As the owner of one of the world’s foremost companies specializing in rare and aged books, Pom Harrington knows a thing or two about antiquarian tomes that come with a story.

“The world of rare book collecting is very small, very niche,” Harrington says. “But the desire for fine printed books is still there, enhanced by the proliferation of the digital word. When you make something a rarity, you make it more collectible.”

Established in 1969 in London, England by Pom’s father, Peter Harrington Rare Books is renowned for its superlative collection of historic, sought-after, and hard-to-find volumes, complemented by original first editions and fine bindings.

This September, the renowned antiquarian book dealer made its debut at the international arts fair Frieze Seoul in the South Korean capital. “We’ve always had a great interest in Asia and the East. In the last few years, we’ve recruited specialists in Chinese language and history so that we can start dealing in Eastern texts,” Pom says.

A chief focus of the fair involved significant periods in Western and East Asian religious history, as well as the international knowledge exchange between the two regions. Highlights from Asia ranged from ancient sutras to block-printed books.

“It’s exciting to handle some of these truly old Eastern materials, some of which are 1,300, 1,400, or even 1,500 years old. You don’t really get that in the Western side of book dealing,” Pom says.

In the following pages, we explore four rare Peter Harrington-owned texts, offering a glimpse into each of their fascinating stories.

Preserving precious scriptures

The Buddhist custom of transcribing sutras (sacred religious texts) was a way of preserving precious oral teachings previously recited from memory, creating canonical scriptures that were then copied as part of a ritual process.

“Sutras show the development of Asian history over hundreds of years, and the spread of thoughts. They offer a window into art history through calligraphy and wood carving engravings,” Pom says.

Composed of a 600-volume collection of 16 different sutras, each believed to represent authentic instructions from the Buddha, The Great Sutra of the Perfection of Wisdom offers wisdom on the process of discovering one’s true self. First translated into Chinese by Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang, who embarked on an epic 17-year journey to bring Buddhist teachings back from India to China, the collection was later introduced to Japan.

This particular example is the oldest item ever to be presented by Peter Harrington. The Japanese scroll is a rare piece chronicling

Buddhism’s journey from China to Japan and was produced at the famous Todai temple in Nara, Japan.

“Thanks to the outstanding quality of the paper from that period, and the fact that it has been well looked after as a religious text, [the sutra] is in remarkably good condition. Unlike in Western culture—where we only have small fragments from articles like the Dead Sea Scrolls—this sutra is a whole, complete object,” Pom says.

The words of a sage

As one of the most eminent of China’s sages, the wisdom of teacher and philosopher Kong Fuzi (typically Latinised as ‘Confucius’) continues to reverberate throughout the world. Exploring essential principles such as morality, loyalty, sincerity, and kindness, Confucianism has endured for over 2,500 years as one of the most significant schools of thought in the East.

By the 17th century, Confucius’ teachings were also gaining notice among thinkers in Europe, thereby effectively bridging the gap between the philosophies of East and West.

“Confucius is a significant example of the Eastern philosophies that were exported to the West and printed in European languages before being studied, developed, and even brought into Christian views,” Pom says. “Buddhism, like Christianity, has always been a syncretic religious tradition. There is a clear symbolic relationship between the two.”

Valued at £20,000, this first edition volume from 1687 contains the inaugural European translation of three of the four canonical books of Confucianism, namely Great Learning, Analects, and Doctrine of the Mean. Written in Latin, this publication was the central avenue through which Europeans understood Confucianism and Chinese philosophy for over 200 years, inspiring numerous Western intellectuals.

Interpreting the hidden forces of nature

In this advanced world of cutting-edge technology, it’s wondrous to think that the earliest form of computer science stems from an ancient book of divination written over 3,000 years ago.

The oldest of the Chinese classics, the Y-King also known as I Ching or the Book of Changes, is a hugely influential book of oracles and wisdom, containing guidance on living life in peace and harmony, as well as offering a means of navigating the unconscious through symbolism.

The Book of Changes began influencing Western thinkers in the 17th century through reports by Jesuit missionaries. By the late 1600s, German polymath Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz discovered the pure form of binary arithmetic—the foundation of digital computers—through the I Ching’s complex binary hexagram code.

Worth £50,000, Peter Harrington’s superb first edition of the book was assembled by German Orientalist Julius von Mohl. His work was informed by a forgotten translated manuscript by three Jesuits that, according to Mohl, helped him to emerge “out of a sea of mist and find solid ground.” By making the Book of Changes readily accessible to European readers, Mohl’s publication became an invaluable asset in the transmission of ancient Eastern philosophy to the West.

Napoleon’s reflections on Adam Smith

A precious text doesn’t always take the form of a pristine printed work. Handwritten musings can also prove immensely valuable, as evidenced by this 18th-century autograph manuscript, worth £250,000.

Written by Napoleon Bonaparte as a young artillery officer stationed in Valence, the 12-and-a-half-page document shares fascinating insights into his initial thoughts on The Wealth of Nations, the seminal text by Scottish political economist and philosopher Adam Smith, published in 1776.

In 1791, while off duty, the notably well-read Napoleon studied the first volume of Smith’s publication. The French translation had been published the previous year. With its exploration of the beneficial effect of self-interest and free trade for individuals and society, Smith’s text became a world-famous cornerstone of economic theory and remains highly influential today.

“This manuscript brings together two huge names, offering a fascinating insight into Napoleon’s mindset during his study of British economics,” Pom says.

Detailed with annotations and notes in the margins, the 1,500-word ink manuscript conveys Napoleon’s enthusiastic admiration of Smith’s economic ideas, such as those relating to the division of labour. Though Napoleon later denounced Smith for his criticism of Colbertism, this manuscript indicates a distinct approval for Smith’s economic theories.