Firsts London, the rare book fair, will take place at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea, just off the Kings Road, from Thursday, 16th to Sunday, 19th May 2024. The 100+ international dealers will be bringing a wide range of books, manuscripts, prints and maps, and this year’s theme promises to be an exceptional demonstration of the book as art and the art of the book.
This year, the fair has partnered with the Bodleian Libraries of Oxford and there will be an opportunity to see a printing press in action and take away some keepsakes.
The fair offers a variety of free talks and tours for anyone who is interested in books.
From bejewelled bindings to pop-up books; from Japanese woodblock printing to illuminated Qur’ans; in books, the visual arts meet literature, and beauty may be admired in illustration and illumination; in calligraphy and cartography; in typography and photography; in printmaking and paper manufacture; and within the art of bookbinding itself. Book design represents shifting tastes and conventions through the centuries and across cultures, as well as revealing socioeconomic factors which influence their production.
Pom Harrington, Fair Chairman, says: “Firsts: London’s Rare Book Fair is the once-a-year showcase for the very finest stock from the British rare book trade, as well as some of the best offerings of the rare book world globally. Staging the fair within a strikingly modern setting at Saatchi Gallery has proved a resounding success in allowing rare books to take their rightful place alongside decorative arts and antiques. Now in its 67th edition, Firsts has cemented its position as an unmissable event on the international rare book fair calendar.”
Highlights
Visitors can look forward to some exceptional highlights, such as a beautifully illustrated Art Nouveau book from 1900 – Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s Der Kaiser und die Hexe, of which only 200 copies were printed. It will be on Michael Schleicher’s stand and has an asking price of £7,680.
Peter Harrington Rare Books will be showing three stunning bindings by Cedric Chivers, who patented his ‘vellucent’ bindings in 1898. A particularly attractive edition of Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene, pictured and decorated by Louis Fairfax-Muckley from 1897 (£12,500); an 1893 Aubrey Beardsley illustrated Morte Darthur by Sir Thomas Malory (£12,000) and a superb copy of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám translated by Edward Fitzgerald, this one published in 1903, finely bound by Cedric Chivers after an Art Nouveau design by the illustrator Herbert Granville Fell (£9,500).
Camden Lock Books is known for offering a wide range of miniature books including a beautiful English Bijou Almanac for 1841, poetically illustrated by the Hon. Mrs Norton, of which only 14 seem to be in existence around the world (£1,950).
Paul Foster is bringing a book sometimes described as the first interactive book published, but certainly the first to use movable tabs. Le Livre Joujou by M. Bres (third issue from circa 1875) has 13 hand-coloured illustrated plates with pull tabs to change the image.
Beaux Books will be exhibiting first edition copies of all the books authored by Cecil Beaton during his lifetime and will also display
several books with original jackets by Beaton, alongside posters and ephemera.
Among the artists’ books at Shapero Rare Books will be a superb example of Juste Présent, a collection of Tristan Tzara’s poems with illustrations by his long-term collaborator and friend Sonia Delaunay. Published in 1961, a period where Delaunay returned to the styles of the early years of her career, signed by the author and artist, including an additional signed etching hand-coloured in gouache by the artist in the original lithographed chemise and slipcase (£22,500).
Partner
This year, Firsts London partners with the Bodleian Libraries in Oxford, one of the world’s most iconic university libraries. It has been a legal deposit library for 400 years and one of the bigger objects from the Libraries is a printing machine which will be on view and in action at the Fair.
Richard Ovenden, Bodley’s Librarian, said: “We could not be more thrilled to partner with Firsts: London’s Rare Book Fair, for the first time. The Bodleian Libraries is home to more than 23 million items, including some of the world’s greatest treasures of rare books, manuscripts, maps, photographs, music and ephemera. Throughout the weekend attendees will have the chance to learn more about our work in acquiring, preserving, and gaining new understandings of old books with cutting-edge technology. We will also give a special opportunity to become a Friend of the Bodleian, receiving exclusive access to our events, exhibitions and to become a part of the Bodleian community.”
Talks & Tours
Firsts London 2024 has an extensive talks and tours program this year which is aimed at new collectors and bibliophiles of all ages as well as events for new book dealers.
Events booking is now open, for more information visit: https://www.firstslondon.com/events.
Booking for tickets is now open as well – Thursday’s preview ticket costs £60, on the other three days the fair opens at 11am and costs £10 on the Friday (closes at 8pm), £5 on Saturday (closes at 6pm) and is free all day on Sunday when the fair is open until 5pm:
https://www.firstslondon.com/about/tickets.
