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Private Collections
Introduction
At Forum Auctions we understand the significance of private collections, often representing a unique snapshot of a collecting passion. This is a passion that drives us, and we strive to provide a sympathetic yet effective route to auction, while also creating a lasting memory for owners. Forum Auctions' experienced team combines meticulous sale planning with creative marketing strategies and bespoke exhibition design to ensure that each collection achieves optimal results, making Forum Auctions the auction house of choice for single owner collections.
We also understand the complexities associated with offering a collection at auction, and we offer expert and professional advice at every stage to ensure a smooth process.
The Library of Barry Humphries
Works from the library of the legendary comedian, actor, author, and satirist Barry Humphries (1934-2023)
Realised £613,000 over 1 auction (2025)
Barry Humphries was best-known as a comedian and the creator of the much-loved stage and television characters Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. In the book world however, he was known as a leading collector and member of the exclusive Roxburghe Club. His collection was largely focused on fin-de-siecle writers and artists such as Oscar Wilde, Charles Baudelaire and Aubrey Beardsley, but also included rare works of Gothic fiction, stunning bindings and much besides that was either beautiful or unusual. Forum Auctions secured the library in competition with other auction houses and the sale was extremely well-received, with an overall hammer total way above its top estimate.
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The Ricky Jay Collection
Rare and historic magic ephemera from the personal collection of legendary magician, performer, and author Ricky Jay
Realised £157,000 over 1 auction (2025)
Ricky was not only a magician of extraordinary skill, but also a historian and curator of magic’s rich past. This auction was a celebration of his life’s work, and we are thrilled to have shared the final auction of this remarkable collection with the world. The auction offered an unparalleled opportunity to acquire significant pieces that celebrate his extraordinary legacy.
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The John and Eileen Harris Collection of Architectural Drawings and Works of Art
Works from the collection of renowned architectural historians, John and Eileen Harris
Realised £269,000 over 1 auction (2024)
The erudite and remarkably refined eye of John and Eileen was reflected in an auction of exceptional results for drawings by great English artists, sculptors and architects, many unseen at auction for decades.
It was a pleasure to bring the collection to market, and a delight to speak with so many friends, associates and colleagues of the Harris's, many of whom came to view cherished pictures, all with their own personal stories and fond memories of John and Eileen.
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A Visual and Historical Voyage into the Ottoman World: The Library of a Gentleman
Rarities depicting the Ottoman Empire
Realised £286,000 over 1 auction (2024)
The collection focused on conveying an accurate historical and visual understanding of Turkey and the Ottoman empire from the 16th to the 20th century by focusing on 400 years of Ottoman history, voyage, and costume portrayed by prominent politicians, historians, and travellers in the Levant.
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The Detective Fiction Collection of John Cooper
Celebrated detective novels by Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh and P.D. James
Realised £215,000 over 1 auction (2024)
John Cooper read his first detective fiction novel at age 12 in 1956, and he has been devoted to the genre ever since. Before his retirement, he taught science for 43 years and for 12 years ran Marjon Books which was a successful book business specialising in crime fiction.
We were delighted to offer nearly seventy works by the ‘Queen of Crime', renowned British writer, Agatha Christie. She is best known for her 66 detective novels, 14 short stories, and plays, including iconic works such as Murder on the Orient Express, Dumb Witness and The Thirteen Problems.
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The Fox Pointe Manor Library
A magnificent collection of 16th - 17th Century English Books
Realised £2,200,000 over 4 auctions (2019 - 2023)
This exceptional collection was assembled over many years by Californian radiologist Dr Howard Knohl and his wife Linda, focussing entirely on English books from the 16th and 17th centuries. As well as his obvious interest in medical works, Dr Knohl amassed a library of over 4,000 volumes covering literature, philosophy, law, economics, science, travel, topography, cookery, witchcraft, astronomy and astrology. An initial sale of a selection of titles was held at Sotheby’s in 2016, followed by another at Skinner’s (Boston) in 2018 before Knohl decided that Forum was his venue of choice. Four sales have now taken place with a fifth currently in the offing.
The Rothamsted Collection
Rarities from the Lawes Agricultural Library
Realised £2,200,000 over 2 auctions (2018)
Lawes Agricultural Trust's Library was assembled between the two wars in the 1920s and 1930s by Sir John Russell and held rare books relating to farming, livestock, landscape gardening and wine.
The provenance of many of the Rothamsted books held great significance – several books were previously owned by Richard Schwerdt, the great collector and bibliographer of works relating to Hunting and other rural pursuits; and others by André Simon, the equally revered collector and bibliographer of books on food and drink. Other highlights included the first published illustration of the tobacco plant, the first book devoted exclusively to potatoes, the first agricultural bibliography, the first gardening book for Scottish gardeners, the first bibliography on hunting and the first detailed description in English of wine-making in the Champagne region.
Over 3400 volumes were divided into 815 lots and the fully illustrated catalogue was arranged chronologically.
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The Edge Hall Library
By order of the Trustees of Mr. A.K. Wolley Dod Residuary Trust
Realised £700,000 over 1 auction (2017)
The library, formed largely in the 19th century, was a wonderful and typical country house collection, focussing mainly on Natural history, Travel, Economics, Literature, Illustrated Books, handsomely bound sets and albums of prints.
The Dod family had been at Edge Hall, near Malpas in Cheshire since Hova Dot settled there in King Henry II’s time. Another ancestor, Sir Anthony Dod, was one of the heroes at Agincourt and was knighted by Henry V on the battlefield.
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Signed and Inscribed
A Gentleman's Library of Modern Literature
Realised £848,000 over 1 auction (2021)
This fantastic collection contained over 500 lots of rare signed modern literature, accumulated over several decades by a distinguised collector in the USA.
The owner chose Forum Auctions over a US auction house largely because of our acknowledged expertise on this specialist sector, aided by the ease with which we facilitated the transfer of the collection to London for sale. The decision paid off, with the collection selling at a 50% premium to the values previously advised by a local auctioneer.
The Birmingham Assay Office Library
Realised £940,000 over 1 auction (2020)
Founded in 1773, the Birmingham Assay Office is responsible for assaying (testing) and the hallmarking of precious metals, as required by the Hallmarking Act. This Library was rich in books from the 16th to 19th century on metallurgy, mining, design and ornament, but also covers chemistry, alchemy, numismatics, jewellery, horology and British topography.
Every book had a small circular ink library stamp, usually to the front free endpaper. The half- and quarter-leather library bindings are in many cases more attractive than a typical library binding - with a small blind-stamped decoration to the leather spine strip. Perhaps these were executed for the Assay Office by a local craftsman.
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Selected Books from Rugby School Library
Realised £775,000 over 1 auction (2020)
Many of these splendid books came from the library of Matthew Holbeche Bloxam, who attended Rugby School from 1813 to 1821. He became an amateur historian, a genealogist, archaeologist, naturalist, antiquarian, art-collector, a noted architectural historian. He was clearly a man of huge intellectual curiosity, and of generosity, bequeathing a large part of his collection to Rugby School.
The subjects covered in the 300 titles listed in this catalogue covered an impressively wide range of interests – horsemanship, duelling and mountaineering; botany, horticulture and ornithology; sermons and proclamations; jurisprudence and military history; psalms and poetry and maps.
The proceeds from the sale of this collection were used to extend the benefit of a Rugby education to more children.
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