Dealers

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.

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...

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.

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

A selection of highlights that dealers are taking to upcoming fairs.

Bookings are significantly up this year for the Fawley Decorative Fair which is held on the Fawley Hill estate near Henley-on-Thames and runs from Friday to Sunday, May 31-June 2.

A collection of rediscovered drawings by the 19th century artist Elizabeth Frances Batty (1791-1875) feature at Bloomsbury gallery Abbott and Holder this month.

A watercolour by John Nixon (1755-1818) showing St Paul’s Cathedral and the City of London from Regent’s Park in the early days of the land’s development is offered at Guy Peppiatt Fine Art for £6500.

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

Nick McConnell of McConnell Fine Books is among the exhibitors at Firsts: London’s Rare Book Fair (see Books Supplement in this edition). He worked from shops in London before moving to the Kent coast, close to Canterbury.

It is with great sadness that I report the passing away of George Floyd – always an immaculately dressed larger-than-life character.

A highlight of Suffolk House Antiques’ summer selling exhibition is a pair of 13th or 14th century English gargoyles.

Scottish artist Alan Davie’s (1920- 2014) oil on canvas 'Jumpin’ at the Woodside' (1965), which is on offer at Richard Green Gallery, references a jazz number with the same title released by Count Basie in 1938.