Annie Quigley, owner - Bibliophile Books

2023-4 Chair Coleman Street Ward Club, City of London. 

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Pictured with Lord Mayors of London past and future, Armourers and Brasiers Hall.

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College of Arms visit Annie arranged with her friend, the Herald, Peter O'Donogue.

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Coleman Street Ward Club with Mark.

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Owner and book-lover, Annie Quigley was brought up in a family of parents who were teachers and writers, with family friends who were writers and who herself studied Spanish and English literature at London University.

In 1991, Annie was given the opportunity to buy the mail order bookselling business Bibliophile Books by her mentor Bill Smith when he was dying and she was Editor. In 2011 Annie was granted a Royal Warrant for Bookselling, By Royal Appointment to HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.

  • To see her in a rather windy riverside interview with PayPal in 2015, click here.
  • Read her Biblio.com website interview to learn more about her life in the book business, collecting interests and more! 
  • Hear her interviewed in a radio programme in Summer 2016 about her life in books and love of Spain...

 

 

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Pictured in front of her warehouse with the calligraphy Royal Warrant for Bookselling from HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.

She says:

I am often asked two questions, “What makes a book sell and what are your bestsellers?

In brief, it is beautifully made art books, conspiracy theories, crime fiction and Signed books which I love to sell and collect, so I regularly organise author visits. By genre, it is predominantly non-fiction - art, history, religion, war, humour and erotica. Not necessarily in that order!

Bibliophile has a vast reservoir of independent book reviews going back 30 years for something like 120,000 titles. With valuable sales figures for each, we can consider re publishing from this rich backlist and knowledge.

I am such a dyed-in-the wool bookseller that maybe then I shall go back to the old tradition of taking orders then printing individual books for my customers. This was what bookseller/printer did 300 years ago before the profession of “publisher” was invented! In fact the prosperous 18th century booksellers were all large copyright owners.

May I end by reading from one of my favourite books, The Life of Robert Dodsley,  “… for the real money lay in ownership of copyrights, not in the retailing… booksellers were the entrepreneurs who purchased rights from authors, and, binding to others, merchandised and finished the product through advertisement and trade distribution.”

 


In 1991, Annie Quigley was given the opportunity to buy the business by her mentor Bill Smith when he was dying and she was Editor. It has remained an independent, privately owned company.

Earlier, the business had been partnered by Fred Bass “the New York Bookseller” and owner of the famous Strand Bookstore, now in its 100th plus year.

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"TO ANNIE,  QUEEN OF CREATIVE BOOKSELLERS."

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In July 1992 Annie became sole proprietor and bought out both Bill Smith's widow and Fred Bass.

Since then, she has grown the business to over four times the size and is still run by a small, dedicated staff, six of whom have served over 18 years

Pictured below, staff receiving the Royal Warrant in 2011

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With good old friends, US supplier Brad Jonas and antiquarian book dealer Charlie Unsworth, April 2022.


 

2011 Annie Quigley was made Grantee for Bibliophile Ltd of a Royal Warrant, By Royal Appointment, Booksellers to HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.

2013 Elected to the Council of the Windsor, Eton & District Royal Warrant Holders Association.

2014 Designed, wrote and since edited the official website.

2015 Wrote the Windsor, Eton & District Royal Warrant Holders Association Constitution.

2015 Vice President

2016 As President presented Her Majesty The Queen with a handmade saddle for her 90th birthday from the Association.

2020 Elected Windsor Representative on the national Royal Warrant Holders Association Council until 2022.

2021 Royal Warrant extended until March 2027 just weeks before HRH The Duke of Edinburgh passed away. Reduced to March 2023 on his passing.

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Annie meeting HRH The Duke of Edinburgh (and wearing vintage Valentino).

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As President, leading a delegation to Her Majesty The Queen at a special informal presentation of the gift of a saddle for her 90th birthday at the Royal Mews, Windsor Castle.

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Meeting HRH The Prince of Wales (now King Charles III)at St James's Palace with QEST delegation for crafts and disappearing trades and Royal Warrant Holders.

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Above, President Windsor, Eton & District Royal Warrant Holders Association, Guildhall, Windsor 2016 wearing the splendid chain of office.

With Martyn Daniels "the Handbag Carrier", a title Annie's husband gave himself which Her Majesty The Queen appreciated. "I have one of those!" she remarked.  

Martyn died suddenly and unexpectedly in December 2020. See Tribute Martyn Daniels' Community Garden.


2022  Vice-Chairman Coleman Street Ward Club, City of London

2023-4  Chairman


2022  Speaker MENSA International Conference Cambridge University on "The Affects and Effects of the Pandemic". A Good News story for Bibliophile as we provided a "social service" and an escape with books.

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A speciality of Bibliophile is our editor/owner Annie's parents.
 
Her mother Aileen Armitage (left) has written 34 novels and was Woman of the Year for this achievement despite her blindness. She is pictured holding the Elizabeth Frink Award bronze eagle.
 
 
Her step-father, the late Deric Longden had six books published, the first two of which became the popular International EMMY and BAFTA award winningTV films Wide Eyed and Legless and Lost For Words, starring Dame Thora Hird, Jim Boraodbent, Julie Walters, and Pete Postlethwaite.
 
Bibliophile has published Deric's Diana's Story and Lost For Words and several other titles in Amazon Kindle eBook editions. Click to buy all Bibliophile's out of print choices to republish in eBook format.
 
 
 
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Mother and daughter Christmas 2019.
 

Memberships
Booksellers' Association of Great Britain
Windsor, Eton & District Royal Warrant Holders' Assocation (Honorary Member and Past President)
The Groucho Club (life membership since 1992)
Coleman Street Ward Club (City of London) Past Chairman
Royal Air Force Club

YouTube channel with 2000 video book reviews www.youtube.com/user/bibliophilebooks

Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/annie.quigley1

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Blog www.AnniesBookReviewsforBibliophiles.blogspot.com

Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/AnnieBookReview