The Autumn Antiquarian Book Fair Season is now Open
This week seems to be a return for many to 'normal' life here in the UK. Most children are back at school, many businesses seem to have asked their employees to return to the office and the first in-person book fair opens in York on Friday!
As much as the international book collector scene fully embraced the joys (and pitfalls) of buying books online through newly upgraded websites and impressive online fairs, I am sure collectors and dealers are all looking forward to attending a real fair.
Everyone is at the ready, the dealers have packed the boxes and the collectors have no doubt written their wish list... only a few days to go until the gates open at the York Racecourse on Friday, 10th September at noon and closing at 5pm on Saturday. It's been two years since those doors opened to rare book aficionados hoping to find the book that's still missing in the collection or discovering the unexpected in the aisles at one of the dealers' stalls. Britain's largest rare and antiquarian book fair is back!
The small, but well-organised team is excited to be bringing York’s annual showcase with sellers from across the UK and beyond, and has made huge efforts to make sure that the event is Covid safe whilst remaining as friendly and appealing as ever. Co-organiser and York-based bookseller Janette Ray says: “The York Book Fair Team has been working to make sure visitors feel comfortable at this year’s fair whilst browsing and buying. The stands will be spaced well apart and the floor plan has been tweaked so the aisles between stands are wider than usual. We are mindful that, despite the enthusiasm to get back to real book fairs as an alternative to online purchasing, we also need to be cautious in how things are organised. Visitors can be assured that this September’s fair will sport all its usual attractions, not least of which are the brilliant books, maps, prints and ephemera that the exhibitors will have at the event.”
From modest beginnings with just 20 exhibitors at the White Swan Inn in York in 1974, the York Book Fair has grown into the largest, and many say friendliest, rare, antiquarian & out-of-print book fairs in the UK and Europe. Held over two days, around 170 of this country's leading booksellers offer for sale an awe-inspiring diversity of books, as well as maps & prints, ranging in price from just a few pounds up to tens of thousands of pounds. There will also be a range of trade stands selling marbled papers, binding materials. Providers of services to the book trade including software and packaging material suppliers will also be present.
Fantasy seems to be a bit of a theme amongst highlights being brought to the fair this year. Lucius Books have a copy of The Hobbit, but not just any copy, one signed by J.R.R. Tolkien himself. The 1937 first edition carries an asking price of £65,000. Les Ashton offers a copy of J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan and Wendy. This edition, originally titled just Peter & Wendy, contains the original text and has a price tag of £950 and a fanciful poster of “CHARLES FROHMAN presents Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up" is available at Mike Kemp's stand. With a more modern theme, but still with fantasy at its heart, David Maynard’s stock will include a beautiful 60s Flower Power psychedelic print: "Flower Power - John and Yoko" (£285). Organised by the PBFA, more information and advance free tickets can be downloaded from www.yorkbookfair.com.
Across the pont, the in-person 61st Annual ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair had to be cancelled due to the continued Covid-19 pandemic and the current U.S. travel ban. Instead, it has been turned into a virtual fair which will be held from the 9th to 12th September at abaa.org/vbf. It will be open continuously from 12 pm EDT on Thursday until 3 pm EDT on Sunday.
And it is less than two months until the return of Firsts, London's rare book fair, opening to the public in its new venue at the Saatchi Gallery from the 21st to 24th October. The 64th edition welcomes back international booksellers and collectors.
“This October, Firsts London will offer booksellers and visitors a well-deserved and much anticipated opportunity to reconnect, meet and trade in Saatchi Gallery’s inspiring setting, which I am sure will be particularly appreciated by dealers and rare book enthusiasts alike following an eighteen-month period of only being able to attend online fairs and events,” says ABA President and Fair Chairman Pom Harrington. https://www.firstslondon.com/
Happy browsing and shopping! If you want to find out more about how Marx and Engels amassed their book collection, listen to this week's podcast - our 49th, another Lockdown phenomenon.