Book

Luxury edition adds rhyme and reason

Jeremy Carson’s passion for collecting a very appropriate sub-genre of crime fiction – bibliomysteries – led to a career as an antiquarian book dealer.

Alan Hewer of Seaford, Sussex, is a book collector who has turned a personal collection into a resource for others.

Diligently researched and documented by a local collector, the late William Toplis, a wide-ranging PG Wodehouse collection offered by Freeman’s of Philadelphia featured books, manuscripts, artwork and much more besides.

One New York saleroom that has been notably active in the book market during the Covid restrictions is Doyle (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium). A recent sale included original illustrations for some well-known English children’s books.

Dealers collaborate on catalogues – building on existing trends of pooling resources

A selection of upcoming lots of books, maps and prints from auctions taking place around the UK.

A selection of upcoming lots of books, maps and prints from auctions taking place around the world.

A selection of prices for a wide range of Dickensiana sold at auction in the last three years.

Two outstanding works on paper – a letter by Robert Burns and a page from the manuscript for Charles Dickens’ 'Pickwick Papers' – headline the June offerings across the field of books, maps and prints.

Five different texts from 16th century Germany are bound up in this intriguing vexierbuch.

Two of Ian Fleming’s books were among the highlights of a general book and manuscript sale held on April 18 at a saleroom probably better known on these pages for its specialist sales in the field of magic and conjuring.

Extensive collection of books and other material comes to auction from rare book shop duo.

Top lot in a recent sale conducted by Galerie Bassenge (23% buyer’s premium) of Berlin, at €140,000 (£121,800), was a 1687 first issue of Newton’s 'Principia mathematica….'

This set of 10 detective novels is by ‘Jim Dollar’, the pseudonym of Soviet author Marietta Shaginian (1888-1982), whose writing is described as ‘satirical fantasy fiction’.

Essay warns about considerable perils of the ‘indecent custom’ of burials in churchyards

First editions of all of Jane Austen’s major works featured in a sale last month held by Swann Galleries (25/20/12% buyer’s premium).

Offered very early on in the books section of the Travel & Exploration sale at Bonhams (27.5/25/20/13.9% buyer’s premium), a 24-lot collection relating to George Anson amassed by the late Colin Paul, a descendant of the admiral, attracted considerable interest.