Now in its 21st year, the Chelsea Antiquarian Book Fair is a true booklovers' extravaganza held in the heart of London in November each year. More than 75 exhibitors fill the beautiful Chelsea Old Town Hall with interesting and collectable items of all periods (from 16th to 21st centuries) and books to suit all pockets - from £10 to £10,000.
Is there a subject, author or period of history that especially attracts you? Perhaps you have been thinking of collecting books but are unsure of where to start, what to look for, who to approach or what on earth booksellers mean by yapp edges, pochoir plates or slightly foxed ...
If so, then Chelsea is the place to meet and talk to antiquarian booksellers and experts who will be more than happy to take time for all your questions.
"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 ..." (Lesley Reader). In the 1950s the "Angry Young Men" had their plays staged at The Royal Court Theatre, and since the 1960s music and media stars have been settling around King's Road.
Whether you are a bookseller, a collector or you are simply curious about old, antiquarian and collectable books, maps and ephemera, then the Chelsea Antiquarian Book Fair is not to be missed.
The world's first computer programmer; Mujica's "History of the Skyscraper"; 13 books of Armenian, Ge'ez, Arabic, Burmese, Hindustani, Syriac, Estrangelo (ancient Syriac), Coptic, Georgian and other alphabets; Shackleton's "Heart of the Antarctic", James Bond, Shakespeare and Frankenstein.
The 2011 Chelsea Book Fair features a special exhibition of art-works relating to rare books by seven artists who work in a variety of media. The pieces on show will include paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures and photography, which reflect the artistic responses to different aspects of books in their manifold forms - books as texts; books as physical, tactile objects; books as canvases for decoration and ornamentation.
"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 ..." (Lesley Reader). In the 1950s the "Angry Young Men" had their plays staged at The Royal Court Theatre, and since the 1960s music and media stars have been settling around King's Road.
Take a walk (or a taxi) and follow the traces of London's great men and women. Visit the houses of 
... and finally...
The world's first computer programmer; Mujica's "History of the Skyscraper"; 13 books of Armenian, Ge'ez, Arabic, Burmese, Hindustani, Syriac, Estrangelo (ancient Syriac), Coptic, Georgian and other alphabets; Shackleton's "Heart of the Antarctic", James Bond, Shakespeare and Frankenstein.
The 2011 Chelsea Book Fair features a special exhibition of art-works relating to rare books by seven artists who work in a variety of media. The pieces on show will include paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures and photography, which reflect the artistic responses to different aspects of books in their manifold forms - books as texts; books as physical, tactile objects; books as canvases for decoration and ornamentation.
Friday 4th to Saturday 5th November 2011