An old book, regardless of its strengths and flaws, wet spots and small woodworms, will always be mine once purchased and registered, even if I had to sell it.” Umberto Pregliasco is the proprietor of the eponymous significant antique bookstore in Turin. This phrase is something he enjoys repeating, as do most vintage book merchants. Selling a book does not break the tie between the dealer and the object of their study and research.

As we discussed in a previous piece, the world of antiquarian books is still rife with preconceptions. Despite the fact that the market is growing, many potential collectors and bibliophiles remain wary of this sector since it is opaque and difficult to grasp. Recent events have done nothing to dispel this notion.

We've compiled a list of six top antique book dealers that have demonstrated diligence and enthusiasm in their business, transforming it into a cultural endeavor beyond commercial considerations. Continue to read and we will share details with related to some of the most prominent rare book collectors out there in the world.

The Enlightenments (Paris, Chicago, New York)

Sandra Hindman created the antique book merchant Les Enluminures in Paris in 1991, with a branch in Chicago. In May of 2012, their gallery and shop in New York opened. The TEFAF in Maastricht, the Winter Antiques Show in New York, Masterpiece and Frieze Masters in London, and Fine Arts Paris are all regular stops for Les Enluminures. The Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Washington, and the Getty Museum in Los Angeles are among its many clienteles. Les Enluminures specializes in manuscripts and miniatures from the Middle Ages and Renaissance, but it also sells jewelry from the same eras—a unique combination for a book dealer. Sandra Hindman is not only a notable expert in miniature and mediaeval manuscripts, but she also conducts study into the so-called "little art" of goldsmithing. She is a Northwestern University professor of art history and the author, co-author, and editor of numerous books and papers on the history of illuminated manuscripts and mediaeval rings.

Every year, Les Enluminures hosts four or five exhibitions, some in partnership with other dealers and others that move to different sites. The Olivetan Gradual, a Latin language illuminated manuscript on parchment of Lombard origin from 1430, with five miniatures or historiated initials by the Olivetan Master and the Master of the Choral Books of Lodi, and eleven decorated initials by the Master of the Choral Books of Lodi, would suffice to give an idea of the quality of the books from this antique book dealer in recent years. Both were Lombard illuminators whose work was studied by the best students of prominent art historians including Roberto Longhi and Mina Gregori. The volume was sold by Les Enluminures and is now housed in Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library in New Haven, CT, which collects rare and ancient manuscripts and books.

The Lombard Haggadah, an elaborately adorned manuscript on parchment in Hebrew, likewise from northern Italy (Lombardy) and dating between 1390 and 1400, is another historical treasure from this antique book vendor. It contains 75 colored drawings by Giovannino de Grassi's group. Another excellent example from Les Enluminures is a tempera and gold leaf on parchment from the Hours of Bona Sforza by Giovanni Pietro Birago (active in Brescia, Venice, Milan, c. 1460-1513) from the Hours of Bona Sforza, which is now in the British Library and is considered “one of the most beautiful, illuminated books of our entire collection.”

Camille Sourget in Paris

Camille Sourget, a Parisian antique book trader, comes from a dynasty of antique book collectors. She has been fascinated by old texts since she was a youngster and chose early on to seek a career in the subject. She travelled to London after finishing her art history studies and went on to work in her parents' famous gallery. She spent some time in New York with the world's top international antique book dealers in order to deepen her understanding of the field. She returned to Paris in 2005 and launched her gallery store on rue de Seine, which is still operating today. The dealer's staff has welcomed enthusiastic collectors from all around the world here since the beginning.

Camille Sourget specializes in early editions of literature, travel books and atlases, scientific publications, incunabula, and seminal illustrated books, as well as incunabula. More precisely, the gallery concentrates on rare antique books with outstanding provenance, sumptuous bindings, or any other feature that makes them “unique” within a certain time spanning the 15th to early 20th century.

Camille Sourget and her team have made numerous appearances at the world's most prestigious international fairs (TEFAF Maastricht, Biennale Paris, New York Antiquarian Book Fair, Fine Arts Paris, Paris International Antiquarian Book Fair, China in Print in Hong Kong, and others) and have attracted significant private and institutional clients. They sold to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio, the MFAH in Houston, and the Bibliothèque Mazarine in 2020, for example, despite the fact that their most frequent clients are private collectors from the US, Canada, South America, Europe, and India.

This Parisian antique book trader just sold the first edition of Joan Blaeu's Atlas Maior, which is widely regarded as "the largest and most beautiful atlas ever produced" by historians. (p. 201 in Koeman I). This atlas has 593 maps and views that are completely colored and lighted. The quality of its colours, binding, and purity, according to specialists, make this specimen one of the most stunning ever seen on the market. Atlas Maior is widely regarded as the most ambitious, biggest, most sophisticated editorial effort in the history of topography, mapping, and hydrography.

Now you are aware about two of the most prominent figures in the rare book collection industry. You can take inspiration from them and proceed with collecting rare books.