Article
David Kotthoff is a collector of all things Charles Bukowski and will be selling part of his collection in Bellmans' rare book auction in December. He first came across Bukowski in Germany where he was brought up, but he then travelled the world and now lives mainly in Malaysia.
‘The day that I first came across Bukowski is a day I will never...
Interview
Silke Lohmann speaks with Leo Cadogan about their latest catalogue, Treasures.
1. Your latest catalogue, beautifully designed by the way, covers ten treasures from 1480 to 1700. What's your personal favourite?
I probably have two favourites at the moment. One is a 16th-century lawbook that an owner has assembled by putting parts of...
Interview
Peter Harrington's specialists Sammy Jay and Dr Philip W. Errington have chosen Keats's words as the title for their latest catalogue A Thing of Beauty – celebrating the art and craft of beautiful book production and exceptional private press works.
The catalogue includes several Kelmscott Press books, which are undoubtedly a high point in the...
Interview
'I came into bookselling through a route taken by many specialist dealers, approaching from knowledge of my subject rather than experience of the trade. In my youth I wanted to be an urban designer, and studied town planning at university. I was doing academic research when I met Peter Inch. We were both very interested in books and wanted to find...
Article
By the time Bligh returned a year later, having finally brought the breadfruit to the West Indies, the tide was out. Rather than great public acclaim and a grand official account of his success, he was reduced to conducting a small and strangely ineffective pamphlet war with Christian’s brother, the lawyer Edward Christian.[1] In reply, one of...
Interview
Jarndyce have just published their latest catalogue on Detective Fiction. It includes an impressive 356 books with prices ranging from £10 to £8,500 and covers books from 1827 to 1967, with the bulk of titles from between the 1880s through the 1910s. If you would like to receive a copy of the catalogue please email books@jarndyce.co.uk.
Our...
Article
One could go mad trying to understand Christian’s actions in the days before the mutiny while accepting that the mental pressure he was under was immense. He seems to have contemplated setting himself adrift one night, to have got his affairs in order, to have torn up all his letters. Much hinged on a stock of coconuts that had been brought on...
Interview
The society of Designer Bookbinders in holding an exhibition of recent works by its members at The Benjamin Spademan Gallery in St James's. 'UNIQUE' will run from 5th to 13th July 2024. We spoke to Stuart Brockman of James and Stuart Brockman Ltd.
Tell us a little bit about how the society started and share some of the highlights from the...
Interview
Quaritch has recently released catalogue 1456, which is all about continental books and represents a real team effort. We speak to Alex Day, who joined Q in 2003 with an MPhil in Medieval History from Cambridge. He specialises in manuscripts from that period as well as early printed books and general travel books.
This catalogue offers an...
Article
“I have been run down by my own Dogs.”
William Bligh
A portrait miniature in the National Library of Australia depicts a man in full naval regalia, complete with his captain’s gold medal from the Battle of Camperdown displayed proudly.1 Originally exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1814 the portrait is a remarkable one, a striking image...