Just when you thought it was safe to retrieve your credit card from its post-Christmas hiding spot,
Harrington’s, the rare booksellers based in Mayfair and Chelsea, London, have launched another
catalogue, designed to tempt you into parting with your bank’s cash as you expand your (and your
future children’s ) library. The new collection includes a signed, first edition of H G Well’s War of the Worlds, worth £25,000.
The new catalouge is entitled Rare Books with Insightful Inscriptions, and as well as the in-depth contextual descriptions and provenance information contained within the catalogue, you can, if you’re within reach of Mayfair, go and view a selection from the catalogue for yourself, where the books will be on display for a few weeks. This collection is more ‘science’ than ‘science-fiction’, although there are some strong representatives of our favourite genre to be found, notably that copy of War of the
Worlds, which has been inscribed and dated by the author, who has also drawn a small self-portrait
on the title page.
This then is the heart of this catalogue – a collection of books which have been
inscribed by their authors, or owned by other renowned people who have made their own
annotations. In terms of affordability, this catalogue offers few opportunities for the novice
collector, but the age and heritage of these specific books means that, more than previous
catalogues, these are for the serious bibliophile, or the academic library seeking to add to its
collection thanks to a generous benefactor. But the catalogue alone provides hours of educational
entertainment – and not a little inducement of envy towards those who will end up calling these
esteemed tomes their own.
Appreciating that a trip to Mayfair might not be possible for everyone, this catalogue also details
Harrington’s forthcoming appearances at a range of book fairs in global locations – they’ll be in New
York early in March before heading to Tokyo later this month.
Rare Books with Insightful Inscriptions, a catalogue exhibition, is at Harrington’s Mayfair shop on
Dover Street (nearest Tube – Green Park), open daily from Monday to Saturday.
