Books and Works on Paper

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from May 28-June 8, 2019.

For the first time this year, the four fairs that make London a destination for bibliophiles in June will be held side-by-side across the space of just four days. ATG looks at the personality of each event.

In her talk titled 'Grey Matter – Detecting Stolen Books in Circulation' at a recent symposium organised by ILAB, Margaret Ford of Christie’s set out her own five-point plan to address the problem of stolen books – or books with title issues – in the market.

After more than two centuries of collecting history, the market is once again changing how it evaluates – and values – rare books by women. Bonhams’ head of books Matthew Haley reports...

Just being old is no longer enough. True, most of the collectable maps that change hands in the market are of some considerable age. Many were printed by hand using techniques which changed little between the 1470s and 1830s. Tim Bryars reports...

Old cookery books are more than simply receptacles of food history. They speak of technological change, the availability and discovery of ingredients that came with the expansion of the known world and how the social standing of the cook or chef changed over time. They are also very much in collecting vogue.

A trio of exhibitors at London’s rare book fair 'Firsts' ponder the market, their motivations – plus flooded shops and heavy metal.

As Pom Harrington, chairman of 'Firsts: London’s Rare Book Fair', puts it, “the key challenge today is how do we get the new generation of buyers who have bought from the internet to come away from the screen and see the book first hand in the marketplace”.

A selection of highlights appearing at upcoming auctions.

Welcome to the fourth annual supplement produced by Antiques Trade Gazette showcasing the world of rare books and works on paper. We are again delighted to be the sole sponsor, showing our heartfelt commitment to our industry.

Forthcoming buying opportunities in the UK and around the world.

Forthcoming buying opportunities in the UK and around the world.

In the wake of more high-profile book thefts, the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers is tackling head-on the sometimes thorny issue of provenance.

ATG's pick of items sold recently at books and works on paper auctions.

A selection of highlights that dealers are taking to upcoming fairs.

Discoloured, stained and in a crudely restored old binding, a scarce hunting work of 1704 was sold for a much higher than expected £1400 at a recent Hansons (20% buyer’s premium) sale.

One of the more successful acts in a recent American magic and conjuring sale involved the appearance among the literary contributions of a doubly inscribed copy of Harry Kellar’s 'A Magician’s Tour' of 1886.

Billed as the first printed edition of the most authoritative medical text in the Islamic world, a 1593 copy of a work known in the English-speaking world as Avicenna’s ‘Canon of Medicine’ was part of a recent London sale.

A sale of photographica and scientific instruments held at Reading’s Madejski Stadium included a rare work in the history of the microscope.

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from May 21-June 2, 2019.