Shampooing by Sake Dean Mahomed, 1822, priced £1500 by Jeremy Carson, organiser of the PBFA Brighton Book Fair.
First up is the annual PBFA Brighton Book Fair – which was held for the first time last year – and the other is Love Fairs’ popular antiques and vintage fair for which there is always a waiting list.
The manager for the book fair on the Saturday is local antiquarian bookseller Jeremy Carson.
He said: “Last year’s PBFA fair at the racecourse was the first in the city for 20 years. I’m pleased to say we’ve held steady at 35 professional dealers and are looking to make this a key date on our calendar.
“A fair like this is essentially a giant pop-up bookshop coming to town for the day and that’s an unmissable event for book enthusiasts.”
Based in south Norfolk, John Underwood Books is bringing to the fair a 19th century item of local interest: a framed portrait of one John Standing, a match seller in Brighton.
Priced at £395 and titled The Celebrated Old Match Man of Brighton 1828, the verse beneath the image includes the lines Come buy my fine Matches/Come buy them off me/For they are as fine Matches/Most ‘ere as you’ll see….
Carson himself is offering Sake Dean Mahomed’s Shampooing, published in 1822, which is available for £1500. The author opened the first Indian restaurant in England in 1810 and subsequently moved to Brighton where he set up the Medicated Vapour Bath, the country’s first steam bath.
Full house
Donny Mann of Love Fairs reports a full house again for his antiques and vintage fair at the racecourse on the Sunday; held initially twice a year and now four times annually since 2016. “We have more than 100 dealers which is around 190 tables worth – fully booked”, he said.
Lovers of Lalique car mascots should head to the stand at the fair run by the Lalique Mascot Collectors’ Club which will have a display of the sought-after classic designs.
