Collection GB 0074 LMA/4449 - BLOOMSBURY BOOK AUCTIONS

Zone d'identification

Cote

GB 0074 LMA/4449

Titre

BLOOMSBURY BOOK AUCTIONS

Date(s)

  • 1951-2002 (Création/Production)

Niveau de description

Collection

Étendue matérielle et support

7.33 linear metres (37 boxes)

Zone du contexte

Nom du producteur

Notice biographique

Bloomsbury Book Auctions was founded in March 1983 by three former employees of Sotheby's. Lord John Kerr (chairman and head of the new auction house) was a known figure in the book trade and had been for eighteen years head of Sotheby's book department; Frank Herrmann (in charge of Bloomsbury's financial and marketing requirements) was a director in charge of Sotheby's overseas operations, and a publisher and author in his own right; and David Stagg (Managing Director and organiser of the sales) who had worked for many years at Sotheby's Hodgson's Rooms in Chancery Lane and subsequently run the 'fast' book sales at the Aeolian Hall.

The company was set up as Kerr Herrmann and Stagg Limited trading as Bloomsbury Book Auctions. The premises of the new auction house were initially in the basement of Frank Herrmann's own house at 6a Bedford Square, and sales were held in local hotels. Within a year it was obvious that larger premises which could include a sales room on site were needed, and in August 1984 the business moved into 3/4 Hardwick Street, originally a four storey toy warehouse in Islington.

Bloomsbury Book Auctions was the first book auction house to be established in London for over 150 years; and was the only one at the time which concentrated exclusively on selling antiquarian books and manuscript material. It specialised in books, manuscripts, atlases, maps and prints, and was particularly interested in the sale of working libraries of an academic or specialist nature. With such specialisation and a high reputation in the book trade its success was almost immediate. Buyers and sellers came from all over the world. In 1993 tenth anniversary celebrations were held; five years later the business was sold by the original directors. The auction house continues to trade, although from March 2004 the name changed to Bloomsbury Auctions Limited, another move was made to Maddox Street in Mayfair, and the scope of items to be sold was expanded.

Histoire archivistique

GB 0074 LMA/4449 1951-2002 Collection 7.33 linear metres (37 boxes) Bloomsbury Book Auctions , antiquarian book auctioneers

Bloomsbury Book Auctions was founded in March 1983 by three former employees of Sotheby's. Lord John Kerr (chairman and head of the new auction house) was a known figure in the book trade and had been for eighteen years head of Sotheby's book department; Frank Herrmann (in charge of Bloomsbury's financial and marketing requirements) was a director in charge of Sotheby's overseas operations, and a publisher and author in his own right; and David Stagg (Managing Director and organiser of the sales) who had worked for many years at Sotheby's Hodgson's Rooms in Chancery Lane and subsequently run the 'fast' book sales at the Aeolian Hall.

The company was set up as Kerr Herrmann and Stagg Limited trading as Bloomsbury Book Auctions. The premises of the new auction house were initially in the basement of Frank Herrmann's own house at 6a Bedford Square, and sales were held in local hotels. Within a year it was obvious that larger premises which could include a sales room on site were needed, and in August 1984 the business moved into 3/4 Hardwick Street, originally a four storey toy warehouse in Islington.

Bloomsbury Book Auctions was the first book auction house to be established in London for over 150 years; and was the only one at the time which concentrated exclusively on selling antiquarian books and manuscript material. It specialised in books, manuscripts, atlases, maps and prints, and was particularly interested in the sale of working libraries of an academic or specialist nature. With such specialisation and a high reputation in the book trade its success was almost immediate. Buyers and sellers came from all over the world. In 1993 tenth anniversary celebrations were held; five years later the business was sold by the original directors. The auction house continues to trade, although from March 2004 the name changed to Bloomsbury Auctions Limited, another move was made to Maddox Street in Mayfair, and the scope of items to be sold was expanded.

Deposited in 2002 (B02/096).

Records of Bloomsbury Book Auctions, 1951-2002. There are three series in the collection, the first (LMA/4449/01) covering the administration of the business, and the latter two (LMA/4449/02 and LMA/4449/03) dealing with the auctions and sales, including a series of catalogues.

The material is arranged in three series - LMA/4449/01 (1976-2002); LMA/4449/02 (1951-2002); and LMA/4449/03 (1983-2002).

Available for general access.

Copyright to these records rests with the Corporation of London.
English

Fit

Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm

More information about the business may be found in Frank Herrmann's 1992 autobiography Low Profile - A Life in the World of Books.
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997. July to October 2009 Books Rare books Business enterprises Auctions Trade (practice) Business records Sales Communication personnel Booksellers Publications Antiquarian booksellers Information sources Documents Auction particulars Sales catalogues Management Business management People People by occupation Personnel Mercantile personnel Auctioneers Communications media Information sciences Antiquarian books Business administration Companies Bloomsbury Book Auctions , antiquarian book auctioneers Enterprises Business

Source immédiate d'acquisition ou de transfert

Deposited in 2002 (B02/096).

Zone du contenu et de la structure

Portée et contenu

Records of Bloomsbury Book Auctions, 1951-2002. There are three series in the collection, the first (LMA/4449/01) covering the administration of the business, and the latter two (LMA/4449/02 and LMA/4449/03) dealing with the auctions and sales, including a series of catalogues.

Évaluation, élimination et calendrier de conservation

Accroissements

Mode de classement

The material is arranged in three series - LMA/4449/01 (1976-2002); LMA/4449/02 (1951-2002); and LMA/4449/03 (1983-2002).

Zone des conditions d'accès et d'utilisation

Conditions d'accès

Available for general access.

Conditions de reproduction

Copyright to these records rests with the Corporation of London.

Langue des documents

  • anglais

Écriture des documents

  • latin

Notes de langue et graphie

English

Caractéristiques matérielle et contraintes techniques

Instruments de recherche

Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm

Zone des sources complémentaires

Existence et lieu de conservation des originaux

Existence et lieu de conservation des copies

Unités de description associées

Descriptions associées

Zone des notes

Identifiant(s) alternatif(s)

Mots-clés

Mots-clés - Lieux

Mots-clés - Noms

Mots-clés - Genre

Zone du contrôle de la description

Identifiant de la description

Identifiant du service d'archives

London Metropolitan Archives

Règles et/ou conventions utilisées

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Statut

Niveau de détail

Dates de production, de révision, de suppression

Langue(s)

  • anglais

Écriture(s)

    Sources

    Zone des entrées