Books & Periodicals

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

It’s probably no surprise that, even in the days of digital first, printed catalogues are still loved by rare book collectors.

A watercolour of a dandelion attributed to Beatrix Potter estimated at £200-300 ended up selling at a hammer price of £2600.

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

A round-up of art and antiques news from the previous seven days, including the University of Leeds making available the earliest-known English book about cheese

Fragment found in an attic with receipt for £25 now sells for £39,000 hammer price

A letter from Robert Falcon Scott – aka Scott of the Antarctic – came up for sale at Canterbury Auction Galleries (20% buyer’s premium) on April 11-14.

This rare playbill on silk printed in the Arctic in 1852 sold for £4400 at a recent sale at Keys (25% buyer’s premium) in Aylsham.

I was very sorry to read about the death of ATG's antiquarian books columnist Ian McKay (Obituary, ATG No 2689). He was a good guy and occasional visitor here.

Our regular listing of UK and Irish book sales

Oxfam discoveries from a pile of donations include Chinese religious rarity, Communist manifesto and Dickens

Books dealership Peter Harrington’s latest catalogue explores how technology has shaped, controlled, and empowered the voiceless, while fuelling the flow of information and culture.

Ian McKay (November 22, 1945-February 19, 2025) was born on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, to Scottish father David McKay and English mother Alice Harland, who met while serving in the RAF during the Second World War. He went to school in Kent.