About Alembic Rare Books

Contact Information:
Our premises in the Scottish Highlands is open by appointment only. We ship internationally and also exhibit at major book fairs.
Email: info@alembicrarebooks.com
Telephone: +44 ( 0)20 8050 2872

 

Sign up to receive occasional email catalogues, shop news & fair tickets:



Alembic Rare Books
specialises in rare science books, including first editions, signed copies, manuscripts, and ephemera, as well as original scientific instruments. 

Our stock dates from the late Middle Ages to the 20th century, and we have special expertise in genetics and evolution, natural history, anatomical illustration, microbiology & epidemiology, nuclear physics and atomic weapons, early computing, women in science, and popular science. We also carry books related to women's history and literature.

We can help you find a specific book, select a gift, or build your collection, and are always happy to receive offers of books for sale. For more on buying & selling with us please see our FAQ.

For those in the US, we also sell new books via Bookshop.org, where we've made reading lists on a variety of topics in the history of science.


Alembic founder Laura Massey has a degree in the history of science (Georgia Tech) and a master's in book history (The Institute of English Studies, University of London). She has worked in libraries and bookshops in the United States, and has four years of experience as a cataloguer and bookseller at Peter Harrington, one of London's leading rare book shops. We are members of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers and the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association, Britain's trade organisation for rare book dealers, whose members are selected for their proven experience, expertise and integrity.

To learn more about Laura see her two recent interviews with Fine Books & Collections Magazine. To learn more out about our name and logo, see our blog post on alembics and the history of science.