Ravelstein
Dealers in rare books, manuscripts, and signed memorabilia since 2014. Member of the ABAA, ILAB, and PBFA.
The firm was established in 2014 with a single purpose: to bring the standards of institutional bibliography — full collation, photographic record, provenance research — to the private trade. Every item we sell or authenticate is recorded to a public certificate, searchable in perpetuity.
We operate from Cecil Court, London, and by appointment in New York. Our catalogue covers English and continental literature from the sixteenth century to the present, with particular strength in high modernism, the Beats, and twentieth-century first editions.
The Method
Each item is examined in the hand, under raking light, and — where signatures are present — compared against authenticated exemplars. Provenance is traced through auction records, dealer catalogues, bookplates, and correspondence. A signed certificate of authentication is issued and recorded to the public Register.
The Trade
We are members of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA), the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB), and the Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association (PBFA). We adhere to their codes of conduct and submit to their arbitration.