London

Venerable London rare book dealership Bernard Quaritch, established in 1847, has recently moved from Mayfair to Holborn. Here ATG talks to two members of the firm, Andrea Mazzocchi and Donovan Rees, about its new location and some wider trends in the book trade

Pictured below is one of the 26 views, after Coke Smyth, that form a first edition copy of John Frederick Lewis’ 'Illustrations of Constantinople, Made During a Residence in that City &c., in the Years 1835-6'.

Just imagine: you have been through the horrors of the Battle of Waterloo in a regiment which suffered 217 casualties out of 396, and were wounded yourself, and then your career is ended by… a wheelbarrow.

Estimated at £10,000-15,000 in a Forum Auctions sale of November 21 is a French indenture agreement of 1421 with a certain added English appeal.

A Great War bronze memorial plaque – the ‘Death Penny’ – awarded to Violet Porter, Women’s Royal Air Force, is estimated at £4000- 5000 in the Spink Orders, Medals and Decorations auction in London on November 27-28.

This newly discovered ledger, dated August 18, 1660, to March 16, 1661, was kept in person by Edward Backwell while acting as paymaster to both the Excise and the House of Commons. It carries an estimate of £20,000-40,000 at Bonhams’ Fine Books and Manuscripts sale in Knightsbridge on December 4.

Chinese barber’s bowl is a stand-out item at event now running in a revamped format.

The ABA Chelsea Rare Book Fair is one of two major London events held annually by the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association.

It’s a simple message but a powerful one. The words Welcome Home are stamped on the front of a rare first World War tribute medal to J Day (believed to be John Day) issued by the Working Men’s Club for the Yorkshire village of Heckmondwike.

Nelson’s naval heroics earned him many fans – and among the many souvenirs they bought to mark his greatness were fans of the cooling variety.

The ‘Forlorn Hope’ was well named: a band of soldiers, often volunteers, chosen to take the lead part in a military operation, such as an assault on a defended position, where the risk of casualties is high. Its usage was especially common in accounts of the Peninsular War (1808-14).

One curiosity from a book and manuscript sale held by Christie’s (25/20/13.5% buyer’s premium) on July 10, this kid glove or gauntlet represents the final challenge to trial by battle in English legal history.

As expected, the copy of Great Expectations shown below proved the star turn when Sotheby’s (25/20/13.9%) offered the splendid Charles Dickens collection formed by London accountant Lawrence Drizen.

Billed as a ‘luminescent’ copy of one of the finer of all published florilegia, a copy of Jakob Christoph Trew’s 'Hortus nitidissimus… floribus' is estimated at £70,000-90,000 at Sotheby’s on November 12.