Privacy Policy

Adrian Harrington Ltd. Last Updated: June 2026

Our Commitment to Privacy

At Adrian Harrington Ltd, privacy and confidentiality are fundamental to the way we conduct business.

Antiquarian booksellers have long been entrusted with information relating to private libraries, collecting interests, valuations, acquisitions, estates, and research enquiries. The book trade is founded on the trust of its customers. As leading members of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association (ABA), Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association (PBFA), and International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB), we continue that tradition today.

We publish this privacy policy to let you know how we collect, use, and disclose your personal information; it also describes your rights in relation to this information. In brief, we collect only the information necessary to operate our business, fulfil transactions, provide services, maintain customer relationships, and comply with legal obligations. We do not sell customer data. We do not permit third parties to use customer information for their own marketing purposes. We take appropriate technical, organisational, and physical measures to safeguard personal information and ensure that it is handled lawfully, fairly, and respectfully. This privacy policy applies to our website, but also any other transaction with us whether by phone, at an event, in person at our shop.

Whether you are purchasing a book, building a collection, selling a library, requesting a valuation, or making an enquiry, you can expect your information to be treated with professional discretion and confidentiality.

1. Who We Are

Adrian Harrington Ltd (“Adrian Harrington Rare Books”, “AHRB”, “Hall’s Bookshop”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) is the data controller responsible for the personal information described in this policy.

Contact details:

Telephone: 01892 547531

Email: rare@harringtonbooks.co.uk

Websites:

• https://www.harringtonbooks.co.uk

• https://www.hallsbookshop.com

2. Confidentiality

The antiquarian book trade has long depended upon discretion, trust, and professional confidentiality.

Customers frequently entrust us with information relating to:

• the details and holdings of their private libraries;

• collecting interests;

• wants lists;

• valuations;

• probate matters;

• acquisitions and disposals;

• research interests;

• family collections.

We regard such information as confidential.

We do not disclose customer identities, collecting interests, transaction details, valuation information, or collection information except:

• where necessary to fulfil a transaction;

• where required by law;

• where necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims;

• where required by professional obligations;

• with the individual’s consent.

Protecting the privacy of collectors, readers, and vendors forms an important part of our professional responsibilities, governed, in addition to the law, by the ABA Code of Conduct and ILAB’s Code of Usages and Customs. Much of this information (primarily provenance) becomes of significant historical importance for future generations of scholars and bibliophiles.

3. Information We Collect

Personal information is any information, or combination of pieces of information, that can reasonably allow you to be identified. For instance, your first and last names are straightforwardly personal information, but your list of collection interests plus a partial address may also be enough to identify you, and would therefore count as personal information.

We may collection personal information as follows:

Identity Information

• Name

• Title

• Date of birth (where required)

• Identification documents (where required)

• CCTV video footage (when visiting the shop; see section 13)

• Family relationships (for birthday presents, etc.)

Contact Information

• Postal address

• Email address

• Telephone number

• Website username (for instance, your eBay username)

Transaction Information

• Purchase history

• Sales history

• Shipping details

• Payment records

• Invoice records

• Correspondence relating to transactions

Collecting Interests

Where customers ask us to identify material of interest, we may record:

• Collecting interests

• Wants lists

• Preferred formats

• Information voluntarily supplied to help us identify suitable books

• Research interests

• Previous purchases

• Price preferences

Valuation and Collection Information

Where valuations or collection reviews are requested:

• Book descriptions

• Ownership information

• Provenance information

• Images supplied by customers

• Valuation correspondence

Technical Information

When using our website:

• IP address

• Browser type

• Device information, such as operating system

• Website usage information, such as keypresses, mouse clicks, etc.

