If you like to hunt for rare and antique books, one of the hotels in Kensington offers the ideal setting for your activities while in London.
Buying antiques has never been more popular in the UK, and if antique books are your thing, one of the top Kensington hotels offers the ideal base for hunting down that rare volume.
The collection of antiques and the passage of time
This is a strange thing, but popular interest in the buying and collecting of antiques tends to increase in direct relation to social uncertainty. It’s almost as if when the familiar assumptions surrounding our society are thought to be risky, the more we tend to harken back to times when things were more convincing and certain! Of course, cynics will point out that the ‘past’ is often much less certain and secure than we might think. No doubt they are right, but for whatever reason, antique collection is booming and one particular area that is especially popular is antiques.
What to eat
It’s nearly impossible to give advice on what you should or shouldn’t buy; Much will depend on your own personal collection and reading interest, and always keep in mind the economic reality of life that the values of antiques, such as stocks, can go up or down over time. In fact, you should always be cautious about any suggestion that buying antiques is a sure-fire investment for the future.
However, if you’re visiting staying at one of the Kensington hotels and want to try and find some potential bargains, you’ll be pleased to know that on nearby Church Street there are many antique dealerships, and many of them offer a wide selection of antique books.
If you’re hoping to pick up a genuine antique volume, and that might even be a bargain, the following tips may prove useful.
- While it may be more difficult to fake old volumes than some other types of antiques, nonetheless, fakes and age-made jobs do exist. For that reason, buying from an established and reputable dealer is a good idea if you want to avoid risk.
- Look carefully at the condition of the book. Broadly speaking, the condition is very important and the old book value can be significantly reduced if the overall condition is described as ‘poor’.
- Look for re-binding. The logic behind this is the same as per point above but, of course, if your interest is purely literary this may be less of a problem. In fairness, re-binding is also sometimes essential when a book that is rapidly deteriorating needs to be maintained.
- Check the asking price against the reference price online. Prestigious Kensington hotels will usually have WIFI Internet access and it is important to try and connect the asking price of scarce volume to at least a level of external market reality. In passing, the margins for most antique dealers are usually very small, so don’t assume they are making a fortune on sales.
- Get confirmation in writing, as part of your acceptance process, of what was sold to you. If the dealer has told you that it is, for example, the first edition, then make sure that it is also explicitly written on your receipt. This will provide you with a level of consumer protection in case you wish to restore the volume for any reason after subsequent concerns about its authenticity.
Above all, have fun! Hunting for antique books from your base at one of the Kensington hotels can be a lot of fun and can help make your visit in the capital even more enjoyable.