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Articles - October - 2006 Issue

Top Sights for Collectors To See Around London

- by Carl Burnham

The Magna Carta, where freedom began.

The Magna Carta, where freedom began.


If rare paintings are your forte, the National Gallery will wet your appetite. Located next to historic Trafalgar Square, the gallery collection includes many rare original paintings dating to 1250 by European artists such Monet, Van Eek, Da Vinci, Rembrandt, Michaelangelo, Dirher, Picasso, Gauguin, Gainsbourogh, Cezanne, and many others. Did I mention original?

The Victoria and Albert Museum has a large decorative arts and artifacts collection, including the national collection of photography. There are numerous full-sized replicas of sculptures from around the world. One area, the Cast Courts, includes tombs, friezes, and sculptures, some two stories high. One interesting musical "instrument," Tippoo's Tiger, is a wooden life sized carved musical piece with metal workings instrumentation from Hindu India dating to the 1790s. It depicts the animosities of the times, an Englishman being mauled by a tiger. Speaking of musical instruments, there are some of the rarest in the world, including a Spinet from Italy, circa 1550. Also not to be missed are the Raphael Cartoons, dating from 1515 -1516, wall sized paintings based on Bible verses, on loan from the Queen. The Retable of Saint George (from Spain), made of Spanish tempera and gilt on pine, dates to 1410, and measures over 20 feet tall. There are many more museums if you have the time, including the Tate, the Tate Modern (the world's largest modern art gallery museum), and the Museum of London.

All of these sites are easily accessible via the London Underground, which consists of some 275 stations around the city operating on 12 color-coded rail lines. This is only a snapshot of the treasures the city holds, and we plan to return someday soon to explore more of its many gems.

Carl Burnham
SouthpointBooks.com

Editor's Note: For a letter concerning even older bookstores in the UK, please see the letter dated October 20, 2006, in the Letters to the Editor. Click here.

Rare Book Monthly

  • ALDE, Apr. 8: GUEVARA (ANTONIO DE). Histoire de Marc-Aurèle, Empereur Romain, vray miroir et horloge des Princes. Paris, Pierre et Galliot du Pré, frères, 1565. €3,000 to €4,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: HEURES DE LA VIERGE. Horæ in laudem beatissimæ virginis Mariæ ad usum Romanum. Paris, Charles L'Angelier, 1556. €4,000 to €5,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: MONTAIGNE (MICHEL DE). Les Essais. Édition nouvelle, trouvée après le deceds de l'autheur… Paris, Abel L'Angelier, 1595. €6,000 to €8,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: [ROJAS (FERNANDO DE)]. Celestina, tragicomedia di Calisto et Melibea, tradotta de lingua castigliana in italiano idioma… Venise, 1531. €2,000 to €3,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: CAMÕES (LUÍS DE). Os Lusiadas. Lisbonne, Pedro Crasbeeck, 1613. €2,000 to €3,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Bruxelles, Roger Velpius & Huberto Antonio, 1611. €6,000 to €8,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: LA FONTAINE (JEAN DE). Fables choisies, mises en vers. Paris, Denys Thierry et Claude Barbin, 1678-1694. €6,000 to €8,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Madrid, Joaquin Ibarra, 1780. €3,000 to €4,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: DIDEROT (DENIS) ET JEAN LE ROND D'ALEMBERT. Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. Paris, 1751-1765. €15,000 to €20,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. LAMARTINE (Alphonse de). Les Laboureurs. Poème tiré de Jocelyn… Lyon, J. A. Henry, 1883. €8,000 to €10,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. Livre de prières tissé d'après les enluminures des manuscrits du XIVe au XVIe siècle. Lyon, [A. Roux], 1886. €5,000 to €6,000.

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