BILBLIOMANIACS ON TOUR: BOOKS, VINYL AND SAUSAGE ROLLS.

Bibliomaniacs Travel log

15th January 2026

Today the Bibliomaniacs went on our first trip of the new year we went to a family home near Princes Risborough that is being sold.

When we arrived, we had no expectations that there would not be any books of any value, but we were blown away by the number of old artifacts and items of interest.

These items included: lots of vinyl records (including music by Mozart, Bach, and many more), crystal decanters and military collectibles as well as many books. Loading all the items into the Bibs’ battle bus proved to be challenging, but we powered through and all these items will be revealed in due time in coming catalogues and the summer auction.

We were also given lots of delicious beverages and food by our nonagenarian host such as hot crossed buns, sausage rolls, buttered crumpets, and apple juice. We were amazed by the kindness of everyone there and the delightful hospitality offered to us.

Overall, the Bibliomaniacs thoroughly enjoyed the amazing experience and had such a fun time, especially those on their first outing with the Bibliomaniacs. I believe we will all remember this day for the rest of our time at Papplewick and far after.

By the Enforcer of the Bibliomaniacs Alexander Roy

Bibliomaniacs: A Day at the PBFA Fair in London

Arriving at the fair, we unloaded our boxes with books and after that they were quickly whisked away by a whole team of porters with trolleys. After they had literally “dumped” the boxes by stall 092, we got straight to unpacking with Mr Cooper helping and ordering the books. A fellow dealer was rummaging through our stock before we even unpacked. We were overwhelmed by the number of rival sellers that there were. Our first customer (a fellow dealer) came. And do you know what he bought? It was none other than V.M Meek’s book in six volumes on how to become a professional detective! Meanwhile the other two groups were having some lunch. After that, group A and Gaidai and Mr Cooper had their lunch. Then group B were on shift while the others were wondering about, looking at other stalls and “the competition” ... 

Then came the flow. At 13:00 all the customers from outside and that was when the most intense and exciting time was. We got off to a good start by making our first sale almost instantly. With this confidence boost, we continued to work hard to sell as many books as we could. Group A (Jake, Arty, Eric) made many sales to start and group B (Michael, Hector and Henry) and Group C (Theo, Josh, Ewan, Giles) were able to keep it going. with many customers buying many different books. It was in the first hour, that was when most of our sales were made. When our shifts ended we had a quick refreshment and went out to scout. I ended up in the far corner of the room where I found the stall of Forum Auctions, the sponsors of the whole fair. And even though they weren’t selling anything, they were giving out catalogues and showing their stock for an upcoming auction.  

We received valuable advice from other stalls. We were also able to look around at our competition and we saw books worth as much as £25,000 being sold. We saw many well-known books such as a First Edition signed Matilda and a signed Autobiography of Pele. 

Elephants, Bling and Cyanide Snot

This term we have been looking at lots of different bindings. We have had various presentations on bindings including seeing an Ethiopian book bound in elephant skin and some seriously bling Byzantine-style bindings in silver, gold and semi-precious jewels. We all had our own bit of broken calf binding which we treated with Marney’s Conservation Leather Dressing aka Cyanide Snot.

New term, New Bibs…

After the stunning success of last term’s catalogue Around the World in 80 Books which took more than £500 in three days, we are already planning our next triumph. We welcome new and dynamic chocolate eaters… we mean book lovers this term.

A memorable evening and a great auction

At the end of the summer term we bid farewell to Arthur, Tiger and the other Year 8 Bibs in style with an evening in the School Hall. Former Bibs returned to share memories on stage and there was a great chat between Mr Cooper and Daniel Haynes of the Royal Library. The evening ended with a lively auction. Arthur was wielding the gavel and controlling the bidding and Tiger was showing off each lot. The auction made £1,800: half of which will go to Helen and Douglas House, the Oxford Children’s Hospice.

A very royal expedition!

Having eaten our lunch, and gotten into our smart outfits, and endured a very short drive, we arrived at Windsor Castle, and, after making our way past some terrifying guards, we arrived at the library itself. It was, quite frankly, INCREDIBLE! I can safely say that none of us had ever before seen a library of this size and quality! With the decorated ceiling many meters above us, we could only wonder at the vast amount of books that were around us. However, even more gasps ensued when we were told the prices of some books. I can safely say that it was more than all of our houses put together, from one book we looked at. After a lovely two hours, at that time where the little ones start moaning and groaning, we set off. A quick photo with Dan, our wonderful guide, and we were back at school.

Just an ordinary day for the Bibliomaniacs!

