After a decade in the book trade, I founded Tom W. Ayling Ltd to help more people build important and meaningful collections of rare books and manuscripts. We deal across the last thousand years of human history, from the medieval period, through the advent of print, and well into the modern age.​

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Our particular specialism is the work of J.R.R. Tolkien. We handle first editions, proofs, signed and inscribed copies, letters and archives, and recently sold a previously unrecorded copy of Songs for the Philologists, widely held to be the rarest book in Tolkien collecting. Alongside Tolkien we deal in literature and first editions, antiquarian books and early printing, fine bindings and private press, and medieval manuscripts.

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We are based at the Manor House, Howbery Park, a tranquil Victorian estate outside Wallingford in South Oxfordshire. The premises are an office and showroom, open by appointment, and visitors are very welcome. 

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We publish our own printed catalogues, researched, written, photographed, and produced in house, and exhibit at book fairs both in the UK and overseas. 

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We are members of ILAB, the ABA and the PBFA, and work with both private collectors and institutions across the world, with clients on every continent, whether they are seasoned collectors, established curators and librarians, or buying their first rare book.

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Alongside bookselling, we make films about rare books for an audience of more than a million people across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook.​