• Cookie information

Publicly available information

We may also collect publicly available information, such as :

• a publicly available database

• public social media platforms

• whether you are subject to sanctions

• whether you are a Politically Exposed Person (PEP), or a close family member or close associate of a PEP

• your employment

• any public affiliation with an address you’ve provided as a billing or shipping address (for security verification purposes)

Information We Don’t Collect

In accordance with our PCI DSS requirements, we do not collect sensitive cardholder data. Our payment platforms, Square and PayPal collect this information directly from you. We cannot keep credit or debit card information ourselves. Third-party marketplaces such as Abebooks, Biblio, and eBay, will usually have made their own similar arrangements - please see their websites for their policies on handling cardholder data.

We don’t accept children as customers, and don’t knowingly collect any data about them.

Information We Generate Ourselves

We may also generate information such as profiles, personalised offers and similar information.

4. How We Collect Information

We collect information:

• directly from you, face to face;

• through correspondence by email, telephone, or post;

• through website forms;

• when processing orders;

• when providing valuations;

• when purchasing books and collections;

• when you subscribe to catalogues or mailing lists;

• via third-party marketplace websites through which you transact with us (principally by Abebooks, Amazon, Biblio, and eBay);

• from publicly available sources, such as publicly shared social media profiles, where appropriate.

5. How We Use Personal Information

We use personal information to:

• process orders and payments;

• arrange shipping and delivery;

• provide valuations and appraisals;

• purchase books and collections;

• maintain customer accounts;

• provide catalogue and wants-list services;

• respond to enquiries;

• send marketing communications where permitted;

• administer events and exhibitions;

• improve our services;

• prevent fraud;

• comply with legal obligations;

• establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

6. Legal Bases for Processing

We process personal information under one or more of the following legal bases:

Contract

Where processing is necessary to fulfil a contract or take steps before entering into a contract. This will be the case, for instance, where you wish to buy a book from us.

Legal Obligation

Where processing is necessary to comply with legal obligations. For example, where we need to fulfil anti-money laundering “know your customer” requirements.

Legitimate Interests

Including:

• operating our bookselling business;

• maintaining customer relationships;

• matching books to collecting interests;

• preserving accurate transaction records;

• fraud prevention;

• protecting our legal rights.

Consent

Where we rely on consent you may withdraw your consent at any time. This basis is used primarily for marketing purposes, such as when you sign up for our regular new arrivals notifications, our newsletter, or to receive catalogues.

Data Processing

We may processes your data when it is our legitimate interests to do this and when these interests are not overridden by your rights, briefly outlined in section 14. Sometimes we will use automatic processes. For instance, we may have security software conduct checks when you purchase a book from us, which evaluates your personal information and alerts us to suspicious activities, behaviour or inconsistencies.

7. Marketing

We may send you:

• printed catalogues;

• electronic catalogues;

• new acquisition notices;

• book fair invitations;

• sale announcements;

• other communications relating to books and collecting.

We will only do so if you have explicitly opted in by clicking a required check-box during sign-up, or by another kind of explicit request.

You may opt out at any time by:

• using the unsubscribe link in our emails;

• contacting us by email;

• writing to us.

Please use the contact details in section 17 below for this purpose. We will honour such marketing requests promptly, usually within seven days.

8. Sharing Information

We share information only where reasonably necessary.

Recipients may include:

We may change these providers at any time, when necessary.

Where your information is shared with these parties, it is then governed by their privacy policies, as follows:

• Abebooks

• Amazon

• Biblio, Inc

• Bibliopolis, LLC

• eBay Inc

• Interparcel Limited

• Mailchimp, an Intuit Group company

• PayPal, Inc

• Royal Mail Group Limited

• Square

9. International Transfers

Where personal information is transferred outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place according to the requirements of applicable UK law.

10. Provenance and Historical Records

Rare books frequently contain historically significant ownership information.

Information relating to previous ownership, inscriptions, bookplates, annotations, library marks, archival references, and similar provenance evidence may form part of the historical and bibliographical record of a book.

Where lawful and appropriate, we may retain and publish such information as part of our cataloguing, scholarly, research, and bibliographical activities.

This will normally relate to the history of the book rather than the private activities of living individuals.

