Firsts--London’s Rare Book Fair 2020 will be Virtual Only

London — Due to the ongoing uncertainties related to the COVID-19 situation, the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association (ABA) has made the difficult decision to cancel their flagship event Firsts – London’s Rare Book Fair 2020. Due to take place from the 5th-7th June 2020 at Battersea Evolution, the fair would have celebrated its 63rd anniversary and coincided with the 150th anniversary of the death of writer and author Charles Dickens.
 
Planning is already underway for Firsts London 2021, and we look forward to once again welcoming colleagues and friends to London next year.
 
In an effort to offer our exhibitors and audiences an opportunity to view and buy some of the items that would have been available at Firsts London 2020, we are pleased to announce the ABA’s first ‘virtual fair’ that will launch the 5th June 2020 at 12:00GMT at www.firstslondon.com.
 
The virtual Firsts London will work as follows. Exhibitors who would have attended Firsts London 2020, will be able to upload and showcase up to 12 highlights on the website. The items will go live at noon on Friday 5th June for viewing and will remain online for the coming weeks. Contact details for each exhibitor as well as catalogues will be available for potential buyers and those interested in enquiring about a particular item.
 
We wish to thank our sponsors and partners at this time, who have remained great sources of information and support throughout the past several weeks.