Sanders of Oxford. Antique Prints & Maps

Sanders of Oxford. Antique Prints & Maps Antique Prints and Maps alongside a collection of works by contemporary print makers. Our friendly and knowledgeable staff are always on hand to assist.

Sanders of Oxford continues a long tradition of selling antique prints and maps from our historic premises on Oxford’s High Street. Our store, located in the 16th century Salutation Inn, has been host to printsellers and booksellers since the 1830s. Sanders, the most recent of these, was founded in 1927 and in its most recent incarnation seeks to preserve the old world charm of the store while rem

aining accessible and welcoming to collectors and enthusiasts from all walks of life. No question is too mundane or too bizarre, so please ask. As one of the longest running, and last remaining, general antique print sellers left in the world the shop contains a vast array of stock. Operating somewhere between a shop and a gallery we aim to provide a less intimidating, and more inviting, backdrop to browse our varied and extensive collection of prints and maps than our history might suggest. We sell antique prints and maps from the 15th – 20th century, covering virtually every subject and location you can think of. These sit alongside a collection of works by UK based contemporary printmakers, priced to suit every pocket. All of the prints and maps we sell are guaranteed original, with no reproductions, copies, or digital prints.

Sanders has a long tradition of dealing in mezzotint prints and we currently have over 450 mezzotints of various subject...
20/05/2026

Sanders has a long tradition of dealing in mezzotint prints and we currently have over 450 mezzotints of various subjects from portraits to biblical illustrations catalogued and available on our website, with many more here in the shop.

Featured here is a rare mid-eighteenth century mezzotint sporting portrait of the racehorse Young Driver from our most recent catalogue (link in bio).

Young Driver.
Thomas Burford
Mezzotint
Publish’d, as the Act directs, by T. Burford, May 14, 1765.
Image 252 x 343 mm, Sheet 266 x 363 mm

Young Driver, a bobtailed c**t with white socks on his hind legs, and a white star on his forehead. The horse, a winner at Epsom, Barnet, Enfield, Ascot, and Malden between 1762 and 1764, is shown in full gallop, bridled and jockeyed. Burford has depicted him with all four legs off the ground, commonly seen in early paintings of racing, in order to convey the rapid movement of the horse.

Below, the title is enclosed in a decorative baroque-framed cartouche at the centre of the inscription, which reads: ‘In the Year 62, he won the Fifty’s for 4 Years Old, at Epsom, & Barnet, in 63, the Five Years Old, at Epsom, Barnet, and Enfield, in 64, the Give & Take at Epsom, Ascot-Heath, and Malden.’

Chaloner-Smith (undescribed), Siltzer (undescribed), Lane Burford (undescribed).

Twit Twoo! Our latest catalogue or recent acquisitions is available to browse now, head to the link in our bio to take a...
13/05/2026

Twit Twoo! Our latest catalogue or recent acquisitions is available to browse now, head to the link in our bio to take a look.
Over the past few months we have been busy cataloguing a collection of what we like to think of as classic Sanders material. We are pleased to present fifty of our most interesting recent acquisitions in this catalogue, featuring fine and decorative prints spanning a diverse range of subjects, engravers, and prices including the print depicted here.

[Strix]

Ulisse Aldrovandi

Woodcut with hand colouring

[Bononiae Apud Franciscum de Franciscis Senentem MDXCIX Superiorum Permissu] [Bologna, 1599]

A late sixteenth century woodcut illustration of an owl, from Ulisse Aldrovandi’s Ornithologiae, Hoc Est De Avibus Historiae Libri XII, one of the most significant and beautiful illustrated early printed treatises on birds. This particular specimen, referred to by Aldrovandi in his explanatory text as ‘Strix’, is most likely a representation of the tawny owl. In classical myth, the strix was a bird of ill-omen, its high pitched noctural scream giving it a bloodthirsty reputation which survives in many modern European words relating to vampires and witches. The bird is shown perched on rocky ground, with a rodent in its right claw.

classicalmythology

May morning here in Oxford coincided with window change day in the shop.  You can just about make out, through the refle...
01/05/2026

May morning here in Oxford coincided with window change day in the shop.  You can just about make out, through the reflections of , a display of rare Oxford panoramas alongside depictions of the iconic tower, the location of this morning’s historical celebrations. To get a better view of the display do take a look when you are next passing the High Street.

It’s a beautiful day here in Oxford, the door is open and tourists and locals are filling the shop.Do pop by and say hel...
25/04/2026

It’s a beautiful day here in Oxford, the door is open and tourists and locals are filling the shop.

