What's the story of your collection?  Anyone mind if I talk about the history of some of the more notable pieces in mine?

The three "core" hardbacks I have I've mentioned elsewhere here at the Acaeum forums - my true 1st DMG and true 1st MM and 1st (not true 1st) PHB.

I got two of the three OD&D rulebooks + Supplement 1 from a friend of my wife's.  He called her over to his desk one day (they worked together) and asked if "[your] husband is in to D&D".  She told him yes, and he said that he'd thought so, and had bought four D&D books at a library sale in Gainsville.  He said he'd bring the "little books" in the next day.

Well imagine my surprise when she came home with a well-loved (beaten up, that is) Moldvay Basic book, Men & Magic, The Underworld and Wilderness Adventures and Supplement 1: Greyhawk!  Over time I've gradually acquired everything else to "complete" a set of OD&D rulebooks, and indeed got Supplement IV (and Sup. 1) autographed by Rob Kuntz and Gary Gygax.

Unfortunately the Greyhawk book of that original collection is nearly falling apart, so Harami2000 was kind enough to give me a nearly-new Sup. 1 that he'd gotten from Alex Gygax (!!!).

I still have my old (and largely valueless) Star Frontiers boxed set as well as a slightly-better-condition unpunched one from a dear friend who "knew [I] was in to that stuff" he bought at a yard sale.

Oh, and lest I forget: amongst my seven or so copies of 1st/1st Deities and Demigods I have one with a long poem written by another fellow gamer of mine who gave it to me as a Christmas gift back in '01 - many of the illos in it are very nicely colored in (and yeah I know the book is essentially valueless but so what?), and likewise is the Fiend Folio he gave me with it.

Hmm...

Most everything else I just "bought" somewhere.  No real story behind the rest of it.  

Anyone else?

When you attend a game auction for long periods of time, you spot bargains pretty fast.

That's how most of mine piled up, from GenCon auctions.

TigerKing wrote:Hmmm...talking about colored in books reminds me...when I was about 15 I colored in my MM, MMII & FF. I spent many hours doing that and my friends and players love(d) them. I even made a few bucks coloring in choice sections of other folks' collections. It may have diminished their monetary value but it enriched our play.

*nods in agreement* That strikes a chord, Tiger'!

When I could justify the expense (1984ish?), I eventually got around to buying a fresh MM and very slowly colored the pics: in fact, I still haven't finished!
Was great fun to do so, indeed.

I doubt that would've dimished its value: personally, I'm still looking for any well colored copies on the 'Bay. Total blank, thus far.
(Closest was a S1 (IIRC) which I regret not bidding on).
But yes, mostly as a "personal" endeavor. And can certainly appreciate better the effort involved in the original artwork from doing so!

Thanks for sharing.


(Heh. My brother chose the "commercial" option: painting of minis for others. Made quite a bit of spare cash from that!)

I'm a dummy. I built my collection up and then sold it or gave it away. Since then, I have been wandering the Prime material Plane in the faint hope of being reunited with them again.

Gotta be my PHB that my Mom got me for my birthday so long ago, she even wrote a nice inscription in it...it's the only original book I have from that time as I stupidly let someone borrow all my stuff (cept the PHB and my basic/expert sets ) when I went off to art school and was to "gone" to care....his mom said she tossed it all out when she "found out" it was all Devil Worshiping stuff  

Lost a Damn good MM and FF that I spent many a nights coloring those pictures in