Firsts: London’s Rare Book Fair: Saatchi Gallery 16 – 19 May 2024
- by Announcement, Rare Book Hub staff
If in London, see the best with the best!
Firsts London is one of the most popular and prestigious rare book fairs in the world, showcasing unique and unusual items from over 100 leading UK and international dealers. As the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association premier annual fair, it attracts a diverse audience of collectors, dealers, enthusiasts and the curious alike.
Found in the heart of Chelsea, booksellers of old and rare books, manuscripts, ephemera, maps and more take up their stands across the three floors of the Saatchi Gallery.
As an exhibitor you can expect to see old friends and welcome collectors, while showcasing your collection to thousands of visitors over four days.
As a visitor you can expect to see some of the rarest and most unique books available, not to mention unique memorabilia and stunning artworks in their own right.
Tickets
Preview Night: Thursday 16 May, 5pm – 9pm/ Invitation only.
Friday: 17 May, 11am – 8pm. 10 pounds
Saturday: 18 May, 11am – 5pm.
Sunday: 19 May, 11am – 5pm. FREE entry.
Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York’s Square, King’s Rd, London, UK SW3 4RY
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 28th May 2026
Forum, May 28: Book of Hours.- Heures de nostre dame a l'usaige de Romme, Paris, Antoine Chappiel pour Germain Hardouin, [1504]. £6,000-8,000
Forum, May 28: Colonna (Francesco). La Hypnerotomachia di Poliphilo, second edition, Venice, Sons of Aldus Manutius, 1545. £15,000-20,000
Forum, May 28:The Christ Child holding a crystal orb and surrounded by banderoles with devotional exhortations, on a leaf most probably from a Book of Hours, [Southern Netherlands, last decades of the fifteenth century]. £2,000-3,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 28th May 2026
Forum, May 28: Jackson (Shirley). The Haunting of Hill House, first English edition, signed presentation inscription from the author to Claude Fredericks, 1960. £2,000-3,000
Forum, May 28: Lennon (John). In His Own Write, first edition, first impression, signed by the author, 1964. £3,000-4,000
Forum, May 28: Doves Press.- Keats (John). [Poems], one of 200 copies on paper, Doves Press, 1914. £5,000-7,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 28th May 2026
Forum, May 28: Rodrigues (João Barbosa). Sertum Palmarum Brasiliensium, 2 vol., first and only edition, Brussels, 1903. £8,000-12,000
Forum, May 28: Newton (Sir Isaac). Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica…editio ultima, auctior et emendatior, Amsterdam, Sumptibus Societatis, 1714. £8,000-12,000
Forum, May 28: Kepler (Johannes). Ad Vitellionem paralipomena, wuibus astronomiae pars optica traditur, first edition, Frankfurt am Main, 1604. £5,000-7,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 28th May 2026
Forum, May 28: Tagliacozzi (Gaspare). De Curtorum Chirurgia per insitionem, libri duo, first edition, Venice, Gasparo Bindoni, 1597. £7,000-10,000
Forum, May 28: Lootsman (Jacobsz). The Lightning Colomne, or Sea-Mirrour, containing the Sea-Coasts of the Northern, Eastern and Western Navigation..., 1670. £8,000-12,000
Forum, May 28: Ribelles y Helip (José), Attributed to. An album comprising 33 finely executed watercolours of Spanish costume, bull-fighting scenes, and other genre subjects, [circa 1830]. £10,000-15,000