Do pop by and say hello if you are in town, we are open until 6pm today.

The print featured is a fabulous separately published view of Oxford, and one of the most detailed aerial plans of the city, taken from beyond the Cherwell and looking across Christ Church Meadow. The print depicts the city from Magdalen Bridge in the east to Oxford Castle in the west, the Radcliffe Observatory in the north to Broad walk and meadows in the south.

To his Grace the Duke of Wellington. Chancellor The Revd. Vice Chancellor and Members of the University of Oxford. This bird’s-eye View of the University and City of Oxford is most gratefully inscribed by their obedient humble Servant James Ryman
Nathaniel Whittock
Aquatint and etching with hand colouring
Drawn and Engraved by N. Whittock. Published as the Act directs by James Ryman, High St. Oxford. [c. 1848]

Have you been to see the latest exhibition ?IN BLOOM – How Plants Changed Our World.The show features over 100 artworks...
10/04/2026

Have you been to see the latest exhibition ?

IN BLOOM – How Plants Changed Our World.

The show features over 100 artworks and objects, including drawings, paintings, rare prints, and ceramics, In Bloom explores our changing relationship with the natural world.

If you are coming to Oxford to see the exhibition why not combine your trip with a visit to us here on the High Street. We currently have a fantastic collection of botanical prints on display such as this Fritillary by Basilius Besler .

I. Fritillaria pyrenaea obsoleto luteo colore. II. Fritillaria minor, obsoleto colore inodora. III. Fritillaria polyanthos lutea

Basilius Besler
Copper engraving with hand colouring
[1613-1713]
Image 460 x 385 mm, Sheet 560 x 450 mm

Plate 58 from the ‘Spring Plants of the First, Second and Third Categories’ part of Besler’s landmark ‘Hortus Eystettensis’. The plate shows the small flowered fritillary, the Pyrenees fritillary, and the yellow fritillary.

Have you been to see the latest exhibition ?IN BLOOM – How Plants Changed Our World.The show features over 100 artworks...
10/04/2026

Have you been to see the latest exhibition ?

IN BLOOM – How Plants Changed Our World.

The show features over 100 artworks and objects, including drawings, paintings, rare prints, and ceramics, In Bloom explores our changing relationship with the natural world.

If you are coming to Oxford to see the exhibition why not combine your trip with a visit to us here on the High Street. We currently have a fantastic collection of botanical prints on display such as this Fritillary by Basilius Besler .

I. Fritillaria pyrenaea obsoleto luteo colore. II. Fritillaria minor, obsoleto colore inodora. III. Fritillaria polyanthos lutea

Basilius Besler
Copper engraving with hand colouring
[1613-1713]
Image 460 x 385 mm, Sheet 560 x 450 mm

Plate 58 from the ‘Spring Plants of the First, Second and Third Categories’ part of Besler’s landmark ‘Hortus Eystettensis’. The plate shows the small flowered fritillary, the Pyrenees fritillary, and the yellow fritillary.

Happy New Year from all of us at Sanders! ✨If you visited us in 2025, thank you! Here’s to 2026, we hope to see you agai...
01/01/2026

Happy New Year from all of us at Sanders! ✨

If you visited us in 2025, thank you! Here’s to 2026, we hope to see you again this year ✨🎆

Today is our last day before we close for a well deserved break! ✨🎁🎄We’ll be here until 5pm today and then we’ll be clos...
22/12/2025

Today is our last day before we close for a well deserved break! ✨🎁🎄

We’ll be here until 5pm today and then we’ll be closed through until the 2nd January.

Featured here is ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Eugene Gaujean after Dante Gabriel Rossetti from 1891. Linked in our stories and via our bio too! 🖼️

If you’re struggling for gift inspiration and nothing is quite hitting the mark (or you’re not too sure what that diffic...
16/12/2025

If you’re struggling for gift inspiration and nothing is quite hitting the mark (or you’re not too sure what that difficult to buy for person would like…) then panic not we have you covered! We offer gift vouchers of any value that are valid for a year. No last minute panic purchases needed…

Drop us an email or pop by the shop to have one made up! ✨🎄🎁

Featured in this post is a c.1950 Japanese miniature woodblock print titled Kiyomizu Temple, Kyoto by Tsuchiya Koitsu (linked in stories!)

Address

104 High Street
Oxford
OX14BW

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 6pm

Telephone

+441865242590

Website

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