David Goldthorpe

Spear’s Review

David Goldthorpe joined Sotheby’s as a trainee in 1996 and now serves as head of the rare books and manuscripts departments in London and Paris.

Goldthorpe has an intimate knowledge of the market – he has a PhD in the early English novel – and is well placed to advise on any piece of work, from Harry Potter first editions to 12th-century manuscripts. ‘The greatest thing about the book and manuscript market is that there is something interesting at every price point,’ he tells Spear’s. ‘If I gave you £500 and said: “Go and buy a book,” you could buy something that was really quite interesting. But similarly, if I gave you £200,000, you could do the same.’

Over the last quarter-century Goldthorpe has been involved in several important auctions, including the collection of the Earls of Macclesfield, and the library of Henry Rogers Broughton, 2nd Baron Fairhaven. ‘It was the biggest sale of natural history books in recent times, for sure,’ he says.