Book Fair Reports
21st Chelsea Antiquarian Book Fair
4th & 5th November 2011
For two days in November, the Chelsea Antiquarian Book Fair is the place where the antiquarian book trade meets. Booklovers and bibliophiles have an opportunity to find some rare treasures. The new collector can meet specialist booksellers and browse the large variety of antiquarian and collectable books, maps, prints and ephemera.
The Fair brings together over 75 renowned antiquarian booksellers in the historical venue of the Chelsea Old Town Hall in London. It is organised by the Antiquarian Booksellers Association (ABA) and all exhibitors are either members of the association or its international umbrella organization, the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB).
International as well as British clients appreciate the quality and variety of items that are available for sale at Chelsea.
New or Returning Exhibitors in 2011
The Chelsea Antiquarian Book Fair will welcome a number of new exhibitors and dealers who have not exhibited for several years including Tim Bryars, Classic Bindings, Peter Ellis, Ferret Fantasy, Natalie Galustian, Grove Rare Books, High Street Books, Holybourne Rare Books, Studio Bibliografico Lex Antiqua, Antiquariat Hans Lindner, Marchpane, Bernard Quaritch and Tindley & Chapman.
2011 Special Exhibition
The 2011 ABA Chelsea Book Fair will feature a selling exhibition of art-works relating to antiquarian and rare books by seven artists, recommended by ABA members. These artists work in a variety of media, and the pieces exhibited will include paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures and photography, which reflect the participants' responses to different aspects of books in their manifold forms - for example, books as texts; books as physical, tactile objects; books as canvases for decoration and ornamentation.
The artists work in a broad range of styles and media, and include painters, sculptors, print-makers, metal-workers and -engravers, and glass-workers, who are variously alumni of the Slade School of Art, the Royal College of Art, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, and other prestigious institutions, and have exhibited at major galleries including the British Museum, Tate Britain, the Saatchi Gallery, Frost and Reed (New York), and the Jerwood Space. Participating artists are: Saga Arpino and Ruth Anthony, Nancy Cadogan, Marcelle Hanselaar, Faye Heller, Christopher, Kelly D J Roberts.
Fair Chairman Leo Cadogan:
“We are excited about our 2011 exhibition, featuring 7 artists who will display their interpretation of the printed book. The Chelsea Book Fair is the ideal place for this kind of exhibition, a place where serious book trade and book buyers meet and do business as well as a simply wonderful environment for booklovers with very different budgets. “
Chelsea - A Literary Quarter
“Initially a fishing village on the north bank of the River Thames, in the 16th century Chelsea became the home of royal courtiers such as Sir Thomas Moore. By the early 19th century Chelsea had become fashionable among artistic and literary figures. Shelley and Turner were early residents and later the writers George Eliot, Swinburne, Henry James, Oscar Wilde and the historian Thomas Carlyle lived here. In the 1950's the focus of interest was The Royal Court Theatre on Sloane Square, where the dramatists who became known as the "Angry Young Men" had their plays staged. The theatre has retained its reputation for showcasing new and original writing. In the 1960's Chelsea became famous for the fashions available in the King's Road and music and media stars moved in. Cheney Walk is probably Chelsea's most illustrious street with an impressive roll-call of famous past residents: George Eliot lived at No.4, Dante Gabriel Rossetti at No.16, Hillaire Belloc at No. 104, Henry James at Carlyle Mansions, and Mrs Gaskell was born at No. 93. Elsewhere in Chelsea, Leigh Hunt lived at 22 Upper Cheyne Row, Tobias Smollet at 16 Lawrence Street, Mark Twain at 23 Tedworth Square and Bram Stoker at 18 St Leonard's Terrace. In the same area, Oscar Wilde lived first at 3 Tite Street. Thomas Carlyle wrote in a letter in 1834 that ‘Chelsea is a single heterogenous kind of spot, very dirty and confused in some places, quite beautiful in others, abounding in antiquitites and the traces of great men’."
(Extract from: BOOK LOVERS LONDON by Lesley Reader, metropublications London, 2006)
Visitor Information
Date: 4th & 5th November 2011
Location: Chelsea Old Town Hall, King's Road, London SW3 5EE
Over 75 dealers offer a fascinating range of rare books, prints, maps, photographs, ephemera, letters and manuscripts.
Opening Hours:
Friday 2pm to 7pm
Saturday 11am to 5pm
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