An Ancient Discovery

On a normal day when the Bibliomaniacs had gathered to do what they do best, we were told that we were going to have a special visitor. Of course, we were very much anticipating this ‘guest star’. This was our Head of EAL Mrs Fotheringham. The items she carried with her were hugely interesting. An ancient bible from over two hundred years ago, and a 400 hundred-year old box containing a vellum indenture of George III! A brief look into both of these items revealed that the Bible and what was inside the box were not what were worth the most, but it was the box itself, reaching a value from £800-£1200! This was because it dated back to the 16th century, and had a lovely leather cover, and was in fairly good condition.

PBFA Book Fair 2023

 After an hour-long journey from Papplewick to the conference centre in London, we were greeted by several porters who speedily took away our load on carts, before leading us to where our stall actually was (number 55, in the centre of the room). From there, we began the process of setting up our stall, which took much longer than any of us anticipated. Following a brief lunch interval, we were split up into three groups once the fair had actually begun to prevent a rabble of Papplewick boys swarming some unlucky customers! Switching every 60 minutes, one was on stall engaging in conversation with our buyers, one was off stall to check out other stalls with incredible items such as an £8500 pound first edition of The Hound of Baskervilles and including other first editions and signed copies of creditable authors such as J.R.R Tolkien, Beatrix Potter, and Roald Dahl. To top it off there was a first edition of The Tiger Who Came to Tea for a whopping 10,000 pounds, while also hoping to catch the attention of foreign visitors! The final group, however, was allowed the luxury of a sit-down and break, before doing what they wanted to do for the hour. This went on for several hours, with our stock of books on such diverse subjects as poetry, 19th century sheet music, crime and detection, French fashion and even children’s fiction slowly diminishing as time went by, before the time finally when we were allowed a dinner break. Where we bumbled up to the upstairs pub and gorged ourselves on pizza, and gallons of coke. After that, the time had come when we had to put away our stock and say goodbye to the place we had spent so many hours selling books at. We sold an array of crime fiction, including an 1899 US First Edition of the Amateur Cracksman by E. W. Hornung which was sold at £40, a 1955 first edition of The Quiet American by Graham Greene which was sold for £25, a 1928 first edition of Ashenden or The British Agent BY W. Somerset Maugham for £50 and a 1976 first edition of Something Nasty in The Woodshed by Kyril Bonfiglioli for £40. We should like to thank Miranda and all the other PBFA dealers for inviting us, making us welcome and being very kind and helpful through this amazing experience.

Our latest catalogue is out!

Our newest catalogue - as well as our longest ever at 150 books - is finished! Its contents include everything about crime, murder and death, with new and old books, as well as some author signed and first edition ones! We’ve got books from Lawrence Block, James Hadley Chase and Philip Kerr. We hope you enjoy!

Eton College library trip 2022

On the 27th September, The Bibliomaniacs returned to Eton College library after a 3 year hiatus, due to the pandemic. Upon our visit, we observed several books, ranging from the smallest book, a Quran for World War 1 soldiers, to the biggest book, which celebrated the crowning of Alexander II of Russia. We also got to see 2 12th and 14th century manuscript Bibles. There were other objects as well that caught the attention of The Bibs, and a part of Isaac Newton’s hair was certainly one of them! Other things The Bibs got to see included some Japanese poetry given to the library by the Japanese Emperor Hirohito before World War 2, as well as some modern books, such as a foldable book made in 2010. The stunning bookshelves and the wonderful books were a pleasure to look at, and the people who took us around were absolutely wonderful, answering all our questions, as well as telling us all about the books on show. However, the event which The Bibliomaniacs enjoyed the most were the milkshakes that were devoured before we entered the library, with Mr Cooper having a so called Italian Mystery - which resembled more of a thick chocolate soup!

Finally...An auction!

In light of the recent Sotheby’s auction on natural history, The Library of Henry Rogers Broughton, 2nd Baron Fairhaven, the Bibliomaniacs decided to have a little bit of a challenge, reminiscent of the older days. The Bibliomaniacs were split into 2 groups, each with the objective of answering three questions: the 3 ‘best’ books, in any criteria (i.e its ‘wow’ factor, or how it looks); the 3 books that each group thought sold for the highest % over the lowest estimate (i.e if the lowest estimate is £1000, and it sells for £1500, the percentage over is 50%); and finally 1 book that each group thought they could buy and then sell for a higher price. All in all, a great, enjoyable session!

And for those of you who would like to see the auction, it’s linked here.

The Golden Age of Crime

Greetings from The Bibliomaniacs.

Throughout this Michaelmas term, we have been working towards the completion of our latest catalogue, The Golden Age. Featuring numerous titles by Agatha Christie, Philip MacDonald and Freeman Wills Crofts, they are the perfect collector’s items and Christmas gifts for your family and friends. Have a very merry Christmas everyone!

Lent term progress

Greetings from Bibliomaniacs in exile.

