Trafford Books

Biography

Trafford Books were established in 1980 as a partnership between 2 philatelic enthusiasts, George Wewiora and Harry Wood, both of Manchester. In its early days the business was merely postal and specialised exclusively in Stamps, Postal History and Picture Postcards. Whilst accepting material from the general public, bids were only accepted by mail, so the accuracy of the descriptions was of great importance from the outset. Acorn Philatelic Auctions as it was known in its first years of existence, soon gained a reputation for straight dealing and integrity. Its greatest success in the early 1980s was the sale of a massive collection of some one million postcards discovered in a terraced house in Eccles, which took nearly 3 years to sell. At this time the partners ran the business in their spare time (!), but it grew to such an extent that George left his teaching post and Harry sold his motorbike business to take up the auctioneering full time.

The problem was that the auctions were becoming so bulky that George in particular was keen to rent premises and "go public". At the same time Harry was forced to leave the business due to ill health, so George embarked on his first public auction at Cheadle Conservative Club in February 1988 with some 662 lots.

The business has expanded in terms of both value and scope of material handled, and over 6 years ago, moved into its own premises at Trafford Park, Manchester.

Trafford Books now handles all manner of paper collectables and books, with strength in Autographs, Ephemera, Postcards and Cigarette Cards. In addition sales occasionally include good collections of Coins and Medals, plus Prints and original Artwork.