Collectables

Designs promoting exhibitions can be a great way to collect on a tight budget

Based on his own experiences and those of his clients, a seasoned rare books buyer offers advice on getting the most from the collecting journey

ATG meets Jeffrey Johnson, whose collection of classic ‘Whodunnits’ was recently on public display at the Grolier Club in New York

A rare lobby card for The Mummy was brought to life at an auction in Los Angeles

London dealership AntikBar brings a major collection of pieces relating to Intourist, the 20th century USSR travel company, to 'Firsts London' book fair.

Letters and postcard written by Antarctic expedition members were sent to New Zealand host family

Small books have long been objects of wonder. The history of tiny type can be traced back to the smallest cuneiform clay tablets of ancient Mesopotamia or the diminutive papyrus codices treasured by Christians in Roman Egypt.

The first ‘Thumb Bibles’, paraphrased or abridged versions of the good book, were published in the early 17th century – the London printer John Weever offering his 128- page An Agnus Dei, measuring just over 1in, in 1601.

Ladies and gentlemen of the Georgian period carried not only prayer books and bibles, but also books of poems and the annual miniature almanacs containing practical information on everything from the phases of the moon to the currency exchange rates of Europe.

Shapero Rare Books has given a vote of confidence to London’s West End by moving to even larger premises within Mayfair.

This rare 1880s Jean Roullet ‘Le Berger Watteau’ shepherdess with lamb automaton starred when the second part of one of the largest doll collections on offer in recent times went under the hammer.

Dealer Sky Duthie brings an Arts & Crafts movement binding of The Ingoldsby Legends to this year’s PBFA London Summer Book Fair.