The Booksellers, Vol. 1
- Zach Harney
- Jul 1
- 10 min read
Tom Ayling - Oxford, England
It is such a pleasure to get to open up our newest interview series, looking at antiquarian and rare book sellers around the world, with our friend Tom Ayling. He has more recently ventured out on his own after getting started at Jonkers Rare Books and was one of the first booksellers to successfully grow a large and dedicated following on social media. His youth, passion, and wonderful storytelling have allowed him to carve a unique space in the rare book industry and draw interest from all different walks of life. In this interview, we explore the path that led him into bookselling, the challenges of an ever-evolving market, and what continues to inspire his pursuit of the rare and remarkable. Whether you’re a seasoned collector or a curious newcomer, Tom’s insights into the world of antiquarian books offer a window into the enduring magic of books as objects—and as connections to our cultural past.
Q: You clearly have a unique passion and love for the art of bookmaking and are a true bibliophile. What in your upbringing pointed you towards this profession and were there any especially important figures or moments that helped pave that path for you?
Certainly. The book that first ignited my passion for collecting was one I received at the age of ten—one of Caroline Lawrence’s Roman Mysteries series. Around that time, she visited my school, and I eagerly brought along a stack of her books to be signed. It was the first time I had ever met an author, and the first time an author signed a book for me.
What stood out most was her reaction upon seeing one particular volume. Six of my books were paperbacks, and one was a hardback. She noted that the hardback was a first edition—a term I’d never heard before, but one that sounded very attractive nonetheless.
What happened next was remarkable: she told me that because it was a first edition, it contained a small error, which she proceeded to correct by hand right in front of me. Before doing so, she inscribed the book for me in Latin with the phrase 'ars longa,' meaning 'Skillfulness takes time.' Then, she turned to page 166 and made the correction herself.
Suddenly, my copy of this book felt so much more special than the one I walked into the school library with moments earlier, and that is what makes book collecting so special: looking for that one copy of a book that feels so much more valuable to you than any other.
Q: Before creating your own business, you worked for Jonkers Rare Books in Henley-on-Thames. What were some of the advantages to working with a larger team and what were the primary motivations for eventually doing this on your own? What have you enjoyed the most about running your own business?
I was very fortunate to have my introduction to the trade in rare books at Jonkers. It was my first job after university, and over the course of my seven years there, I learnt so much about rare books, book collecting and bookselling. Probably the most important thing I learnt there was that you always have to focus on the copy of the book in front of you; what makes this copy special or makes it stand out, and why should somebody buy this one instead of any other.
Early in 2024, I felt it was time for a new challenge and decided to set up my own business dealing in rare books and manuscripts. I worked from home initially, and now trade from a private office in the Oxfordshire countryside. It’s very different, and much more daunting, being a business owner compared to an employee, but it has been thrilling to see the business grow over the last year or so.
Q: During your time at Jonkers Rare Books, you started posting videos on their Instagram and grew the following to hundreds of thousands of followers. Even starting from scratch with your own Instagram account, you already have over 200k followers. Has the interest in your content surprised you in any way, or did you know there would be an appetite for the kind of videos you set out to make? How important has this following been to your success as an antiquarian bookseller?
I’ve long thought that the potential market for collecting rare books is much bigger than it currently is, and far larger than we necessarily imagine. As a collectible, compared to other categories, I think books are comparatively inexpensive, and incredibly rewarding objects to build collections of.
Social media has, I think, proved that to be correct. Lots of fellow dealers, including Reid Moon, Rebecca Romney, Sienna Wells and Adam Weinberger are consistently reaching new audiences with their content. And when you add up the numbers of people watching videos by my colleagues or my own videos, there are tens of millions of people engaging with the rare book trade every single month, and lots of these people are turning up at bookshops and book fairs eager to learn more and start collecting books.
Reaching these new audiences is a really big part of our mission as a business, as we try to share our love of book collecting with as many people as possible, and also present the hobby as more accessible and inclusive than people might think.
Q: Now that you have been a bookseller for quite some time, I’m curious if you have seen changes through the years in customers book buying habits? Have you seen any clear shifts in what people are looking for throughout your career and how do you see the role of booksellers evolving in the next decade?
There will always be gentle ebbs and flows in the market as certain authors or genres or collecting areas rise and fall in popularity, but although we try to be quite innovative in the way we communicate, we are reasonably traditional booksellers at heart. We try to find either very nice or very interesting copies of great books, and share them with as many people as possible.
I’m often quite sceptical when people describe a certain author or collecting category as “out of fashion”. I think in most cases it is just a communication problem, and books that once sold themselves as “essential,” “collectible” or “important” sometimes need to have their own merits restated from first principles.
As for the future, I’m long books and I’m long book collecting, so I’m very optimistic about the continued growth of the trade over the next decade. The onus is on us as booksellers to keep finding interesting material, and finding new ways of bringing it to people.
I’m on the National Executive Committee of the PBFA, which runs book fairs across the UK, and there was an old tagline attached to PBFA fairs that went, “Bringing The Books To The People." That really is what bookselling has always been about, and it is what I hope we can keep doing going forward.
Q: Being Oxford-based and a lover of Tolkien’s works, it’s no surprise that a large portion of what you sell ends up being related to Tolkien’s Legendarium, including an impressive Tolkien catalogue released recently. Why do you think that Tolkien’s works have seen such meteoric growth and have stood the test of time so well?
Tolkien might be the perfect author for book collecting. And it’s because he understood that books and stories have their own history.
