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re: Anyone Collect Old or First Editions Books?
Posted on 3/7/24 at 8:20 pm to Hayekian serf
Posted on 3/7/24 at 8:20 pm to Hayekian serf
I’ve got a few, I’ve not paid more than $100 for anything. It’s such a strange market and you can really get burned. The dust cover is many times 60 to 80% of a first edition value. First editions can also be very hard to ID with differences coming down to a letter and a photo credit or misspelling.
For instance I’ve got 2 true first editions of For Whom the Bell Tolls/Hemingway. An “A” on the copyright page under all the info is generally a first edition. W/o the A, not considered 1st. Dust cover for the same book is 1st if it has no photo credit on the back pic. W/o it is not a 1st. I’ve got another of the same in 1st edition but no dust jacket.
I’ve got an Atlas Shrugged w/o a dust jacket. Worth 20% of what the same book with a real dust jacket would be. I do go to the major sellers sites for ID information sometimes. Bauman rare books has some beautiful things.
LINK
Your best bet is garage sales, estate sales and things like the LSU book sale. I find the fun is in the chase and picking up one for little cost. Some modern classics bring big bucks too. Harry Potter originals are pretty pricey. As with anything, don’t bet the bank and buy what you like.
Best of luck!
For instance I’ve got 2 true first editions of For Whom the Bell Tolls/Hemingway. An “A” on the copyright page under all the info is generally a first edition. W/o the A, not considered 1st. Dust cover for the same book is 1st if it has no photo credit on the back pic. W/o it is not a 1st. I’ve got another of the same in 1st edition but no dust jacket.
I’ve got an Atlas Shrugged w/o a dust jacket. Worth 20% of what the same book with a real dust jacket would be. I do go to the major sellers sites for ID information sometimes. Bauman rare books has some beautiful things.
LINK
Your best bet is garage sales, estate sales and things like the LSU book sale. I find the fun is in the chase and picking up one for little cost. Some modern classics bring big bucks too. Harry Potter originals are pretty pricey. As with anything, don’t bet the bank and buy what you like.
Best of luck!
1
Posted on 3/8/24 at 7:02 am to zippyputt
I’m a Jack London fan. I have about 140ish different editions of Call of the Wild, including pretty good conditions of the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth printings.
White Fang came out after Call of the Wild, so the first printing of it was huge. I have a copy of it, but it’s not as hard to come by. First editions of London’s other books aren’t very expensive or hard to find.
I have a pretty good first edition of Grant’s memoirs in one of the fancy bindings. Mark Twain promoted and sold it by subscription in a ton of different bindings, so “first edition” can mean a lot of things.
I have a copy of Jefferson’s manual for parliamentary procedure from the 1830s. And an 1817 copy of Age of Reason by Paine. It was controversial and the publisher got thrown in jail for printing it.
A slew of other old books, but those are the ones I’d grab in a fire.
mostly estate sales, some from eBay, only a few from actual antique book stores.
Tip: if you go looking in the real deal antique book stores, they usually will treat you like garbage until they know you’re serious.
ETA: I bought the second printing of Call of the Wild and the Paine book at the same estate sale for $2 each. They had culled out the valuable books, but missed those two. Those are the only “steals” I’ve had that I actually felt a little bad about.
White Fang came out after Call of the Wild, so the first printing of it was huge. I have a copy of it, but it’s not as hard to come by. First editions of London’s other books aren’t very expensive or hard to find.
I have a pretty good first edition of Grant’s memoirs in one of the fancy bindings. Mark Twain promoted and sold it by subscription in a ton of different bindings, so “first edition” can mean a lot of things.
I have a copy of Jefferson’s manual for parliamentary procedure from the 1830s. And an 1817 copy of Age of Reason by Paine. It was controversial and the publisher got thrown in jail for printing it.
A slew of other old books, but those are the ones I’d grab in a fire.
mostly estate sales, some from eBay, only a few from actual antique book stores.
Tip: if you go looking in the real deal antique book stores, they usually will treat you like garbage until they know you’re serious.
ETA: I bought the second printing of Call of the Wild and the Paine book at the same estate sale for $2 each. They had culled out the valuable books, but missed those two. Those are the only “steals” I’ve had that I actually felt a little bad about.
This post was edited on 3/8/24 at 7:25 am
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