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...
News, Features & Interviews
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Article
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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...
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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...
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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...
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Interview
Sheila Markham Interviewed Serge Plantureux in June 1994.
There are various versions of how I got started in bookselling. The one I choose today goes something like this. When I was about eight years old, a relative died leaving a house stuffed with interesting bits and pieces. I remember going to visit it with my father, who was keen for me to...
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Interview
The Society of Antiquaries of London is well-known to bibliophiles, regularly hosting meetings and offering access to a rather remarkable library in Burlington House. This month, our Librarian Interview is with Dunia Garcia-Ontiveros, Head of Library and Museum Collections.
The Society has such a vast collection, and your library is at its...
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Interview
‘I sold my first book in 1914 when I was eight years old. After school, I went to work for my father in Porchester Road. It never occurred to me to do anything else. I was born into the book trade and, in those days, you just got on with it. My father marked the books and I sold them, learning as I went along. If you want to shoe a horse, you...
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Catalogue Review
We like the sound of the Cecil Beaton catalogue Beaux Books are launching at Firsts London this year and have talked to Clare Trimming about it.
Please tell us where the collection is coming from, is it a private collection or have you collected it over the years? Is it being sold as a whole or individually?
The collection has been...
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Interview
We are excited to have started our Librarian interviews again - if you would like to be interviewed, please get in touch!
Technically, this month's interview is not with a librarian, but we have asked Błażej Mikuła, who has been a contributor to The Book Collector and James Fleming's Bond Behind the Iron Curtain, as we are fascinated by his...
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Interview
Timothy D'Arch Smith was interviewed by Sheila Markham for The Book Collector Winter 2011
I derive my bookishness from my mother’s side of the family, the Frankau gang, as I call them. They originated in the German town of Frankenau and came to this country in the 1840s as tobacco merchants. My great grandfather, Arthur, married Julia...