Anyone here collect books?
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Post Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 9:45 am 
 

Increasingly I have found my interest wandering to 1st Editions of some of the books which have been (or are) important to me. Anyone here collect books, and if so, any advice for a person starting out?


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Post Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 10:23 am 
 

I did for a couple of years but I lost interest. What I found out was this...
1. Modern day 1st editions by all authors are worth diddly squat, with maybe 1 exception in every million published books, and you won't be able to predict which is going to be the next Harry Potter First Day Cover, so unless you're buying everything that comes out, its pure pot luck, and the odds are that the next big hit 1st edition to be valuable will be about frog maintenance, or an epic tale of office politics, and not something that's gonna be your go to genre of choice.
2. You stand a far greater chance of finding good info in book shops that specialise in 1st day covers, and they only exists generally in cities. Your local book seller will probably know more about military history or knitting than about books in general, and your highstreet book megamarket will be full of university undergrads who know FA outside of their own bailiwick.
3. First editions signed by the author will hold value and appreciate if, a) they are 10-20 years old, or b) the author is dead. For a time I worked in a major music store in Edinburgh, right next door to the biggest book store in Scotland. Both the biggest outside of London. So when authors signed (Edinburgh Book Festival) they did it at Waterstones, and when bands or actors signed they did it at HMV. So I had a little collecting thing going on in the late 80s and early 90's, I had 1st editions signed by many authors. Terry Pratchett and Ian Rankin were regulars. But Colin Dexter and Frederick Forsyth were the only ones of value when I came to sell my collection.

I had records (big black plastic CDs the size of dinner plates for those who don't know what they are) signed by obscurities like Del Amitri and Def Leppard, Little Angels, Erasure, Mike Oldfield, Michael Jackson and Guns 'n' Roses and Extreme. Some that only Scottish people will have heard of like Runrig and Gun. None of which, 20 years later, were worth squat, but then maybe now that they're all retired, dead, or disgraced with drugs or children (with a few exceptions of course), their signatures and plastic dinner plates will be worth the postage and packaging to ship them. Alas I do not have the collection any more either.


This week I've been mostly eating . . . The white ones with the little red flecks in them.


Last edited by mbassoc2003 on Thu Dec 31, 2020 10:32 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Post Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 10:28 am 
 

I don't collect books, but I read lots of books.  I have found abe.com to be an excellent site to get books cheap, although I don't know how many sellers there are on "the other side of the pond."  I have bought many great books for less that $4, including shipping!  They also sell first editions and books signed by the author that some collectors crave.

I have had great success going to thrift markets and estate sales to buy books.  Most people sell paperbacks for 25 cents each and hardbacks for $1.00, no matter how valuable they are.  I have some listed on eBay right now that I bought this way.  That being said, book re-selling is not that profitable overall.  The world is slowly moving to e-books.   :?


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Post Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 10:39 am 
 

For buying books, in Edinburgh, second hand book shops put premiums on all FDCs. I think they are more aware than others on account of the Edinburgh Book Festival, and there is greater foot fall being a city. In Edinburgh I found charity shops to be the best place to find FDCs.

These days phone apps have killed that 'cos desperate housewives spend their time going shop to shop with the apps open trying the cash in on the arbitrage, not realising that they may have made £30 less packaging, but that's only £6 an hour, you had lunch in McDs and you went to Starbucks, and hubby is paying for your petrol. So maybe learn math instead of thinking you've discovered the next get rich quick scheme.


This week I've been mostly eating . . . The white ones with the little red flecks in them.

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Post Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 12:46 pm 
 

I don't collect books per se but I have a crapload of them.  A few first edition Stephen King books but nothing worth much.  Can't give much advice other than used book stores are just like a gold mine.  You might not find much but every once in a while you hit paydirt and find something worthwhile.

I also keep all my books cataloged using www.librarything.com.  It's a really nice resource with forums, automated recommendations, reviews, etc.  Pretty sure there is a book collectors resource/forum there as well.

Curious if any Acaeum member from your side of the pond has been to the bookshops/literature festival in Hay-on-Wye and what their thoughts are about finding rarities there?  Seems like an enjoyable way to spend a couple of days.


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Post Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 1:28 pm 
 

Edinburgh is the only one I’ve been to, and only on account of having lived there, but having seen seen a few excerpts from various other similar gatherings about the UK, I’d imagine they are all fairly similar. Down to earth authors in amongst editors, literary journalists, would be authors, collectors and publicists. The whole gamut of the slightly less abrasive, slightly more gentile, slightly better educated and somewhat more polite people in society.

In Edinburgh it’s a real mess, cos they usually run it to overlap with the Comedy Festival, so you have half the attendees (agents and authors included) rolling up to signings and readings half out their minds from a late night show and a goodly amount of whisky or wine, which always makes for interesting Q&A or hilarious anecdotes between chapters.


This week I've been mostly eating . . . The white ones with the little red flecks in them.

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Post Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 8:10 pm 
 

red_bus wrote in Anyone here collect books?:Increasingly I have found my interest wandering to 1st Editions of some of the books which have been (or are) important to me. Anyone here collect books, and if so, any advice for a person starting out?


I made a comment earlier and then reread your question <oops>

My experience with buying 1st editions...

I've bought a few but really (as a reader) enjoy collecting super high quality special editions and annotated editions. Stuff that adds tons of extras or superior Bookmaking.
I like to read, like to hang out in used book stores, get lucky and find stuff once in a while. If you can go to where good stuff is likely to get sold, auctioned or donated. Maybe better.
I grew up with and still exists today some serious Book Dealers in St Louis. Reputable. Great inventory. If you're looking for steals only, they can't help you but discussing investment books and closing book sales IS their business. Doesn't Korzak on here sell investment grade non-gaming books too.

