Firsts London's Rare Book Fair 2022 - Visit our Booth September 09 2022

We are excited to announce that Tamino Autographs will be holding our first booth at the Firsts: London's Rare Book Fair 2022. The event will be held at the iconic Saatchi Gallery in the heart of London’s Chelsea from September 15th to 18th. This year will be the 65th edition of the Rare Book Fair, an event that's held to showcase priceless and unusual books, manuscripts, ephemera, maps, and other items. This year's focus is on banned books. 

The event is open to collectors as well as visitors who are interested in checking out some of the most unique books and memorabilia available. According to actor, writer, and book collector Stephen Fry, the fair is not elitist at all, "you just have to be someone with an immense thirst for the glory of books, manuscripts and collectibles” So come one, come all!

The event will be spread out over three floors of the contemporary art hall, the Saatchi Gallery, with over 100 exhibitors displaying their collections. Tamino Autographs will be on the first floor, at booth F45. 

While we specialize in autographs in performing arts (music, film, dance), we pride ourselves on our collection of a wider range of collectible autographs, including signed antique books by famous writers, and literature autographs. Make sure you stop by and say hi if you’re at the event!

THE HISTORY OF LONDON'S RARE BOOK FAIR

The idea behind the very first Rare Book Fair originated from the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association (ABA), which wanted to help the sellers from Britain's market towns compete with those from London. The original ABA Book Fair was in 1958 and allowed nine country members the opportunity to sell in the city. The event was also designed to encourage the idea of book collecting and prove that it could be done without a large budget. 

Over the years, the book fair slowly evolved into what it is today. For starters, the exhibit was shortened from a few weeks to four days, encouraging more vendors to participate. Then, as more exhibitors joined, the fair required larger event spaces and began to draw more traffic and even the attendance of famous and influential openers. Eventually, the festival became an international affair, attracting exhibitors from the United States, Europe, and, eventually, worldwide.

The Book Fair was held in several different prestigious locations throughout the years, such as the Europa Hotel on Grosvenor Square, the Park Lane Hotel, the Grosvenor House, and Olympia. After the move to Olympia, the new larger space allowed the number of vendors to jump from 94 to 148 in only one year. It was here that the event started to grow exponentially.

BECOMING FIRSTS: LONDON'S RARE BOOK FAIR

After many years growing at Olympia, they moved to the Battersea Evolution in 2018. It was here in 2020 that the fair was rebranded to the Firsts: London's Rare Book Fair. The following year, it was held at the Saatchi for the first time. While the number of vendors was reduced, the event saw a record number of visitors.

The fair had great impact on printed media

Moving the event to the Saatchi has had a positive effect, attracting a broader and younger audience. Last year's fair saw over 4,500 guests compared to just over 3,500 in 2019. In addition to the change in venue, Firsts: London’s Rare Book Fair has grown their online presence across Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, along with other marketing initiatives to increase attendance even more. 

This year more than 100 exhibitors from around the globe, including the UK, United States, Canada, France, Spain, and more, will come together at the Saatchi to display and sell some of their favorite and most unique books. Some highlights from the upcoming fair can be seen on the Firsts: London’s Rare Book Fair website.

ABOUT THE SAATCHI GALLERY

While the Saatchi Gallery is at its core an innovative platform for contemporary artists to showcase their work, the Rare Book Fair fits right in at the venue. Their values aim to help introduce work to wider audiences, and they have done just that for the book fair itself.

The fair has had good impact in online media

The Saatchi Gallery first opened in 1985 as an art exhibition created to help emerging artists showcase their work. The art hall quickly gained a reputation for finding artists that would eventually gain notoriety across the globe. Since 2019, they have been a registered charity with curated exhibits and educational programs they hope will encourage innovation.

SEE ALSO:

- Tamino Autographs Signed Books Section

- Tamino Autographs Rare Books Section

- Sign Here: Autograph Books (Blog)

- Autograph Books - A Record of Past and Present (Blog)

- The 2022 New York international Antiquarian Book Fair (Blog)

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