Hong Kong Antiquarian Books and Prints Fair 2024

_{Header image courtesy of The Costume of China: illustrated by Sixty Engraving with Explanations in English and French (via Donald A. Heald, Rare Books, Prints & Maps)}

Tai Yip Art Bookshop, a Chinese and oriental art specialist, has been open in Hong Kong since 1975. This August, the independent bookstore is hosting the very first Antiquarian Books and Prints Fair. Held in the heart of Central at Wyndham Social, the four-day event gathers unique and extraordinary cultural items and collectibles for book and history lovers.

Rare and antique books, bookplates, art, paper, old photographs and postcards, and film posters are among the treasures exhibited at the fair. Bibliophiles will love the original leather-bound edition of The Costume of China: Illustrated by Sixty Engravings with Explanations in English and French. Not only is the book by British officer major Henry Mason one of the oldest English-language illustrated works on Chinese culture, but it is also dotted with watercolours Mason purchased while he was in Canton. 

Film posters and stills from the Sil-Metropole Organisation production company will be on show and on sale for the first time, including exclusive stills from Gu Shou—“The Drummer”—a 1983 Hong Kong film starring Leslie Cheung, and the martial arts film The Romance of Book and Sword directed by Ann Hui, among others. Also on show is a rare map of Macau dating back centuries. A rare occurrence of a Macau map made using Chinese brushstrokes, the hand-painted relic shows what Macau looked like under early Portuguese rule.

Aside from the main fair, Tai Yip Art Bookshop is organising a series of talks, including a discussion around the pleasure of collecting old photos and postcards, a study of late Qing correspondence, a first-hand account of book hunting, an exploration of ex-libris (bookplates), and an in-depth presentation of Eileen Chang’s work.

Find out more about the event and how to register here.