Collector’s Guides
What is a collector's guide or illustrated bibliography?
Many of the articles on this site are about beautiful book series, collections and vintage delights. Collector’s guides and annotated illustrated bibliographies are book lists that include titles, authors and illustrators, ISBNs and publishing data, links to where you might find the books, and enlargeable pictures of the covers and variant editions. Often I include a peek into the inside of the books, and typically a bit of history about the series as well.
This page provides links to the main genres and a couple of highlights they contain to give you a flavour of what to expect, but if you click through each heading you will find many more series in each category to enjoy.
Children's Literature
Fairy tale and folklore collections, beautiful modern children’s classics, stunning vintage children’s literature collections, and illustrated bibliographies of some amazing artists.
Illustrators & Authors
Complete illustrated bibliographies of some of my favourite forgotten masters and underappreciated contemporary wizards.
Classic Fiction
Beautiful collections of classic novels, modern classic fiction, Shakespeare plays and poetry.
Fantasy & Science Fiction
Leatherbound masterpieces of science fiction and fantasy, modern clothbound editions, and vintage classic collections.
Mystery & Crime
Cozy mysteries, crime novels, and noir fiction, all in beautiful bindings. With a pretty clear focus on Dame Agatha Christie.
Paper Engineering
Movable books, interactive books, pop-ups and more. Learn about the most beautiful books that explode off the page.
Folio Society
Folio Society are renowned for their stunning design, beautiful design and high quality bindings.
Special Editions
How to find fancy books, including collector's editions, sprayed page edges, and books with other special features.