Crowds lined up for the London Antiquarian Book Fair.
Organizers of the London International Antiquarian Book Fair report a most successful three-day run this past month. The annual fair at Olympia saw an increase in attendance, sales just slightly shy of last year's total, and a few very hefty purchases along the way. Serious buyers have been putting their feet back in the water again after the very difficult economic times of a few years ago. The economy rises and falls, but books persevere, as they have done for over 500 years.
Traffic was up 18% the first day of the fair, Thursday, June 18, with over 1,000 people making their way through the doors. Attendance continued up the remaining two days as well. Chairman of the Fair, Brian Lake, said, “The ABA Fair was a great success – more exhibitors, more visitors, than 2012 – with attendance up by nearly 20% over the three days.” Sales totals for the 175 out of 186 exhibitors who were offering books for sale were £3.35 million ($5.24 million is U.S. dollars). If books are not selling any more, someone forgot to inform the attendees at this fair.
Of course, some dealers were particularly pleased, and as those in the trade well know, it is often that one very important book that can make your day, fair, or even your year. Peter Harrington of London sold a copy of Mary Shelley's classic Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus, a first edition from 1818. The purchaser was from America. The price was a nice even £110,000, or to the American purchaser, $172,000. It was a very good fair for Harrington, regardless of whatever else happened. Pom Harrington was quoted with an understated, “We had a very good fair.”
Americans weren't the only foreigners attending and buying at the fair. A Swedish bookseller reportedly sold several items to a retired professor from Shanghai University in China. They included a 1936 book of pictures from China by a Swedish photographer. The total for the purchase was £30,000 (US $46,950). This serves as a reminder that even if some traditional markets are slow, new collectors are appearing in such far off markets as China, Russia, and the Middle East, and many of these people are flush with new money.
The organizers also reported a notable success arising from the tradition of dealers buying from each other. In one instance, a dealer who bought two books at the fair sold them to an American client over the phone for £125,000 (US $195,000). No names were given nor how much the second bookseller paid the first.
The ABA (Antiquarian Booksellers' Association) of England will be holding their next fair on November 1-2, the smaller annual Chelsea Fair. Next year's Olympia Book Fair has been tentatively set for May 22-24, 2014.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
Heritage Auctions Rare Books Signature Auction December 15, 2025
Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
