Category
Bookvaluation, first editions and jackets
First editions, issue points, dust jackets and condition. What separates a shelf of old books from a collection, and how the trade tells the two apart.
All guides
More on books
6 guides in this category so far.
Price guide
Children's books and annuals: what sells
Bonhams sold 136 Ladybird books for £125. What children's annuals make by the box, which three to pull out of it, and how to date an undated annual.Guide
How to sell old books
Where to sell old books depends on which of three piles they fall into. The rates a book saleroom publishes, and why books escape VAT on commission.Price guide
Harry Potter first editions: the one that is worth money
Harry Potter first edition value turns on one book: the 500 Bloomsbury hardbacks of 1997. The points that identify one, and what each printing has made.
Guide
How to identify a first edition, publisher by publisher
The rules for spotting a first printing differ by publisher and by decade. A working list for the houses whose books come up most at auction.
Guide
What makes an old book valuable
Age on its own is not it. Demand, scarcity, condition and the dust jacket decide what old books are worth, and the jacket alone can be nine-tenths of it.Makers, objects and marks in this category
Want a valuer to look at it?
Photograph the title page, the copyright page and the jacket, and a specialist will tell you what the copy is worth. It is free, and there is no obligation to sell.
Sale prices
Recent books sale prices
Hammer, excluding premium.
| Date | Object | Saleroom | Estimate | Hammer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Aug 2026 | Ian Fleming, Casino Royale, first edition, 1953 Lot 41 | London | £3,000 to £5,000 | £4,200 |
| 7 Aug 2026 | J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, first edition, paperback, 1997 Lot 58 | London | £800 to £1,200 | £1,500 |
| 10 Jul 2026 | Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, first edition, first issue, 1843 Lot 12 | London | £6,000 to £9,000 | £8,200 |
| 8 May 2026 | Winston Churchill, The Second World War, six volumes, first editions Lot 19 | London | £200 to £300 | £260 |
Hammer is the winning bid before the buyer's premium. Figures are illustrative until partner salerooms supply live results.All price records →