The Bookshop

Our Articles

The bookshop's writings — in-depth articles from the Journal, and our guides to approaching book collecting, and collecting more generally, with method.

Journal

8 min readAutographBook history

The author's inscription, from courtesy to relic

A few words in ink can change the nature of a copy. “À Monsieur X, hommage de l’auteur” — the formula may seem almost insignificant. But when the recipient turns out to be the publisher who brought the book into print...

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The author's inscription, from courtesy to relic

Our Guides

10 min readBibliophilieGetting startedFirst editions

Recognising a First Edition: A Beginner's Guide

Are you new to book collecting and wondering what distinguishes a mere reprint from a true first edition? Some will say an early date on the title page, the absence of the words “second edition,” a printer...

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Recognising a First Edition: A Beginner's Guide

2 min readAutographBibliophilieGetting started

Reading Recommendations

Navigating the world of rare book or autograph collecting calls for some background reading to get your adventure off to a good start! Here you will find a selection of books to prioritise in order to learn the basics...

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Reading Recommendations