Henry Sotheran Ltd, est. 1761
Our History
The longest-established antiquarian booksellers in Europe
265 Years of history
Founded in 1761 by Henry Sotheran in York and established in London in 1815, Henry Sotheran Ltd is one of the longest-established book dealers in the world.
Based in the heart of London
We now operate from two locations near Leicester Square station, just around the corner from one another. You are very welcome to drop in and pay us a visit, or, if you have specific collecting interests or would like to see a certain item, feel free to contact us ahead of time.
22 Charing Cross Road
The Sotheran's Athenaeum houses our rarer material, from masterpieces of early printing to monumental works of literature, travel, and the sciences. Here, we also host talks as well as exhibitions of contemporary art paired with selections from our bookshelves, in collaboration with Cassius & Co.
8 Cecil Court
Our Cecil Court shop, located on London's historic 'Booksellers' Row', houses much of our literature and poetry and is frequently used as a space for exciting temporary exhibitions.
Building Extraordinary Collections
The great American Shakespeare collector H. C. Folger acquired much of his collection through Sotheran’s, including the celebrated Halliwell-Phillipps library, and we acted as agents in the purchase of the world-famous Althorp Library from Earl Spencer for the John Rylands Library in 1892.
Other notable sales include the sale of a Gutenberg Bible on vellum to J. P. Morgan in 1896, and the acquisition of the Warwick Castle Shakespeare Library, later sold to Henry Clay Folger for the renowned Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C.
Taken aboard the titanic
The Sangorski Rubaiyat
One of the most notorious episodes in the company's history involves a jewel-encrusted copy of Omar Khayyam's Rubáiyát, purchased from Sotheran's in 1912 and intended to be transported to the United States by bibliophile Harry Widener. Sotheran's had commissioned a magnificent binding from Sangorski & Sutcliffe featuring over one thousand jewels, five thousand morocco inlays, and one hundred square feet of gold leaf. Tragically, Widener – and the bejewelled Rubáiyát – went down on the Titanic.
Laurence Sterne (1713–1768)
The Sterne Library
In 1768, Sotheran's bought the library of Laurence Sterne, author of Tristram Shandy. It was at no. 35 Stonegate in York, the site of Sotheran's first premises, that Stone's pioneering comic masterpiece was first sold in 1759, at John Hinxman's bookshop.
Charles Dickens (1812–1870)
The Dickens Library
Sotheran's carried out a valuation of Charles Dickens's library c. 1871, and purchased it in 1878, devoting two monumental catalogues to its contents: Catalogue of the library of Charles Dickens from Gadshill, in Sotheran's Price Current of Literature nos. CLXXIV and CLXXV.
A rich tradition of publishing
From monumental illustrated works to indispensable bibliographies
Lithographs by John Gould
Ornithological masterpieces
John Gould masterminded one of the most outstanding bodies of work ever produced in the field of ornithology. Following his death in 1881, Henry Sotheran Limited, already involved in publishing some of Gould's later works, bought his entire estate which included a number of black and white lithographs with the pattern plates used for the hand-colouring. This put Henry Sotheran in the unique position of carrying on the hand-colouring of the original 19th century lithographs according to Gould's exacting standards.
Sotheran's published Gould's Birds of New Guinea, as well as the supplement to Hummingbirds (1887).
Bibliotheca chemico-mathematica (1921)
A foundational scientific bibliography
John Gould masterminded one of the most outstanding bodies of work ever produced in the field of ornithology. Following his death in 1881, Henry Sotheran Limited, already involved in publishing some of Gould's later works, bought his entire estate which included a number of black and white lithographs with the pattern plates used for the hand-colouring. This put Henry Sotheran in the unique position of carrying on the hand-colouring of the original 19th century lithographs according to Gould's exacting standards.
Sotheran's published Gould's Birds of New Guinea, as well as the supplement to Hummingbirds (1887).
Services
What we do
Selling
Our website features material from the fifteenth century to the twenty-first. We exhibit at book fairs in the UK and internationally, including New York and Boston. Visit us in person or contact our dedicated team of booksellers - we're always happy to help you find the perfect book.
Buying
Our booksellers are always searching for new material. We would love to hear about any books you'd like to offer us.
