London

The city’s summer season attracts visitors from many walks in life. Here we talk to some high-profile fans of what London has to offer

Next month’s 'London International Antiquarian Book Fair' at the National Hall, Olympia on June 1-3 will be the last held at the West Kensington venue.

Coming up in early June are the two stalwart fairs of the London antiquarian book trade: 'The London International Antiquarian Book Fair', hosted by the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association (ABA), and 'The London International Premier Fair', hosted by the Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association (PBFA).

Early Dutch discoveries in Australia and those made in Tasmania and New Zealand on Abel Tasman’s first voyage are outlined in a 1659 wall-map by the Amsterdam cartographer Joan Blaeu (1596-1673).

A sketchbook by the Bavarian artist Georg Johann Scharf (1788-1860) was discovered recently by ephemera dealer Valerie Jackson-Harris at the Sunbury Antiques Market at Kempton Park.

The London International Premier Fair (June 2-3) is the flagship book fair of the Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association (PBFA).

The Fine Art Society’s exhibition Gordon Reece: The Art of Collecting runs from May 23-June 16. It has been curated by Reece and presents African sculpture and artefacts from the former dealer’s collection alongside the FAS’s own 20th century art and design.

John Minton’s 1940 painting 'Landscape with Figures' is among the pieces included in Osborne Samuel’s exhibition 'The Romantic Impulse: British Neo-Romantic Artists at Home & Abroad 1935-1959'.

Made by Paul Storr, highly decorative and from the family collection of the late Sir Nicholas Harington, this 1836 piece of silver had the name, the look and the provenance to overcome the somewhat unfashionable nature of inkstands.

Two new dealer shows, Kensington – The Heart of Ceramics and A Collector’s Paradise, herald in this year’s high summer art season in London, while Ceramics Mayfair continues to delight in Kent

Satellite events and specialist photography sales are riding on the coattails of Photo London (May 18-21) this spring, coinciding with the fair’s four-day run at Somerset House.

Inscriptions and/or dates add a premium in many classes of ceramics but especially so in delftware. Some afficionados such as the late Syd Levethan made this a particular goal for their collecting.