As another year passes the annual dealers vs. auctioneers charity football match creeps up on us. This year the match will be held at the Bank of England Sports ground on Friday 29^th August, and is destined to be another raving success.

Over the past five years the ATG has raised over £40, 000 in support of Breast Cancer Haven, more than any other of their events, and this year should be no exception. If you would like to come and support the teams or would like to make a donation then please contact Samantha Dack at samdack@antiquestradegazzette.com

The complete set of Deluxe 1^st Edition Harry Potter books will be going under the hammer tomorrow at Cameo Auctioneers near Reading.

Each of the original hardbacks are signed by the author, J K Rowling, and are estimated to reach between £15 000 to £20 000 each. The collection consists of all seven volumes, including The Philosopher's Stone, The Chamber of Secrets, The Prisoner of Azkaban, The Goblet of Fire, The Order of The Phoenix, The Half-Blood Prince and The Deathly Hallows.

For more information on the sale please call Cameo Auctioneers on  +44 118 971 3772 and ask for Gary. 

 www.the-saleroom.com/cameo.

A rare first edition of ‘Emma’ sold for a record £180 000 in auction at Bonhams this week. The three-volume edition was estimated at around £70 000 but turned out to be the most profitable Jane Austen novel to be sold at auction yet.

The book was one of 12 copies that was sent to Austen’s friends and family, yet the seller stated that “The novel had been sitting in my family library for at least three generations, and it remains a mystery as to how it first got there.”

www.bonhams.com

The Times newspaper has recently published its entire archive of historical Law Reports which date back over 200 years. The documents have been made available to the public through the website Times Online, which covers the full text of every case reported in the newspaper since 1785, including those such as Oscar Wilde, Derek Bentley and the Lady Chatterley’s Lover trial. 

Editor of the Times Archive, Rose Wild, stated, “The launch of the archive is a fantastic opportunity to access 200 years of legal history wherever you are, on your laptop. You can search for specific cases and follow the course of the crime, trial, verdict and sentence, for example, and follow how legislation and attitudes have changed.”

www.timesonline.co.uk./archive 

This Thursday 26^th June, the printed works of Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778) will be displayed in a summer exhibition.

Piranesi’s work was inspired during a visit to Rome in 1740 where he became engrossed by the visual diversity of the city’s architecture. After spending a great deal of time producing etchings of ancient ruins and monuments Piranesi’s reputation soared when his work was collected and published in Antichita Romane. Today, Piranesi is considered one of Italy’s most prestigious printmakers and antiquarians.

The exhibition  includes around 350  original prints, which range from the first Roman Editions to the First Paris Editions of 1810. Works will include the Vedute di Roma, Carceri d’Invenzione, Campo Marzio, Antichita di Cora .

The exhibition will be held at 8 Thurloe Place, London SW7, and will last until 30th August 2008. For more details please contact www.robertfrew.com