11. Valuation and Collection Records

Information supplied in connection with valuations, appraisals, estate matters, collection reviews, or offers to sell books may be retained in order to:

• maintain accurate business records;

• support provenance research;

• comply with legal obligations;

• document previous transactions;

• assist future enquiries.

12. Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary.

Retention periods may be extended where required by law.

13. Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures including:

• access controls;

• password protection;

• secure backups;

• staff training;

• software updates;

• physical security measures.

Access to personal information is restricted to those who require it for legitimate business purposes.

CCTV

We use CCTV at our shop for the protection of our staff, our customers, and our property. We only record visual footage; we don’t record audio. Our security recordings are only held for a limited time before being automatically wiped.

14. Your Rights

You may have rights to:

• access personal information, including the right to make a Subject Access Request (SAR);

• correct inaccurate information;

• request deletion;

• restrict processing;

• object to processing;

• withdraw consent;

• request portability;

• complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Further information is available from the ICO. Please use the contact details in section 17. If you are making a Subject Access Request, please follow the guidance supplied by the ICO here: https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/getting-copies-of-your-information-subject-access-request/

15. Cookies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to:

• operate website functions;

• improve user experience;

• analyse website traffic.

Most browsers allow cookies to be disabled or deleted. Without the cookies indicated as “strictly necessary” on our cookies preference centre, we cannot provide you certain services on our website.

16. Data Protection Complaints

We are committed to handling privacy concerns fairly and promptly.

Complaints may be submitted by email, post, telephone, or in person, using the contact details in section 17 below.

To help us investigate, please provide:

• your name and contact details;

• details of your relationship with us;

• a description of your concern;

• relevant dates;

• any supporting documentation;

• the outcome you would like us to achieve.

We will normally:

• acknowledge receipt of complaints within 5 working days;

• investigate promptly and appropriately;

• request further information where reasonably necessary;

• provide a substantive response within 30 calendar days where reasonably practicable.

If you are dissatisfied with our response, you may request an internal review by a senior member of management who was not primarily responsible for the original decision where reasonably practical.

You may complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at any time.

Information about the ICO is available at https://ico.org.uk

17. Contact Us

For privacy-related enquiries:

Lucas Boulding

Email: rare@harringtonbooks.co.uk

Telephone: 01892 547531

Postal Address:

Adrian Harrington Ltd

20-22 Chapel Place

Tunbridge Wells
Kent

TN1 1YQ

18. Third Party Websites

Our website may contain links to other websites not owned or controlled by us. These links are usually for informational purposes, but may also include links to social media platforms and so on. We are not responsible for such websites, which may collect information about you, and will be governed by their own privacy policies.

19. Changes to this Policy

This policy may be updated from time to time.

The latest version will always be published on our website.

Information Collection Notice

Adrian Harrington Rare Books has created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to privacy. The following discloses our information gathering and use practices for the Adrian Harrington Rare Books website, www.harringtonbooks.co.uk.

At Adrian Harrington Rare Books, we respect your right to privacy.

The personal information you exchange with Adrian Harrington Rare Books will not be shared, sold, or disclosed to third parties in any form, for any purposes, at any time. All contact and sales information including the information about services you purchase from us will remain confidential.

Cookies

For each visitor to www.harringtonbooks.co.uk, our web server automatically recognizes and stores information such as the visitor's IP address/domain name combination, type of web browser, computer operating system (e.g., Windows or Mac OS), and any referring websites. When you visit www.harringtonbooks.co.uk, our server sends a “cookie" to your browser. Cookies are small amounts of data that our website sends to your computer while you are visiting the website. This information gets stored on your computer's hard drive and among other things, it allows our website to distinguish between visitors and analyze traffic patterns through www.harringtonbooks.co.uk. Most web browser software automatically accepts cookies, but you can change your browser setting to prevent that if you do not wish to store the information on your computer. How to turn off all cookies differs for each web browser (e.g., Internet Explorer, Netscape, etc.) so you may wish to consult your browser's “Help" menu for additional information.