Now the firm is launching Biblion Auctions with four sales planned for this year, the first scheduled for April 6. The auctions will take place in the Music Room at Grays, the space given over to temporary events on the first floor. They will be catalogued general book sales (with cataloguing undertaken by two consultants, Ed Smith and Jolyon Hudson). The minimum lot value will be set at around £100.
Biblion’s managing director Leo Harrison sees an established client base of over 30,000 collectors worldwide as a major asset when entering the auction field in terms of both potential buyers and sellers.
Another is Biblion Auction’s very competitive commission rates. The buyer’s premium will be a flat rate of 9.5 per cent. The vendor’s commission will be set on a sliding scale of 9.5 per cent up to £5000, 7.5 per cent from £5000-50,000 and no charge above that level.
There will also be special reduced vendor’s commission rates for sellers who are members of Biblion or of the ABA or PBFA. In addition a special reduced vendor’s rate of just 5 per cent will apply to the inaugural auction.
Book auctions at Grays
FROM April London will have a new specialist book auctioneer. Biblion is already a major name in the antiquarian book world through the group shop at Grays Antique Market W1, where the stock of over 100 dealers is on offer and their website, Biblion.com, which carries the inventory of 500 booksellers.
