Books & Periodicals

Material in this specialist market ranges from the early printed works of the Gutenberg Press and William Caxton right through to Modern First Editions and now up to signed copies of Harry Potter. Condition and rarity are the keys to this sector.


Neil Lanham

New book goes behind the scenes in the auction world over the past 70 years

09 July 2025

Auctioneer Neil Lanham publishes a “chronicle of country life, auctioneering and world record prices spanning more than 70 years”

Harry Potter books

Complete signed first edition run of seven Harry Potter books comes to auction

08 July 2025

A group of seven first edition hardback copies of the Harry Potter books, all signed by author JK Rowling, are being offered by Heritage Auctions.

img_27-1.jpg

Sex sells: The Pearl erotic magazine

07 July 2025

The notorious Victorian-era erotic magazine 'The Pearl' (subtitled 'Journal of Facetiae and Voluptuous Reading') was published by William Lazenby in London between July 1879 and December 1880.

Books and works on paper auction calendar, July 8-29, 2025

07 July 2025

Our regular listing of UK and Irish books and works on paper sales

img_26-2.jpg

Fleming signature boosts rare copy of Bond

07 July 2025

The presence of the author’s signature dramatically enhanced the value of a copy of Ian Fleming’s (1908-64) first collection of James Bond short stories 'For Your Eyes Only' offered at an auction at University Archives (25% buyer’s premium).

img_28-1.jpg

Woolf takes bidders to the lighthouse

07 July 2025

Swann Auction Galleries (25% buyer’s premium) recorded head-turning sales during its series of New York sales in May.

img_27-2.jpg

Works of Confucius with French royal twist

07 July 2025

A foundation document of Western sinology appeared at Freeman’s Hindman (28% buyer’s premium) in Chicago.

img_32-4.jpg

Bookseller reveals purchase of Sendak’s Blake first editions

07 July 2025

London rare book dealership Peter Harrington has revealed that it placed the top bid on the first editions of William Blake’s 'Songs of Innocence' (1789) and 'Songs of Experience' (1794) at Christie’s Maurice Sendak auction last month.

Karl Popper books

Dropped off in a bag at Oxfam, philosopher’s personally inscribed works sell for £13,000

30 June 2025

A tiny Oxfam shop in Headington, Oxfordshire, was celebrating after a set of 12 books dropped off by an anonymous donor later sold at Bonhams for £13,000 (£16,640 with premium).

John Harrison’s Time-keeper

Pamphlets reveal longitude dispute

30 June 2025

Courtesy of Dava Sobel’s 1995 best-seller, the compelling story of a Yorkshire horologist’s struggle to receive a prize for creating a reliable and accurate method for determining longitude at sea is well known.

img_22-1.jpg

Norfolk auction includes big hitters offered with hugely different estimates

30 June 2025

Two separate lots at the recent books and manuscripts sale held by TW Gaze (26.4% inc VAT) in Diss, Norfolk sold at £20,000.

Books and works on paper auction calendar, July 2-21, 2025

30 June 2025

Our regular listing of UK and Irish books and works on paper sales

Life and Landscape on the Norfolk Broads

Pioneering Victorian photograph book found in closet now heads to Roseberys

24 June 2025

A scarce copy of a pioneering photograph book showing views of the Norfolk Broads has been consigned to south London saleroom Roseberys.

Books and works on paper auction calendar, June 24 to July 11, 2025

23 June 2025

Our regular listing of UK and Irish books and works on paper sales

img_79-4.jpg

Plenty of comings and goings at the Cecil Court art and books hub

23 June 2025

Changes are afoot in the art and book dealing hub Cecil Court this summer.

img_22-2.jpg

Tibet caught on film and canvas including Dalai Lama enthronement

23 June 2025

Photo albums contain some of the first images of the remote country plus enthronement of the Dalai Lama

Alan Turing's On Computable Numbers (1936–37)

Alan Turing's major papers sell for six-figure sum at auction

17 June 2025

A group of Alan Turing papers smashed estimates at auction in Lichfield.

Books and works on paper auction calendar, June 18 to July 2, 2025

16 June 2025

Our regular listing of UK and Irish books and works on paper sales

img_56-1.jpg

Book fairs: New event fills a north-west hole

16 June 2025

Kirkby Lonsdale is the first of three fresh PBFA fairs this year with Frome and Dorchester to follow

img_33-2.jpg

Persian version of Voltaire’s Peter the Great sells at £14,000

16 June 2025

This extraordinary Persian manuscript sold by Roseberys (26% buyer’s premium) is a translation of 'Voltaire’s Histoire de l’empire de Russie sous Pierre-le-Grand' and his 'Histoire de Charles XII, Roi du Suede'.

Categories

News