“Books NOT Books” – An Exhibition at the London International Antiquarian Book Fair in June 2013

A deceptive exhibition of objects inspired by the book or books pretending to be something completely different!

Never judge a book by its cover! It could be a handbag, a biscuit tin, a corset or a paper house.

The ABA (Antiquarian Booksellers' Association) will be hosting what is thought to be the first ever “Books NOT Books” exhibition at the London International Antiquarian Book Fair in June 2013. The oldest, and with nearly 200 exhibitors one of the biggest antiquarian book fairs worldwide, will open on Thursday June 13th and run until Saturday June 15th, 2013, at the National Exhibition Hall at Olympia, West London.

“Books NOT Books” will be an amusing, informative and deceptive exhibition showing the book in a variety of different forms - Books as Art, Books as Boxes, Books as Anything-other-than-Books – whether it is a handbag, pin box or biscuit tin! The majority of the objects on show have come from a single collection, but the ABA is encouraging anyone who would like to lend an object to let them know – the more offbeat the better!

Exhibition Curator and Bath-based bookseller Ed Bayntun-Coward: “I'm working on the old cliché, ‘You can't judge a book by its cover’. Books are the most instantly recognisable of objects. I believe that if Richard III had happened to have risen after 528 years under a Leicester car park, he would have been most surprised by his surroundings (cars, cameras, mobiles, etc.), but the printed book has changed little. Over time some clever craftsmen, even artists, have had fun either disguising a book as something different, or making another object look like a book and my aim is that this exhibition reflects this!”

London International Antiquarian Book Fair

13th to 15th June, 2013, at National Hall, Olympia

Opening hours