As you walk in across the old and creaking wooden floor there is a sense of satisfaction as you realise this is a shop from yesteryear where the assistants are well informed and courteous.
It is a welcoming atmosphere where one can browse for a long time without feeling self-conscious. The space itself is as inspiring as the stock, with the hallmark idiosyncratic proportions one might expect of a 16th century building.
There is a sense of calm and almost timelessness as one is continuously delighted to discover the fascinating wealth of maps, prints and photographs of a very fine and sophisticated quality.
Sanders is one of the largest print sellers in Britain, and features a varied and wide-ranging stock of more than, a staggering 30,000 items. Established in the middle of the 19th century, Sanders' range of prints and maps is rather impressive varying from British Topography to Mythological, Mezzotint Portraits, Topographical, Decorative, Sporting, Caricatures, Maritime, Military, Natural History, Literary and Fine Art prints. If you happen to know Oxford very well as I do, you will be delighted and fascinated by their range of beautiful Oxford prints.
Interestingly Sanders one of only four antique print sellers outside London, and proudly the only place outside London to offer a good selection of 18th, 19th and early 20th century Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints (japanese prints) and book illustrations. Another unique aspect of sanders is the healthy peppering of original contemporary prints in the form of lino cut, aquatint, etching which represents oxford outstanding professional artists society, ‘the oxford printmakers co operative’.
Reviewed by Kieran Stiles for In-Oxford
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