Organised by the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association, the annual Firsts Rare Book Fair, attracts a diverse audience of collectors, dealers, enthusiasts and the curious alike. Inspired by the RHS Chelsea Flower Show which takes place the week after the fair, the theme for 2025 is horticulture, to showcase floral and botanical examples from print history, from early herbals to contemporary art books.
The botanical illustration chosen as the headline for Firsts 2025 features an item from the collection of Chelsea Physic Garden (CPG) – a partner of the 2025 fair. During the fair, Rosalind Lintott, researcher and CPG Library Volunteer, will give a presentation on the brief history of the CPG collection, with an overview of some of unusual discoveries she has made in the course of cataloguing the Inner Library, from fragments of medieval manuscripts to centuries-old plant cuttings. She will also discuss volumes that were truly novel or cutting-edge when first published, as well as some that were designed for (and show signs of) practical use by botanists and gardeners.
Book collector and supporter of Firsts London, Alan Titchmarsh CBE DL VMH said: “Firsts brings together some of my favourite books. The combination of fine binding, fine printing and botanical wisdom makes such books simply irresistible to me.”
The 2025 Firsts Rare Book Fair takes place at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea, London from the 15th – 18th of May 2025.
