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.


Robert Burns poem

Make it a Burns night to savour

09 January 2026

His image appears in seemingly every possible format, from postage stamps to chocolates and biscuit tins.

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The rarest Wisden – but which version?

09 January 2026

Auctioneer finds out there are two variations of the 1875 guide, but a record is achieved nevertheless

ATG letter: How artificial intelligence can deliver real advantages for the art and antiques trade

09 January 2026

For more than 40 years I have owned a bundle of 18th and 19th century Scottish family letters.

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Praying for a new auction record

09 January 2026

In February in New York, Sotheby’s will offer for sale one of the most important illustrated Hebrew Prayerbooks to come to market: The Rothschild Vienna Mahzor.

Books and works on paper auction calendar, January 14 to February 4, 2026

09 January 2026

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

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Children’s classic The Velveteen Rabbit clinches £5000

09 January 2026

While not instantly familiar to many non-American readers, The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams (1881-1944) has never been out of print and its many reprints have sold over a million copies in the US alone.

James Hallgate

Historic York bookshop to reopen after three-year renovation project

08 January 2026

James Hallgate’s Lucius Books will relocate its York shop just down the road after a three-year renovation project of the former Ken Spelman Books premises in the historic city.

Wilde (1)

Extensive Oscar Wilde collection to go under the hammer

07 January 2026

A huge single-owner collection of Oscar Wilde letters, books and portraits is going under the hammer at Bonhams next month.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

First edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland donated to Oxford University

05 January 2026

The most important of only 23 known surviving copies of the first – and subsequently withdrawn – June 1865 edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has been given jointly to Christ Church Oxford and the Bodleian Libraries.

Ronald Searle illustration

Do book collecting terms fox you? Pick up a Searle at auction

05 January 2026

An original illustration for one of the most entertaining works on rare book collecting hammered for £15,000 to lead Mallams’ latest Modern Art & Design auction.

Mamluk manuscript

Pick of the week: Mamluk manuscript gallops to £150,000

05 January 2026

An ‘exceptional and newly discovered’ Mamluk manuscript copy of an Arabic text on hippiatry (equine medicine) was the highlight of Lyon & Turnbull’s latest Islamic and Indian art sale in London.

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Boswell in Crumb’s eye

05 January 2026

James Boswell (1740-95), later renowned as the biographer of Samuel Johnson, arrived in London in 1762 at the age of 22.

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Handwritten lyrics lead to reflections on Hendrix

05 January 2026

These two pages of working lyrics for the Jimi Hendrix song Room Full of Mirrors (which later appeared on his 1971 album Rainbow Bridge) are handwritten on Londonderry Hotel, Park Lane, stationery.

Books and works on paper auction calendar, January 7-25, 2026

05 January 2026

Our regular listing of books and works on paper sales

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The stars aligned for Harvard professor and book collector

05 January 2026

Expert in astronomy and history of science amassed an impressive private collection of related works

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Shepard pooh-poohed the idea

19 December 2025

Illustrator famous for helping to bring alive the beloved bear preferred his other commissions

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‘He’ Bible was bought by a dealer

19 December 2025

A first edition, first issue of the Great ‘He’ Bible sold in York for £23,000 hammer was bought by Norfolk book dealer Simon Finch, it has emerged.

Books and works on paper auction calendar, December 28, 2025, to January 15, 2026

19 December 2025

Our regular listing of books and works on paper sales

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Now paperback Harry Potter casts its spell

19 December 2025

With the first hardback Philosopher’s Stone at stratospheric sums, the soft cover value is rising steadily

Captain John Narbrough journal

UK buyer sought for 17th-century English maritime manuscript

16 December 2025

The manuscript journal of Captain John Narbrough (1640-88) has been temporarily blocked from export in the hope a UK institution can raise the more than £800,000 needed.

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