Did you see the post by Jamie Pike and Andrew Zhang on the blog of the well-known contemporary crime writer Martin Edwards just before Christmas? If not, it can be read here. Bravo to these two Bibs.

This half term in Bibs we are looking at "Bizarre Books": inspired by the recent release of "The Madman's Library" by Edward Brooke-Hitching. This volume I can thoroughly recommend. Each week Rupert (the Head Bibliomaniac) and Mr Cooper are giving a presentation on one aspect of bizarre books. They have spoken about "Books Made of Flesh and Blood", “Books of Extraordinary Size” and “Fabulous Fakes” so far. Jamie has also talked about Medieval Manuscripts, the Gutenberg Bible and Darwin’s Origin of Species.

To go with the theme of the term, we are running a competition. The task (to which all are welcome to contribute: including old boys, parents and friends) asks you to send in some photos and a short description of a bizarre book from YOUR collection at home. It could be the title of the book, its illustrations (within the realms of decency, of course!), its covering, an inscription inside the book, its history (where you found it, for instance). Do feel free to send your ideas of "what makes the book a bit bizarre" to Rupert or myself at info.bibliomaniacs@gmail.com

A new term, a new era, a new way

So, we’re back and in person. Because of the current “bubble” system we have had to divide our troops into age groups with the (very) senior Year 8s concentrating on the Christmas catalogue “Crime and Detection Part One; Sherlock Holmes and his Rivals” with Jamie to the fore. The Year 6 Miniacs are putting together a catalogue intriguingly called “Wish you were here?”. More details to follow…

The end of an era

We have had a most curious term as Bibliomaniacs has had to be enjoyed in a “virtual” way. However, we have made the most of it, learnt a lot, had fun and eaten chocolate. There have been some competitions and good laughs along the way. Today we said good-bye to our current Year 8. They have been an amazing group and a number have been members since they were Miniacs. Many thanks to Joshua, JD, Tobi, Nikita, Guillermo, and Zoravar but especially to Jonas and Henry for all their loyalty and hard work over so many years. Gone but never forgotten! Now it is up to Rupert to lead the new team to even greater heights. If you are reading this from within the Papplewick “bubble” you will be able to follow highlights of the term and even watch videos of meetings on our Teams page. You have been warned!

Winchester

Despite the gathering storm, it was business as usual for the Bibliomaniacs today as they headed to Winchester for a delightful tour of the Fellows' Library manuscripts and printed books by the splendid Dr Foster, who also laid on tea and cake (not literally). 

It was super to be joined by illustrious Old Papplewickians Felce, Roskrow, Aristov and Murray for the whole or part of the afternoon.

Lent term progress

We have been making good progress this term, as we are working on two catalogs, one being a lovely range of children books which will be on sale soon. Our short Children book catalog will be published on the website. We have also welcomed some new Bibliomaniacs who are making an impact, we are also working on a crime catalog which will be the first of 4 from a private collector. The first one will be talking about Sherlock Holmes and his rivals. A very fun and busy next few weeks are ahead of us as we finish catalogs and we are visiting Winchester College school library.

The Bibliomaniacs autumn book fair 2019

The Bibliomaniacs had their annual autumn book fair, where on sale we had a range of signed books, like the signed funeral of Berlin, first edition by Len Deighton, we also had the book Coaraline signed by Neil Gaiman. We had a silent auction, a range of children books, a lucky dip, some art books, including a whole range of Picasso books and Oriental and Chinese art. This was then followed by the main attraction of the night which was our auction of his dark materials by Philip Pullman, signed by Phillip Pullman and first edition in perfect condition. It was a success, and a lot of fun.

Eton college library trip 2019

On the 29th October 2019 the bibliomaniacs embarked on their annual trip to Eton College library. When we were in the library, we were shown a lovely collection of signed books from their collection, as we also are focusing on signed books at the moment. We were shown a copy of the Odyssey which was signed by collatini. We also were shown a copy of animal farm, signed by Orwell himself. We also looked at a James bond book which was signed by Fleming. We also looked at some slightly more creepier books considering Halloween was near. We were then shown their exhibition about where you go after death, and generally about death. We were then taken to see the choir book, which was the book which many choristers would sing from. Those choristers would have to be highly skilled as in the choir book of you get lost, it is almost impossible to get back to the place you need to be. After we finished our tour, our head bibliomaniac gave a brilliant speech to thank the people who have showed use everything, as it was his last year and last visit over many years. Finally we rounded up in our traditional way, by going to Tudors , to have some tasty milkshakes.

First meeting of Michaelmas

Today we said hello to a whole new generation of Bibs and introduced the term’s theme of “signed books and books with provenance”. We also admired a private collection of the complete historical Ladybird book series.