Books & Manuscripts

Bloomsbury Auctions is the world's leading auction house of rare books and manuscripts. We sell more lots of books each year, ranging from Incunabula (books printed before 1500) right through to Harry Potter, than any other auctioneers in the world.

We have regular auctions throughout the year, whether general sales (offering a variety of subjects and price-ranges), single owner sales, or the more specialist sales with emphasis on specific areas of interests. Since our inception we have handled the sale of numerous important collections, such as the Yablon collection of Hebraica, the Angling libraries of Jeffrey Norton and David Beazley, the Weinreb Computer collection, the library of Egyptologist Ricardo Caminos and that of the Orientalist, David Loman. Consignments from America include the libraries of the late Alan Fortunoff, Samuel & Marie Louise Rosenthal and Margaret and Stanley Winkelman all covering the book beautiful, from early printed books to modern private Press; the Ornithological library of S.Dillon Ripley; books on India and Asia from the library of Robert & Maria Travis; and the wonderful collection of Architectural, natural History and other quirky antiquarian books assembled by the late Erica Spender.

Since its creation in 1983 by Lord John Kerr, Frank Herrmann and David Stagg, Bloomsbury Auctions has done its uppermost to maintain the highest standard of professional service to buyers and vendors alike, and our cataloguers are always on hand to help clients with information on prices, upcoming sales, bibliographical information and market behaviour, as well as assisting in the formation or development of your collection. We offer flexible commission rates to vendors dependant on the value of their property, and where required will arrange off-site evaluations and collection. With our wealth of collective experience and passion for books we are certain we can be of assistance to you, whether you are a potential first-time buyer or vendor or impassioned bibliophile.