Books and Manuscripts and Written Material

The Fascination of Collecting Beatrix Potter First Editions In the realm of literary works, few names conjure up the same sense of whimsy and charm as Beatrix Potter. The beloved author and illustrator has captured the hearts of readers young and old with her enchanting tales of mischievous rabbits, dapper mice, and adventurous squirrels. As […]

Rupert Neelands gives his best advice for caring for books: Space Libraries great and small suffer from a shortage of space — there is never as much room on the shelf as one would like. This is a permanent problem for the collector, but the desire to squeeze on an extra volume has to be […]

Rupert Neelands, Antiquarian Book and Manuscript Specialist The King James Bible first appeared in 1611. No special tribute was paid to it then, yet it became the ‘Authorised Version’ for English-speaking Protestants, universally read or listened to from the mid-18th century onwards. Perhaps the secret of its success lay in its secure foundation in the […]

Rupert Neelands, Antiquarian Book and Manuscript Specialist Though not the inventor Edward Lear (1812-1888) was certainly the great user and populariser of the verse form we call the limerick. One example of his work, previously unknown, has just come to light after being long hidden in the Charnwood Autograph Collection in the British Library. It […]

Download this article Rupert Neelands, Antiquarian Book and Manuscript Specialist Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832-1898), known to all by his pseudonym of Lewis Carroll, was born into a high-church Anglican family living in Cheshire, the third of eleven children. His father, also named Charles, obtained a double first in mathematics and classics at Christ Church, Oxford, […]

  It is 265 years since Samuel Johnson’s 2-volume Dictionary of the English Language was published on 15 April 1755. Though many forms of reprint are available, to own a copy of the first edition would be the best of all options. Completing the Dictionary from A to Z was solely Johnson’s responsibility. As his […]