Mayfair Book Auctions will conduct its first sale this month, with bids closing on June 25.
It is part of the Scholium Group, based in the same building as sister company Shapero Rare Books, a Georgian-style townhouse in St George Street, W1.
This will be a timed online auction, but the company expects to be taking advantage of its pre-existing auction licence to present both timed and traditional live auctions from its Mayfair premises in the future.
The first sale, including stock from Shapero alongside additional consignments, comprises 70 lots across a range of subjects including architecture, natural history, travel and religion. Estimates range from £100 up to £12,000-18,000 for a 1787 second English edition of Thomas Jefferson’s only published book, Notes on the State of Virginia. Bids, subject to a buyer’s premium of 20%, can be made by phone and email or via thesaleroom.com.
Stamp sales
Scholium’s stamp arm, Mayfair Philatelic Auctions, has already conducted two successful ‘bricks and mortar’ sales this year.
The first was held in March at Lingfield Park racecourse in Surrey, followed by a two-day sale last week at the Westbury Hotel in Mayfair in collaboration with Swiss auctioneer David Feldman.
Scholium Group chairman Jasper Allen described the auction initiative as “an exciting opportunity for the group to take advantage of its in-house expertise and more recent staff additions, to provide a broader range of services to our existing clientele as well as buyers and sellers of rare books in general”.
