Books and Works on Paper

A Forum Auctions (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) sale of May 30 ran to well over 540 lots in all, but it was very early in proceedings that a much, much higher than predicted bid of £26,000 was made on an 1853, presentation first of 'Palm Trees of the Amazon and their uses.

Early printed books, among them a Bible of 1476, were a notable feature of a recent West Sussex sale.

Sporting a torn and defective but rarely seen dust jacket, a 1911, first American printing of Gaston Leroux’s 'The Phantom of the Opera' sold for $10,000 (£7750) in a recent New York sale.

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from June 11-21, 2019.

Pamphlet in later royal binding offers thanksgiving for James I’s survival of Gunpowder Plot.

Part of the flying section of the most recent of the Military, Aviation & Transport History sales that are a regular feature of the calendar at Dominic Winter offered a collection of ephemera related to the earlier years of European civil aviation.

A book billed as the work that marked the birth of modern business will be the subject of a single-lot auction at Christie’s New York on June 12.

ATG’s calendar of book auctions taking place in the UK and Ireland from June 3-15, 2019.

Successfully bid to £80,000 among cartographic lots offered in London was a fine coloured copy of Ortelius’ Theatrum… of 1592.

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...

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

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.

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.