We find rare books and maps
We help busy collectors to collect
And we do so much more
to
make your collection perfect
To save you time, inconvenience and expense...
1. We find rare books and maps for you
FINDING RARE BOOKS & MAPS
Our main business is helping busy collectors to collect: we save you time, inconvenience and expense by searching globally on your behalf.
We specialise in doing the research and we are as happy as looking for a 16th century map of Arabia by the great Piedmontese cartographer Giacomo Gastaldi as we are when searching for first editions of books by the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami (b 1949).
To do this, we stay in personal contact with leading sellers and auction houses around the world to ensure we are the first to hear of any books, maps, photographs or illustrations that would complement your collection.
And we save you any additional expense, because all the items we source are presented to our clients at the sellers’ publicly published prices. If you choose to buy, you buy direct from the seller. Unless you retain us for a specific project then our remuneration only comes from the seller.
We only deal with rare and antiquarian booksellers who are members of internationally recognised professional institutions such as the ABA, AABA, ILAB, and LAPADA. Any items we find through other sources are referred to one of our professional partners for a formal condition report and evaluation.
To make things easier...
2. we Also take care of your collection
BINDING & CONSERVATION
Our partners at The Chelsea Bindery offer traditional leather bookbinding services in London, using hand finishing and the finest materials to ensure a superior product of the highest quality. They also provide first class conservation and restoration services.
FRAMING & PRESENTATION
Our partners at Darbyshire Framers are London based picture framers and fine art fabricators. They work nationally and internationally with artists, galleries, collectors and museums. They also make display cases, book stands and fine shelving.
To make your collection perfect...
3. we do so much more for you
LIBRARY DESIGN & BUILD
Our partners at Artichoke can make outstanding bespoke libraries for our clients. ‘Artichoke have cornered the market for designing and building period joinery with classical detailing’, (Country Life). In this video, MD and founder Bruce Hodgson explains what Artichoke can do for you.
Our personal contacts with specialist booksellers around the world ensure we can provide the appropriate inventory and valuation services for your collection. This service can help determine what you already have, what you ought to acquire to complement your collection, and what you can safely dispose of.
SELLING
We help you find the buyer most likely to be interested in buying your special books or collection. In the video below, our partner Pom Harrington, a 2nd-generation antiquarian bookseller, explains what he looks for when offered rare books or first editions.
And to ensure we give you a perfect and personal service...
4. 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)