@26042024
Robin de
Beaumont Collection
Samples of
items purchased by the British Library at the Bonhams sale. (Those reproduced
below are done as low grade samples only, to publicise the purchases.)
In the
sale held by Bonhams at the end of January 2024, the Library successfully bid
for a number of lots.
Lot 140(15 books) and 141 (20 books) were
bound in ‘publishers’ morocco’ – the most expensive type of binding and
blocking of publishers’ bindings of the mid-Victorian period. The De Beaumont
copies are in particularly fine condition. It is unlikely that copies in these
numbers and condition will come again on the market. When these works were issued,
the publishers advertised them frequently in newspapers. They charged a high
price, which often was £31s. 6d. They almost invariably supplied the legal
deposit copy to the British Museum Library - a copy bound in cloth or, for
multi-part works, in paper wrappers. So, acquiring these leather bound books fills
a gap in the BL collection.
The
Library bid successfully for lots in paper wrappers, or bound in paper over
thin boards. These publications at the cheaper end of the market were produced in
quantity, using materials not intended to last, and the condition of copies
deteriorated. Again, De Beaumont sought out copies in the best condition, which
in many instances were rare/ hard to find.
Lot 188
contained some ninety-seven books/ items, grouped together as ‘wrappers’.
Lot 189
contained some 42 books/ items, which were grouped together as ‘yellowbacks and
pictorial boards’.
Given time
and resources, the British Library intends to scan and provide descriptions for
all the items acquired, placing these online for wider appreciation.
May 2024
