 2020

Peter Harrington’s Christmas 2020 catalogue features a selection of first and special editions such as this copy of 'Just So Stories' by Rudyard Kipling.

British and Irish book auctions: December 15-Jan 1, 2020

14 December 2020

Our regular listing of UK and Irish book auctions.

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Online: PBFA monthly virtual showcase set to be a permanent booking

14 December 2020

So well has the Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association’s (PBFA) monthly online book fair been received that it is being continued as a permanent fixture.

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Fairy tales and bible stories on offer from Jörn Günther at pre-Christmas book fair

12 December 2020

A selection of top historic books is on offer from Swiss dealer Dr. Jörn Günther Rare Books at this weekend’s Salon D’Hiver Virtuel.

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An easier US election to sort out

07 December 2020

Letter informs George Washington of his election to the presidency.

British and Irish book auctions, December 8-15, 2020

07 December 2020

Our regular listing of British and Irish book auctions.

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Poets on the go

07 December 2020

Bid to a double-estimate and record $24,000 (£18,460) at Freeman’s (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) of Philadelphia on October 14 was a complete and well-preserved example of publisher John Bell’s great Poets of Great Britain… collection.

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Cottam gems and much more

07 December 2020

Bid online to a record £3200 in a Norfolk auction was one of 375 copies of a 1924 Nonesuch Press work comprising the first chapter of Genesis…, as illustrated with a dozen woodcuts by Paul Nash.

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Newton taken on a journey

07 December 2020

English edition of the most famous scientific book of all finally ends up in German hands.

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Shapero’s emporium offers a one-stop-shop for all

07 December 2020

With indoor fairs still more or less on ice for now, a new project from Shapero is offering dealers the chance to unite under one roof.

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Pick of the week: Rev Gilpin champions the Romantic ideal

30 November 2020

The artist, cleric, schoolmaster and author William Gilpin (1724-1804) is best known as a champion of the Romantic idea of the picturesque.

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Wallis cracks it in the saleroom

30 November 2020

Unpublished work by mathematician John Wallis who was also a major influence in code breaking sells at Dominic Winter

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Debut with lots of Biblical proportions

30 November 2020

A single leaf from a Gutenberg Bible that sold for a higher than expected $65,000 (£50,980) in a Philadelphia sale this autumn.

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The web shop window: ‘Princes’ edition’ of epic poem symbolising Holy Roman Emperor

30 November 2020

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

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Sang collection of historical documents returns to Sotheby's New York

30 November 2020

Several decades on from the last of the five major auctions Sotheby’s held to disperse items from the remarkable collections of American historical documents and letters formed by Philip (1902-75) and Elsie Sang (1906-97), a further selection appeared at Sotheby’s New York (26/20/13.9%).

British and Irish book auctions: December 2-12, 2020

30 November 2020

Our regular listing of UK and Irish book auctions.

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Plea to help find missing Darwin notebooks

24 November 2020

Cambridge University Library has launched a public appeal for help to locate two missing notebooks from its archive – including one with Charles Darwin’s famous 1837 ‘Tree of Life’ sketch.

Pioneering Arabic printing and a kind of magic in Edinburgh sale

23 November 2020

Edinburgh auction offered 1592 book from first European press dedicated to such a typeface.

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