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Raymond Briggs’s library goes on sale at his local Oxfam shop
More than 1,000 books from the personal library of Raymond Briggs, creator of The Snowman and When the Wind Blows, are being sold through Oxfam’s Hove bookshop and online. Donated by his estate after his death in 2022, the collection offers insight into the artistic influences and wider interests of one of Britain’s best-known illustrators and writers.
The books include works by Charles Schulz, EH Shepard, Shirley Hughes, Edward Gorey and Posy Simmonds, alongside comic annuals from the 1950s, social history and material on nuclear disarmament. Briggs lived near Hove for more than 50 years and taught at Brighton School of Art; prices range from £5.99 to £400, with the highest price for a signed first edition of Graham Rawle’s Woman’s World.
In short
- Raymond Briggs’s personal library is on sale through Oxfam.
- The collection contains more than 1,000 books.
- Prices range from £5.99 to £400.
Explained simply
Raymond Briggs was one of Britain's most celebrated children's book illustrators and writers. He created The Snowman, the beloved wordless picture book that became a television special in 1982, and When the Wind Blows, an illustrated novel exploring themes of nuclear war and human vulnerability.
Throughout his career, Briggs built a substantial personal library reflecting the artistic influences and diverse interests that shaped his work. The collection includes volumes by fellow illustrators such as Charles Schulz, Edward Gorey and Shirley Hughes, alongside comic annuals, books on social history and material on nuclear disarmament.
Briggs lived near Hove for over 50 years, teaching at Brighton School of Art, and his personal library is now being made available to the public by his estate following his death in 2022. The collection offers rare insight into the creative influences and intellectual interests of one of Britain's most iconic children's authors and illustrators.