To ensure we give you a perfect and personal service...
We are a family team
James
Having helped and worked with many collectors around the world for more than 20 years through his main business Johnstone & Partners, James established ‘JJ Rare Books’ in 2019 as a happy offshoot. He loves discovering exciting pieces, enjoys meeting the collectors and the specialists from whom he learns something new every time, and finds the work relaxing and rewarding.
“On one project, which was the culmination of two year’s sensitive work by him for me in the UK and abroad, he came up with a solution for selling my collection that was the precise opposite of what I had expected. But I went with his proposal and I’m glad I did because he successfully created a substantial and unanticipated fortune for me and my family.”
Private Client, Monaco
Fan
James’s sister Fan is the lovely person working behind the scenes who undertakes all the preliminary research as well as keeping in contact with booksellers and auction houses to ensure we hear the latest news. A keen writer herself, Fan also runs The WildSide Studio.
“Fanny is a delight to work with and it always makes my day when she gives me a call. She’s unstinting in the care and attention to detail that she gives to every request, no matter how difficult they are, and she always produces results. I couldn’t ask for more and my only regret is that I can’t persuade her to come and work full time for me.”
Private Client, London
Colin
Fan’s husband Colin has decades of experience in the book industry, having worked for publishers including Bloomsbury, Granta and Simon & Schuster, and has represented award-winning literary novelists such as William Boyd, John Irving, Nadine Gordimer, Khaled Hosseini, Douglas Coupland and Jeffrey Eugenides. His non-fiction authors covered the fields of history, philosophy, sport, food and drink, art, science, and entertainment, and included David Kynaston, A.C. Grayling, Hunter S. Thompson, William Goldman, Heston Blumenthal, Nancy Cartwright, Kate Summerscale, Buzz Aldrin and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. He now runs his own independent agency, Bookshaped, assisting with PR, editorial advice and specialist projects. He is the Creative Director at the celebrated Port Eliot Festival.
“I was fortunate enough to work with Colin in the UK. Aside from his warmth and engaging personality, I found Colin to be extremely intelligent and a true professional. He proved himself a tireless and savvy advocate for my writing. I owe Colin many thanks for helping my books succeed in the UK.”
Khaled Hosseini (author of bestsellers The Kite Runner, And the Mountains Echoed and A Thousand Splendid Suns)