Oliver Bayliss was interviewed by The Antiques Trade Gazette in December 2022 - below is the full interview.
How did you get your start?
A long and rather convoluted story! I started my working life as a chef in the kitchens of West Sussex and after one interesting experience with an angry head chef, a plate and my head being in the way of said plate, I left cooking behind me. After a few years, which took in everything from gardening, a stint in Paris, and the head office of Soho House, I followed my true passion and made my way to Shapero Rare Books as their marketing manager. I stepped out on my own during the pandemic and Bayliss Rare Books was born.
What is your area of focus?
Items that I love and personally would want in my own collection: literature, memorabilia, rare music and movie posters and photography. It’s great dealing in items I love as this forges a much stronger connection with my clients.
What events do you have coming up?
A pop-up at Soho Farmhouse on December 10-11. If any ATG readers are Soho House members, come on down. Next year there are a few more pop-ups in the pipeline and a number of fairs both here and abroad. Watch this space.
Something you secretly hope you’ll never sell?
I currently have an original flyer for an early Clash gig in 1977 which is from the personal collection of Clash co-creator Bernard Rhodes. Rhodes was a singularly important force behind the creation of the band so to have such an amazing item in great condition with such mad provenance blows my mind. Punk memorabilia is having quite the moment with collectors and this is up there with the best one could hope for. I’ll be sad to see it gone but such is the life of a dealer – the transient nature of our stock!
Read the full interview here.
