No.

Sorry, that's a little facetious and reductive, but it's pretty much true.

For those who don't know, a certificate of authenticity is usually a sheet of paper that states that the item that was purchased has been certified as authentic. They come in many different forms, from a simple...

Books

The elephant in the room (in this room there's only me and the elephant) is The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson. I read the final four volumes (it's 13,000 pages long, over 10 volumes) in 2021 and without sounding too melodramatic it put a real dint into...

Fiction is an indulgence. An entertainment. We read fiction, for fun. That's not to say we don't get anything out of it beyond cheap thrills, far from it. We get a better understanding of the human condition, culture, every aspect of the world. But let's not kid ourselves into thinking...

Books

The Good

December never bore much good fruit for me. Perhaps the best was The State of the Art, by Iain M. Banks. Odd Attachment is a truly funny short story, and Descendant is quite moving. Penric's Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold was middling, an excellent start to a novel or trilogy, but not...

Heads Up: Don't take this too seriously, I think, perhaps, it's primarily nonsense pitted with opinion and anecdote. But hey, it's the 21st Century. So it goes.

The Idea

Do you know who's a better fantasy writer than Tolkien? Creator of Discworld and self-driving luggage Terry Pratchett. That's a fact*. Also, despite his...

One of the questions we get asked the most is where can I sell my [insert rare book]. Here's a brief outline of your options and a short assessment of the pros and cons.

At Auction. This has been a common option for a couple of hundred years. We don't generally...

In the words of Public Enemy, Don't Believe the Hype. Well, that's a little disingenuous to be honest. Chuck D should've really said 'Don't always believe the hype', or 'Exercise caution when making a decision based upon what others, both with and without vested interests, suggest. Admittedly, I'm not quite...

We recently acquired a wonderful Kelmscott piece and thought it might be nice to preserve the pictures on this blog before it sells. As always, it's a fabulous work of book art. Everything about it speaks volumes for the care Morris and his team put into their work. Jean Froissart...

I cannot recommend this trilogy enough. The story is one of the finest of fantasy, and the writer is one of our most gifted (and a lovely person as well). The key to modern fantasy seems to be well-developed characters (along with a cohesive world, and of course a plot)...

Detail from the first edition of The Invisible Man, one of H.G. Wells' best known works. I'm going to say third best-known book after War of the World and Time Machine, but before The Island of Dr Moreau and First Men in the Moon. The Invisible Man was Wells' fifth...

It's been a good while since we offered any reviews. We did write a post a couple of weeks back but the browser died and I lost the post.

TV and Film.

I'm not usually one to believe the hype, but Bodyguard on the BBC was a good few hours of fun. A....

What is an association copy?

An association copy can often be the pinnacle of collecting for a particular book. A book is designated an association copy if it was owned, at some time, by someone associated with the book. This can be somewhat tenuous, and the less tenuous the association the...

We stopped buying Folio Society collections a few years back, but have recently had quite a few requests for certain titles, particularly where related to science fiction. If you have a collection, or even a single book that you're looking to sell please do get in touch.

shop@hyraxia.com | 07557 652...

We have an upcoming catalogue dedicated to the small publishers of the world who publish in the realm of horror, supernatural and weird fiction. We have a few dozen candidates but are looking to acquire titles from the following publishing houses:

• The Tartarus Press
• Egaeus Press
• Centipede Press
• Ash-Tree Press
• Night Shade Books
• Ex-Occidente
• Ghost Story Press
• Midnight...

In 1963 and 1964, the great publisher of science fiction (and others) put together a short-lived series of books celebrating somewhat rare titles with reprints. Nine titles were published, each wrapped in the instantly recognisable yellow jacket.

We thought it would be nice to put together a set of the books...

I'd like to introduce you to a new website we've put together. We thought it would be nice to allow our clients and readers, and anyone really, to post photos of their book collections online. It's not for comment and it's entirely anonymous, just a place really to let people...

One thing that I've been hearing a lot about of late is market value, so I thought I'd take a moment to offer my take on how market value works in the rare book trade.

1. Markets are many and varied.

When most book collectors talk about market value, what they're actually...

Let's start with books. I've read a few since the last review post. The one that stands out the most is Lloyd Arthur Eshbach's Over My Shoulder, a recollection of a few decades worth of science fiction publishing. I won't cover it here as it's a valuable resource and I....

Reprinted from our previous blog firsteditionsbooks.co.uk

A lovely copy of William Morris’ Kelmscott Chaucer came to market recently (last year, but that is recent in book collecting). It sold for in excess of £100,000, quite an increase on the £20 it originally sold for in 1896. If you’d put £20 in...

Whenever I talk about rare books to someone outside of the world of book collecting, they're invariably familiar with the idea of a first edition. Most in the world of book collecting are familiar with the notion of first printings, many understand that books can have different states and issues...

NOTE: This first appeared on an earlier blog in July, 2016.

Nope, this isn’t some whimsical hammering on the chest, it’s a brief look at which editions to buy when collecting rare books. As a little spoiler; this won’t provide a set of rules that determine which edition to collect; it’s...

Books make great gifts, rare books make even better ones. Before we look at the various occasions that can be celebrated with a book, let's have a look at what makes a good gift book. Other than the title, perhaps the most important aspect is the condition. You're giving someone...

// An introduction to our 'Collecting Arkham and Lovecraft' category in the ideas section above (here) //

One of our most common requests is for books published by Arkham House, often specifically with an interest in H. P. Lovecraft. Let's just a look at a background of the two, and their...

Nope, this isn’t some whimsical hammering on the chest, it’s a brief look at which editions to buy when collecting rare books. As a little spoiler; this won’t provide a set of rules that determine which edition to collect; it’s never that easy. So, what are we talking about exactly...