Gail, Hazel and host Philippa enter the world of second-hand bookselling with Chris Saunders of Henry Sotheran’s, the world’s oldest antiquarian bookshop. From folios to quartos, half-binding to cockling, foxing to forgery, they tackle trade terminology and share tales of rarities and curiosities. The conversation ranges far and wide in the typical Slightly Foxed manner – from Parisian romances and the libraries of English country houses to outsized ornithological specimens and books of unusual provenance. In this month’s wander through the magazine’s archives Nigel Anthony recounts the tale of a bookseller’s quest for bibliophilic bliss in a sleepy corner of the Cotswolds, and there’s the usual round-up of recommended reading from off the beaten track.
Comments & Reviews
If you enjoy the podcast, why not leave us a review? You can scroll down the page or click here to jump to the comments section.
How to Listen
There are several ways to listen to the podcast. Please choose from the following options
– LISTEN ONLINE. Press the play button on the image above to listen on this page
– SUBSCRIBE for free via:
– DOWNLOAD an mp3 file of this episode to your device. NB The file will download automatically on click. Please check your downloads folder
Show Notes
Please find links to books, articles, and further reading listed below. The digits in brackets following each listing refer to the minute and second they are mentioned. (Episode duration: 40 minutes; 36 seconds)
Books Mentioned
We may be able to get hold of second-hand copies of the out-of-print titles listed below. Please get in touch with Anna in the Slightly Foxed office for more information.
– Going Solo, Roald Dahl (2:00)
– The Natural History of Selborne, Gilbert White (4:32)
– Slightly Foxed – But Still Desirable, Ronald Searle is out of print (7:27)
– The Great Game, Peter Hopkirk is out of print (11:13)
– Birds of America, John James Audobon (21:00)
– Earthworms and Their Allies, Frank E. Beddard is out of print (32:43)
– On Chapel Sands, Laura Cumming (34:47)
– Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, Amanda Foreman (35:51)
– The Berlin Novels: Mr Norris Changes Trains and Goodbye to Berlin, Christopher Isherwood (36:59)
– As It Was and World Without End, Helen Thomas are out of print (38:22)
Related Slightly Foxed Articles
– Turning a Page, Glyn Frewer on second-hand bookselling in Issue 42 (26:34)
Other Links
– The Slightly Foxed Podcast was selected as one of the Sunday Times Top 100 Podcasts to Love (2:19)
– Sotheran’s Rare Books and Prints, London (3:09)
– Gilbert White’s House and Gardens, Hampshire (4:28)
Opening music: Preludio from Violin Partita No.3 in E Major by Bach
Reading music from filmmusic.io
‘Touching Moments Five – Circle’ by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (creativecommons.org)
The Slightly Foxed Podcast is hosted by Philippa Lamb and produced by Podcastable
I have just subscribed to your podcast and have been catching up on all of the episodes – what a treasure of topics and information. Thank you so much!
Thank you . . . what a fascinating podcast. I particularly enjoyed your question and answer session with Chris Saunders of Sotheran’s; wonderful! I’m so lucky that I can picture you all in your rooms at Hoxton Square, remembering the time that I was invited to join you and brought along my list of recommendations for your Cubs publications. All best wishes, Sheila
Loved this podcast. My sister and I recently had to sort our parents’ book collection: our mother had worked for Jonathan Cape in the 1930s and 40s and had amassed a huge collection. We sadly couldn’t house it all and were very grateful to Julian Nangle in Dorchester who came to have a look. It was amazing the way he immediately recognised what was worth something – and if only our mother hadn’t jettisoned the book jackets! As Chris Saunders said, we couldn’t bear the thought of books ending up on a skip so were deeply grateful to Julian for eventually taking the lot – slightly foxed or not!
Wonderful podcast . . . an essential from now on . . . thank you.