Reference library
A permanent reference library for collectors, libraries and institutions: how sales are conducted, and how objects are catalogued, valued, cared for and consigned — written with the specialists engaged for our catalogues.
Featured guide
Light is the principal threat to drawings, watercolours, prints and photographs, and its effects cannot be reversed. This guide covers framing, glazing, display periods and safe storage.
Preservation & Care · 4 min read
Market Insights · 4 min read
Considered observations on how the market for paper-based material behaves, written without forecasts we cannot support, and intended to help collectors think about value over the long term.
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Preservation & Care · 4 min read
A collection is only as secure as the room it occupies. This guide sets out the environment, materials, documentation and emergency planning that responsible stewardship requires.
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Preservation & Care · 4 min read
Manuscripts are unique, and their materials behave differently from printed books. This guide addresses parchment, ink corrosion, seals and the housing that manuscript material requires.
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Preservation & Care · 4 min read
Books are robust objects that fail in predictable ways. This guide covers shelving, handling, environment and the interventions an owner should never attempt.
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Preservation & Care · 4 min read
Books are robust objects that fail in predictable ways. This guide covers shelving, handling, environment and the interventions an owner should never attempt.
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Works on Paper · 3 min read
Works on paper reward close looking. This guide covers the distinction between unique works and printed impressions, what a watermark can establish, and how condition governs value in the field.
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Photography · 4 min read
Nineteenth-century photography is collected as much for process as for image. This guide sets out the principal early processes, how to recognise them, and what condition means for each.
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4 guides
How a VALÉORINE sale works, from catalogue to settlement.
2 guides
Consigning manuscripts, books, autographs, photographs and works on paper.
2 guides
Estimates, appraisals and the evidence behind a figure.
3 guides
Medieval and later manuscripts, literary papers and archives.
1 guide
Editions, issues, states and the physical book.
2 guides
Letters, signed documents and the evidence of a hand.
2 guides
Processes, prints, editions and photographic condition.
1 guide
Drawings, watercolours, prints and the sheet itself.
4 guides
Housing, handling, environment and long-term stewardship.
2 guides
The language of the catalogue, explained plainly.
1 guide
How the market for paper-based collections behaves.
Every guide is written in our own reference library in London and revised as practice changes. Nothing here is advertising: it is the same guidance we give collectors and owners in writing.
Library last revised 3 August 2026.
