Peter Harrington

Behind UV-blocking glass at 100 Fulham Road, four floors of a converted townhouse are dedicated entirely to the preservation and sale of rare paper. It is a significant evolution from the Chelsea Antiques Market stall where Peter Harrington founded the business in 1969. Now run by his son Pom, the firm operates this sprawling main gallery alongside a smaller showroom on Dover Street in Mayfair, serving as one of the most significant antiquarian dealers in the city. The interior moves at a much slower pace than the street outside. It feels scholarly but accessible, with polished display cases and shelves of leather bindings spanning the rooms. The inventory ignores boundaries of genre or era – you are just as likely to see a 15th-century illuminated manuscript or a Shakespeare folio as you are a signed first edition of a modern novel. The collection covers science, economics, travel, and natural history, with provenance and condition notes often tucked inside the front covers. Staff sit at old-fashioned desks, often working on valuations or cataloging. While the items are high-value, the floor is open to browsers who just want to look. If you want to examine something closely – perhaps a specific title from the downstairs collection of letters and vellum – you simply ask. The business also maintains its own bindery and restoration service, ensuring the physical condition of the stock matches its historical weight.