Anyway, you're going to run into a lot of other people trying to do the same if yo live by me. You may live in a little honey-hole, hard to know if you don't try.

You can do good at local auctions. You need to know what you're are looking at. Your phone isn't as good as some noobs think, if you're going for old books unfortunately.

I tried to pick up at a local auction house a 1st English Edition of '100 years of solitude'. Considered an iconic book and high dollar already (for a 2nd Edition) but I think important to my collection of Fantasy, because I think it is still well undervalued by a community like this.
I don't know who I tipped off or it just came into it's own because I happened to be there. I didn't win - it blew away it's estimate by 4 times. I haven't seen one go low since, but I'm not looking too hard. It's not an easy book to find and eBay's full of landmines to buy $1-3K books.

Glad to answer something specific. I've made good money off finding non book club edition Steven King books and putting them up to local buyers. Nothing high dollar but super easy sales, super easy to find for a Quarter.

  


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Post Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 9:50 pm 
 

Edinburgh? I have a three volume set of An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes... :) Printed in Edinburgh, 1819.

A few Dragon Lance Chronicles too and thats about it.

  


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Post Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 10:17 pm 
 

I do a little. I go for age or content. For my favorite authors, I look for early editions and maybe the editions involving a particular illustrator. And sometimes nicely annotated books are great, for example Shakespeare, Beowulf, Sagas, etc. My wife gave me an old book for Christmas, by chance.
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Post Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2021 4:05 am 
 

I do not collect books but had a weird idea some years ago: i wanted to collect first editions of Tolkien books... Then i realized that even at that time the prices were prohibitive...
Is anyone here who had the chance to start collecting Tolkien when prices were "normal"? Just curious...


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Post Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2021 6:26 am 
 

aia wrote in Anyone here collect books?:Is anyone here who had the chance to start collecting Tolkien when prices were "normal"? Just curious...

Anyone here over 80? :D


This week I've been mostly eating . . . The white ones with the little red flecks in them.

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Post Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2021 7:42 pm 
 

red_bus wrote in Anyone here collect books?:Increasingly I have found my interest wandering to 1st Editions of some of the books which have been (or are) important to me. Anyone here collect books, and if so, any advice for a person starting out?


I collect D&D licensed books and I have a pile of them.  I stick to first printings and cover art changes only, also I do both soft and hardcovers.  I avoid any book that is not near mint or better though, these can be actually challenging to find.  Shop worn and heavily read books of this genre are very common and virtually worthless.

Going after all the printings would a grand task

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Post Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2021 11:53 pm 
 

aia wrote in Anyone here collect books?:I do not collect books but had a weird idea some years ago: i wanted to collect first editions of Tolkien books... Then i realized that even at that time the prices were prohibitive...
Is anyone here who had the chance to start collecting Tolkien when prices were "normal"? Just curious...

I do have a copy of Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics which I acquired upon release in 1980. I believe it had a print run of 150.


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Post Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2021 12:17 am 
 

aia wrote in Anyone here collect books?:I do not collect books but had a weird idea some years ago: i wanted to collect first editions of Tolkien books... Then i realized that even at that time the prices were prohibitive...
Is anyone here who had the chance to start collecting Tolkien when prices were "normal"? Just curious...


I don't collect valuable books, but have acquired a few Tolkien artifacts of historical interest:

-The mid-60s, unauthorized US paperback edition of The Lord of the Rings. Some would credit the popularization of Tolkien's works to these bootlegs.

-Conan the Adventurer, mid-60s paperback with the iconic Frazetta painting on the front, and a claim to be 'more imaginative than "Lord of the Rings"' on back. So the popularity of Tolkien at this time led to a reintroduction of Howard's work.

-The Waning of the Middle Ages, Doubleday/Anchor edition current in the mid-60s. I've come to believe that this book (often used as a college textbook) must have been influential upon the above fantasy works becoming a big deal, & to the establishment of the Society for Creative Anachronism & of modern renaissance festivals.

  


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Post Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2021 2:04 am 
 

Those Ace paperbacks are very cool and have got expensive lately.

  


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Post Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2021 3:18 am 
 

The Waning of the Middle Ages by Huizinga? I have that around here somewhere. I haven't read that in 35 years...Perhaps I will give it a look.


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Post Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2021 5:19 am 
 

sauromatian wrote in Anyone here collect books?:The mid-60s, unauthorized US paperback edition of The Lord of the Rings. Some would credit the popularization of Tolkien's works to these bootlegs.


Ah, the myth that piracy of people's work is in some way beneficial and free advertising that people harp on about to this day.
I wonder what would happen if there were actually a way of extinguishing the benefits of crime from an author's career and future popularity?
One has to wonder just how many band, authors and software companies would language in the gutter of public consciousness without the benefit of free publicity and peer to peer take-up of their work. I think its one of these things where they absolutely want the benefits, but aren't willing to pay the price.


This week I've been mostly eating . . . The white ones with the little red flecks in them.

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Post Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2021 12:29 pm 
 

mbassoc2003 wrote in Anyone here collect books?:Ah, the myth that piracy of people's work is in some way beneficial and free advertising that people harp on about to this day.
I wonder what would happen if there were actually a way of extinguishing the benefits of crime from an author's career and future popularity?
One has to wonder just how many band, authors and software companies would language in the gutter of public consciousness without the benefit of free publicity and peer to peer take-up of their work. I think its one of these things where they absolutely want the benefits, but aren't willing to pay the price.


Okay, but what are you trying to say? Is it a myth, or are there acts who benefit from unauthorized distribution of their work?

  
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