Unique Gift Ideas For Book Collectors

Here's a few suggestions for what to get the bibliophile for Christmas:

The original link to my Dec 2013 Biblio-connecting post was defective so on May 19, 2021, I copied and pasted my original post to this link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ud_HBG8hN2PFC8v_DROz-uwUdZWT3qze/view?usp=shari...

Jerry Morris
Moibibliomaniac on Library Thing

Reviving this old topic...
Actually, what do you think would be a good gift for book collectors or bibliophiles?
Each one of us knows exactly what books we want most of the time, so giving a book as a present to a fellow collector can be "hit or miss". Any thoughts?

My sister bought me one of these library stamp/ book plate kits as a joke but I actually use it. I have an embosser, an ink stamp, and a few different book plates, and the date/ card catalog set.

https://bookriot.com/beautiful-bookplate-stamps/

https://knockknockstuff.com/products/personal-library-kit

>3 genesisdiem:
This does look like fun!
Thank you for sharing!

>2 booksforreading:

Seminary Co-op has a subscription service: https://www.semcoop.com/subscriptions You can choose from a variety of subjects, from History to Philosophy to Science and Mathematics. Every two months you (or the person to whom you give the subscription) gets a recent release in that field.

>5 lilithcat:
Fascinating! This is completely new to me! Thank you!

A gift card to have something framed is appreciated -- I think a lot of book collectors have other "stuff" related to their book collection they wish they could frame and hang.

Would book repair kits be a good present? For example Kapco Easy Bind tape. A jacket protection, like Kapco Easy Jacket or Brodart would be very useful for many book collectors, but some collectors are reluctant to do cover protection themselves...

I don't know if I would be satisfied with any library supply company's "kit" or selection of products. Often times these are designed with circulating libraries in mind and may use materials that extend the life of a circulating book but are not appropriate for preserving the condition and value of a collectible book.

I use the Demco SuperFold and PaperFold jacket protectors. These are sealed on one edge. I loathe the "center split" style that is sealed on both sides. Protectors without a paper backing provide no significant protection at all. The SuperFold has thicker plastic and the books feel very substantial when covered with them. This is great for fragile or valuable jackets. I buy these on the 300-foot roll and for my duodecimo books it covers about 200 books. The 10-inch high style will cover modern novels as well as smaller duodecimos. They can be purchased in smaller packets with cut sheets (regular or long) which can be a great way to sample the product to see if it is worth getting a roll at some point.

I don't do a lot of book repair. I try to avoid books that need them since the repaired book is never worth what a book that didn't need repair would be. Sometimes though the only copy you can find needs a bit of work or the book in question has strong sentimental attachment. The proper adhesive to use for tiny repairs is one that will stay flexible over time. So Elmer's white glue (aka "PVA" or poly-vinyl acrylic) is out. Instead, there are things like Norbond "liquid hinge" which looks a bit like white glue but will stay flexible. Always use about half the amount of glue you think you need.

Probably gluing books is more challenging than adding jacket protectors. It's up to the person.

When LibraryThing had a subscription fee, I would say that was a great gift to a book lover. For someone who might be using LT and may not use a phone app, a barcode scanner like the CueCat (I like the "modified" ones that decrypt the barcode numbers) is something to consider.

Not everyone wants to mark their books with a stamp, embosser, or bookplate so these gifts may go unused.

Sometimes there is a reference book about a topic of bookish interest and that can be useful if the recipient does not yet have it. That is the challenge but maybe you can check their LT catalog? They have one, right?

Offering to help get them started with their LT catalog can be a help. It can be daunting until you've done it for a few hours to get the hang of it. Adding your experience to get them started can be useful.

There may be shelf decoration items that relate to the collecting interests. A Nancy Drew fan might enjoy a die-cast model of a 1930s roadster, blue of course, to put on the shelf with their books. Even if they have one, another could add interest. A Maltese Falcon statue is appreciated by most mystery fans. Watch Etsy.com for things of interest that are found or made.

James

These Bookily cards look a good option https://giftcards.nationalbooktokens.com/bookily

There are a variety of posters with landmarks in literature which can be used to help show one's progress in reading them. This is but one example with a scratch-off feature. Some readers might like that kind of thing.

https://www.paperzip.co.uk/chart-reading-progress-scratch-off-poster/

James

There are a number of kits available for various book and paper related crafts and skills from calligraphy and origami to making marbled papers. You can easily find them in the various craft stores and chain bookstores. They often have a section or table full of them set up at holiday time.

I see that Biblio has tried to take a stab at writing a guide to giving rare books as gifts.

https://www.biblio.com/blog/2021/11/how-to-buy-rare-books-as-gifts/

Of course there are a number of areas where I don't find that they are precise enough.

A book can be a "first edition" but not as significant as a "first printing." Someone showed me an eBay listing of U.K. "first editions" of the seven Narnia books. Not one of them was a first printing though so they were highly overpriced for what was offered.

They claim that the difference between "signed" and "inscribed" depends on whether the author presented it to someone. Was it someone who stood in line at an author signing or someone that was known to the author and important to the book (e.g. "association copy")? They don't say anything about this latter case. Yet they claim that a "signed first edition" is the "creme de la creme" of collecting. I would say that a first printing association copy signed by the author to someone they knew and was connected with the book was more important.

Even worse is the problem where sellers routinely use "inscribed" for any presentation writing in a book like "To Billy From Grandma, Xmas 1953."

Still, it was a good try and their heart is in the right place, especially if it generates more sales in the month of December.

James