Due to the volume of comments, we are unable to continue to reply individually. You have completed a critical first step in the great book sort.Ĭonsider Reading Part II, where I have explained eight things that help determine antique books’ value. You’ll find that the “known” pile will be significantly smaller than the unknown pile, and that’s okay. Sort out titles that you recognize by authors you know or who are familiar. It doesn’t matter if the book is a first edition or a limited edition of “My Aunt Minnie’s Trip to Alaska” (fictitious title, here), unless the title has stood the test of time and could be considered a modern classic, it probably is not a collector’s item. Are these books you’ve heard of? Catcher in the Rye? For Whom the Bell Tolls? Cannery Row? To Kill a Mockingbird? Given the relative ease of publishing books in the late 1800s and early 1900s, a plethora of books were printed that are irrelevant today. Are you familiar with the titles and authors? Thus a secondary plastic sleeve may be necessary to protect the condition of a rare book going forward. Edge chipping and small tears need to be protected from getting worse. Collectors are also very conscious of the condition of these jackets. ![]() The presence of this paper wrapper can represent up to 95% of the value of a 20th century title. When you consider the fragile nature of paper dust jackets, it is not difficult to see how quickly they can be lost or damaged over the course of a century. This is the single most critical aspect (some would say ONLY aspect) of value that a 20th century book can possess. Do you see the existence of dust jackets around the covers? These are the eminently disposable paper wrappers that were universally found cladding books in the post-World War I era. Let’s consider a typical wall of books collected in the post-Industrial Revolution era (after 1840). ![]() If they weren’t collectors, but, say avid book readers, read on… 2. This information will go a long way towards understanding the overall potential of the collection. With this information in hand, an antique book appraiser will have an excellent basis from which to ascertain current market value. If your parents or grandparents were known collectors and have a listing of their library, chances are very good that they knew what information was important to document. Were your parents or grandparents who accumulated this library book collectors, or book readers? When faced with an avalanche of “old books,” where do you begin sorting the “wheat from the chaff” to ferret out valuable rarities? Here are the three questions you should answer before contacting a book appraiser or rare book auction house. It isn’t my intention to pontificate about current social trends, but the point is that we read fewer books these days and many people wonder what to do with bookshelves and boxes containing their parents’ or grandparents’ treasured libraries. Perhaps this is because we now have other things to do, like watch 500 channels of cable television, surf the internet, discover the great outdoors or participate in any number of other diversions that attract our attention. ![]() Let’s face it, our forebears read many more books than we do. However, it doesn’t always inspire the excitement or anticipation that I usually feel at the start of a great antique book hunt. I’m an antique book appraiser, so I hear this phrase a lot, maybe eight or ten times a week. The listing broker’s offer of compensation is made only to participants of the MLS where the listing is filed.Works by William Faulkner including “The Mansion,” New York: Random House, first edition Signed copy of “A Green Bough,” New York: Harrison Smith and Robert Haas “Requiem for a Nun,” New York: Random House, 1951, first edition Property information displayed is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed.Ĭopyright 2024 Bright MLS, Inc. Some properties which appear for sale on the website may no longer be available because they are for instance, under contract, sold or are no longer being offered for sale. The property information being provided on or through the website is for the personal, non-commercial use of consumers and such information may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing. Listing information is from various brokers who participate in the Bright MLS IDX program and not all listings may be visible on the site. ![]() The data relating to real estate for sale on this website appears in part through the BRIGHT Internet Data Exchange program, a voluntary cooperative exchange of property listing data between licensed real estate brokerage firms, and is provided by BRIGHT through a licensing agreement.
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