This means that when you are collecting a book like The Hobbit, you aren’t simply buying identical printing after identical printing, you are seeing how the story developed, how illustrations were added and taken away, and particularly how Tolkien changed it over time to incorporate it into the ever-changing world of Middle-earth.
Book history itself is deeply rooted both in Middle-earth and its publication history; we have the Red Book Of Westmarch and the Book Of Mazarbul which exist in-world as documentary records of Middle-earth; but we also have the exercise books where Edith Tolkien transcribed Tolkien’s stories like The Cottage Of The Lost Play, which were then edited and published by their son Christopher over half a century later.
This, along with the sheer scope of Tolkien’s literary and academic output, has created incredibly fertile ground for collectors to till. But of course there is more too; the films of The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit have made Tolkien’s work culturally ubiquitous; and online platforms like the Tolkien Collector’s Guide provide fellowship, knowledge and community for collectors.
Q: What is your process of determining what to seek out and curate for your own offerings? Obviously, it is of peak importance that what you buy is likely to be able to be sold, but are there any other considerations, and do you ever keep books for your own collection?
We take a very personal approach to working with book collectors, and so the vast majority of material we handle is never publicly offered for sale, or even shared in online content. It is discreetly offered and sold to collectors we have an established relationship with. Sometimes this is the direct fulfilment of requests and collectors’ wants. Other times it is more holistic, and recommending that a certain book or manuscript would fit well alongside other items in somebody’s collection.
For my own part, I have collected books, manuscripts and artwork related to the town and university of St Andrews for well over a decade now. It was the town where I really got deep into book collecting and hunting. St Andrews has been one of the great pleasures of the last ten years or so. But I have recently taken the decision to finally produce a catalogue of my collection, and offer it for sale, so that will be coming out soon.
Q: You were recently interviewed on BBC Breakfast on rare books and book collecting. How did this interview develop and did you ever imagine yourself participating in something like this when you first set out to sell books?
The rare book trade is in the news every now and then, although in recent years, it is sales of first editions of Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone at ever-increasing prices that seem to capture journalists’ attention. On the back of a sale at auction of a fairly mediocre example of that book (for a fairly mediocre sum), the BBC asked me to come on to talk about the rare book market and why people collect first editions. Advocating for book collecting and the trade is one of my favourite things to do, so I hope I converted a few viewers to collecting in the process!
Q: Many of the people who follow us are strictly modern fine press collectors or maybe only dabble in antiquarian books. What would be some of your best pieces of advice for someone who wants to start collecting antiquarian books but doesn’t know where to start?
Talk to me, or another bookseller, about the sort of things you are interested in, and how that might translate into actually acquiring material. Nobody starts collecting with a fully formed idea of what they would like to collect, but this can emerge as you talk with dealers and collectors, and as you gradually expose yourself to more material. If you have a local antiquarian bookseller, then visit their shop, or find out where your nearest rare book fair is and try to visit. The more material you talk about and see in person, the more you will begin to appreciate exactly what it is that excites you.
Q: Can you talk about a couple of the biggest misconceptions and misunderstandings about antiquarian books (such as the handling of them, their value, preserving them, etc.)?
Books are generally incredibly hardy, and pretty straightforward to look after. The wearing of gloves is discouraged, and their use in popular culture has propagated an unfortunate myth that they help preserve books, when it truth they increase the likelihood of damage.
Caring for books comes down to three elements: storage, handling, and environment.
In terms of storage, books are best kept upright on a bookshelf, next to other books of a similar size. Try not to pack the shelf too tightly, nor too loosely. Once a year, take a clean soft brush to remove dust from the top edges of the books.
Rare books are safe to handle, look through and read, and I would encourage people to do this as much as possible. When you do so, use both hands to support the book, try not to open it too widely, and use clean, dry hands.
Books are best preserved in a stable environment, away from light and heat sources such as windows and radiators. If you measure such things the ideal room temperature is 16°C to 19°C (60-66°F); and relative humidity should be kept as constant as possible, within 45% to 60%.
Q: You recently have moved into a new office and added Sienna Wells to your team, which must be really exciting. How do you see your business continuing to grow, and where would you see yourself in ten years if you could build your business exactly how you envisioned it?
The business has grown quite quickly over the last year or so, which has been incredibly exciting and rewarding, but in the short term we are just looking to continue to provide a really high level of service to people that want to work with us either on the buy side or the sell side of the business.
Sienna joined the team late last year, and her academic background in medieval manuscripts has been invaluable, and it has helped us broaden our offerings, so the material we handle now stretches back before the printing press. It is nice to be able to offer material from each century from the 12th to the 21st!
Q: Do you have anything else exciting coming up that you want to share about?
There is always new and exciting material passing through our hands, so it is worth joining our mailing list to be kept in the loop with those. Sienna is currently working on our first catalogue of medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, which will be out this summer.
We also recently moved into a new office, and are beginning to accept visits from interested collectors by appointment. Anyone interested in browsing can reach out through our website.
This interview was done in a series of communications back and forth with Tom and we want to thank him for his willingness to be a part of this series with his busy travel schedule and starting his own business. If you want to see more from Tom you can check him out at https://www.tomwayling.co.uk/. You can also follow him on Instagram or TikTok for consistent interesting content about rare and collectible books!
Interview by: Zach Harney a contributor to the Collectible Book Vault
*Since there are often different spellings in American English and British English of the same words, we have chosen to adhere to the spelling of the person who is speaking rather than conform to one convention for the whole interview.