Features

No other Victorian could equal Charles Dickens for fame, earnings and sheer popularity. And few can match him today in the collecting arena.

The annual 'Rare Books London' schedule of events is cancelled this year due to COVID-19, but plenty of book dealers are still doing business.

Welcome to the fifth annual Books, Maps & Prints supplement produced by Antiques Trade Gazette showcasing the world of rare books and works on paper, writes Rupert Powell. It is the third to feature Forum Auctions as the primary sponsor.

Alan Hewer of Seaford, Sussex, is a book collector who has turned a personal collection into a resource for others.

One New York saleroom that has been notably active in the book market during the Covid restrictions is Doyle (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium). A recent sale included original illustrations for some well-known English children’s books.

A selection of upcoming lots of books, maps and prints from auctions taking place around the UK.

Dealers collaborate on catalogues – building on existing trends of pooling resources

Luxury edition adds rhyme and reason

In keeping with the convention of the time, autograph leaves of serialised novels were nearly always destroyed as soon as they were set in type.

Our regular listing of books and works on paper auctions the UK and Ireland.

In 2017, this lost portrait miniature of a young Dickens emerged at an auction in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa where it sold together with some household goods for the equivalent of £27.

A selection of prices for a wide range of Dickensiana sold at auction in the last three years.

A selection of upcoming lots of books, maps and prints from auctions taking place around the world.

Diligently researched and documented by a local collector, the late William Toplis, a wide-ranging PG Wodehouse collection offered by Freeman’s of Philadelphia featured books, manuscripts, artwork and much more besides.

A selection of stand-out lots coming up at auction

Despite their apparent fragility, early English drinking glasses have survived in relatively large numbers. They have a long collecting pedigree – the idea of collecting them as objects of interest goes back at least to the 19th century.

A selection of four 18th century drinking glasses appearing at auctions in May 2020.

Among the major changes to Sworders’ auction calendar because of the coronavirus lockdown is the addition of a monthly sale of jewellery, watches and objects of vertu.

The cult following that surrounds publicity-shy Joel Arthur Rosenthal continues to grow. Secondary market prices for JAR fashion jewellery are reaching new heights.

Made within 20 miles of Halls’ (23% buyer’s premium) Shrewsbury rooms, 76 lots of mid to late-18th century Caughley soft paste porcelain from two local collections attracted countrywide bidding.