Dealer Oliver Bayliss.
1 How did you get your start?
A long and rather convoluted story! I started my working life as a chef in the kitchens of West Sussex and after one interesting experience with an angry head chef, a plate and my head being in the way of said plate, I left cooking behind me. After a few years, which took in everything from gardening, a stint in Paris, and the head office of Soho House, I followed my true passion and made my way to Shapero Rare Books as their marketing manager. I stepped out on my own during the pandemic and Bayliss Rare Books was born.
2 What is your area of focus?
Items that I love and personally would want in my own collection: literature, memorabilia, rare music and movie posters and photography. It’s great dealing in items I love as this forges a much stronger connection with my clients.
3 What events do you have coming up?
A pop-up at Soho Farmhouse on December 10-11. If any ATG readers are Soho House members, come on down. Next year there are a few more pop-ups in the pipeline and a number of fairs both here and abroad. Watch this space.
4 What is one great discovery you have made?
There have been a few this year, but something that sticks out to me is less of a discovery and more of placing something in the important light it should be.
I recently partnered with Showpiece in bringing to market a first edition of Darwin’s Origin of Species with that example being one of the 500 from Mudie’s Lending Library. Most dealers gloss over this fact, ex-library and all that, but they are missing an incredibly important fact that without Mudie’s there is no Origin. Darwin was a subscriber and the scientific works that helped to inform his theories came from Mudie’s. So having a first in such stunning condition from the library massively elevates it and these copies should hold a higher place with dealers.
5 Something you secretly hope you’ll never sell?
The original flyer for an early Clash gig in 1977.
I currently have an original flyer for an early Clash gig in 1977 which is from the personal collection of Clash co-creator Bernard Rhodes. Rhodes was a singularly important force behind the creation of the band so to have such an amazing item in great condition with such mad provenance blows my mind. Punk memorabilia is having quite the moment with collectors and this is up there with the best one could hope for. I’ll be sad to see it gone but such is the life of a dealer – the transient nature of our stock!
If you would like to be featured in 5 Questions, please contact francesallitt@antiquestradegazette.com
