The most spectacular price was achieved at the 52nd Antiquarian Book Fair in Olympia 2 where London bookseller Peter Harrington sold a signed first edition of James Joyce's Ulysses to a British collector for £275,000.

The book was a primary issue, number 45 of 100 signed copies printed on Dutch handmade paper. Only the pages of the final chapter had been opened.

The overall mood at the Summer Olympia fair was surprisingly upbeat with a sizeable queue of mainly trade buyers before the doors opened at 11am.

By the end of that first day there was a good feeling all round the fair with sales made in what have been deemed unfashionable areas. A number of dealers reported strong sales of keenly-priced traditional English period brown furniture.

However, probably the most successful dealer of the day was Beedham Antiques from Hungerford who sold their entire stand of 16th to 18th century English oak furniture and panelling.

The book fair closed on Saturday June 6 while the art and antiques fair continues until June 14.