How The Book Got It’s Jacket
barbara | June 28, 2017
“How the book got it’s jacket” sounds like a good title from Rudyard Kipling‘s Just So Stories , yet it is an interesting question: when did books acquire their dust wrappers? Before the 1820’s, the…
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A Clockwork Orange dust jacket
barbara | June 5, 2017
A Clockwork Orange dust jacket Book collectors know that, with modern first editions, the dust jacket accounts for about 80% of the value of a book. However, some might argue that book collectors are also…
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Endurance Writing for Children
barbara | November 8, 2016
Endurance Writing for Children Climbing trees, building dens and creating fantasies are common childhood pleasures and adventures. Children’s authors love to write about them. Yet only a select number of authors have managed to capture…
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Uncommon Christmas Titles – and presents
barbara | October 19, 2016
Uncommon Christmas Titles – and presents As Christmas draws near, it is interesting to see how publishers market their festive books. Consider the four “Uncommon Christmas Titles” collection illustrated by Arthur Rackham. These are four…
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Childers- A Rare Thriller for Collectors
barbara | September 16, 2016
Childers – A Rare Thriller for Collectors Collectors of spy thrillers might struggle to build up a collection if they start with one of the classics, The Riddle of the Sands, by Erskine Childers. It…
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Rudyard Kipling’s Enduring, Just So Stories
barbara | August 24, 2016
Kipling’s Enduring Just So Stories Rudyard Kipling has long been recognised as one of the most authentic writers during the British Empire of the early 20th century. Some of his works are clearly of their period yet the…
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William Golding books inspiring light.
barbara | August 12, 2016
William Golding books inspiring light. “At the moment of vision, the eyes see nothing,” writes William Golding in his novel The Spire. A book which deals with the construction of the 404-foot high spire and…
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Book Collecting
barbara | August 1, 2016
Book Collecting Rare and Antique Books has recently acquired four signed Kingsley Amis books from the Dr Philip Murray Collection. It is a great opportunity to remind ourselves of the obsession with book collecting, or…
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Remembering the First World War
barbara | July 14, 2016
Remembering the First World War The memorial for The Battle of the Somme has been a remarkable and sobering reminder of the fallout from war. The battle took place between 1 July and 18 November…
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C. S. Lewis- A Remarkable Life
barbara | July 11, 2016
C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) A Remarkable Life William Nicholson’s play “Shadowlands” is currently touring the UK, portraying the remarkable romance between C. S. Lewis and an American called Joy Davidman. It provides an opportunity to learn more…
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