See rare Shakespeare folios, Freud letters and more
Where might you find the world’s oldest printed object, the first illustrated edition of Pride and Prejudice, and one of Sigmund Freud’s personal letters – all in one room – this weekend?
Right here in Melbourne.
The world’s oldest printed object – a 1250-year-old print of Buddhist prayers – at the Melbourne Rare Book Fair. Credit: Joe Armao
Saturday is the final day of the Melbourne Rare Book Fair, which runs for three days at the University of Melbourne’s Wilson Hall. Despite this being the 55th instalment of the event – the largest rare book fair in the southern hemisphere – it remains one of Melbourne’s best-kept literary secrets.
There are some truly special items on display this year, including the Hyakumanto Dharani (One Million Pagodas and Dharani Prayers), the world’s oldest printed object, created in 8th century Japan. There’s also a page of the first print run of the Gutenberg Bible, the Western world’s first piece of print.
In addition to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, there are several other precious relics of the British canon. For fans of the Bard, London-based rare book dealer Peter Harrington is showcasing one of Shakespeare’s third folios, which have been beautifully preserved. The folios were the first of Shakespeare’s anthologies, featuring 18 plays that had not been published before.
“Without the folios, we would have no Shakespeare,” Harrington says. “This one is the rarest folio of the four because of the Great Fire [of London].” There are only a few dozen copies of it in private hands around the world today.
A first edition of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice at Melbourne Rare Book Fair. Credit: Joe Armao
A number of the dealers at the fair this year haven’t showcased their collections in Australia before, or haven’t done so for decades.
Many of them came to Australia for the annual International League of Antiquarian Booksellers’ symposium. An opportunity for leading rare book academics and dealers to discuss the challenges their field is facing in the 21st century, the event has not taken place in Australia before. Its Melbourne debut, on July 30, led to the 2025 Rare Book Fair featuring a particularly impressive line-up.
