Early bibles, medieval manuscripts and artwork by Bob Dylan and Damien Hirst.
These were some of the items on sale at York National Book Fair which returned to the Racecourse today (September 16).
Now in its 48th year, the fair - now Britain’s largest - has long been a key point in the calendar for fans of rare and collectable books.
It opened yesterday and ends at 5pm.
One of the fair’s organisers, Tony Fothergill, said thousands of people have crossed through the doors of the Knavesmire Suite over the two days.
He described the fair as a “hands on exhibition” where books, sometimes costing thousands, are put out for members of the public to touch rather than being kept in glass boxes.
Tony spoke of how reading trends over the years have meant picture books, maps and photographs now appear at the fair alongside collectable gems.
“It’s become a visual spectacle,” he added.
Sotheran’s London was one of the 180 book shops with a stand.
The shop was founded in York in 1761 when it had a store in Bootham selling books and wine.
In 1815 it moved to London and has stayed in the capital ever since, with its store in Piccadilly.
Rebekah Cron, the shop’s head of literature, said it was “really nice” to be back in York.
“It’s been really good, it’s been good to be back,” she said.
“We have come up to buy books before, but this is our first exhibiting.”
Items on sale at the shop’s stall included an original 1893 copy of Sidonia the Sorceress by William Meinhold, translated by Francesca Speranza, Lady Wilde (mother of Oscar Wilde). The book came with a price tag of £4250.
Beside it was a collection of photographs of Bob Marley by Kate Simon, which was signed by Eric Clapton. It was priced at £825.
David Maynard, owner of David Maynard in Lincolnshire, was at the fair and brought a bottle of Becks with him.
But it was no ordinary bottle of beer – its label was designed by artist Damien Hirst.
The label featured the artist’s colourful polka dot ‘Opium’ design, which made the beer an expensive drop at £100.
David also had an early Opium print taken from Hirst’s first solo exhibition. Since then, the design has become well associated with the artist and even appeared in emoji form on Canadian rapper Drake’s album ‘Certified Lover Boy’ in 2021.
Above the artwork by Hirst was an original 1960s Milton Glaser pop art poster of Bob Dylan that appeared on his ‘Greatest Hits’ album in 1967. The stand also included original artwork by Dylan.
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David said: “The fair’s been really good, there’s been a lot of interesting items across the board in a lot of different subjects.
“There’s a range of medieval manuscripts to Bob Dylan all under one roof.”
Roger Ford, of Hemford Mill Books in Northumberland, specialises in first edition children’s books and brought some with him to the fair in York.
“A fair like this brings really quality books,” he said.
“I think the beauty of this fair is there’s no set thing that will catch people’s eye – there’s no set thing they came to the fair for but there’s always something they will like.
“It’s the best fair of the year. I always look forward to it.”
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