Uneducated...

That would be me :)

I have started to collect rare, old and offbeat books. And I'm learning more everyday! But I cant seem to find a good solid blog/review/post with some good newbie information.
At first my collecting was very "Oh thats old, I must have it". But I have since learned importance of First Editions, the quality and shape of the book (binding, boards, color, dust jacket etc), and also Author, Title, significance in history etc.
But as I looked at a collection of books at a used book store (the owner has no interest in finding out value of the old books, he would rather sell them for $1 each to make room for more popular titles).... I found myself just standing there. I have no idea whats valuable or rare. I could flip thru each book and check its edition and publishing date. But otherwise I'm shopping blindly.

I just feel, as the title says, that I'm uneducated. Any direction, advice, links to places to learn more etc would be greatly appreciated.
And just for a side note; I do not intend to sell any of my books. I would like to preserve them, and keep a library of classic, meaningful titles for my family and children's future. The focus of our collection so far has a general theme of "America"...from history, wars, military, american authors, etc.

Okay I'll stop talking. :) Thank you in advance.

I would compare it to collecting art. Some people obsess on the resale value, but if you aren't going to resell it, what's the point? Plus, if you're not going to resell it, you have to look at it every day, so you better like it, no matter what it's "worth."

On the other paw, if you are paying out hard-earned cash for something, you want to know the seller is not taking advantage of you, and that's where the knowledge base comes into play. At a dollar a book, I would say that's not an issue. As I would tell an art buyer, "buy what you like."

I have some rare books (in terms of scarcity; one volume exists only in my library and one Legacy Library) but I doubt if they are worth anything, really. But they fascinate me, so I will keep them. We bought them for content, not condition.

The theme of your library sounds wonderful. If you are happy with your choices, sounds to me like you have a million-dollar collection already :-)

Thank you for your reply Phaedra :)

I dont think I'm one that will obsess with resale value...but at the same time...it sure would be neat to say something about the value of my collection.
Is your rare volume listed in your library? I'd love to see what fascinates you :)

Thank you again.

I do have a question, perhaps you can help as well.
I'm really pretty clueless about authors from the late 1800s to early 1900s. Is there somewhere I can learn more? Even staring at titles and bindings, probably wont get me very far on American authors and content. :)

The easy thing to do is go on abebooks.com and find the current retail price.

If I'm feeling masochistic I'll type in a subject- like Jacobean plaster- and weep that I don't have the money to add a few 18th century beauties to the bookshelves.

I used to go to the library to get my "book fix" but then we moved to a small town with a very small library and I was doomed to be a collector from that moment. I've collected books because friends moved and didn't want to ship their books. I've collected books from estates. I've collected books from trash bins. I've collected books as reference for specific jobs-in most cases the job is just an excuse to buy more books. I've even collected books because they're pretty. Mostly I've collected books because when I touch them it makes my heart purr.

#3

The book to which I was referring is Myth and Ritual in Dance, Game, and Rhyme. I see that one other person has added it since I last looked.

Here are a few other oddballs:

Lectures of Lola Montez 1858

Library of the World's Best Mystery and Detective Stories - Oriental 1907

Folk Festivals and the Foreign Community 1923

edited for wonky touchstones

Get hold of a copy of An ABC for book collectors which is both informative and amusing - it explains all the stuff about the condition of the book as well as publishing history etc

Touchstone won't work - sorry

If you want to know more about American authors, you should visit Donna Campbell's website of American Authors, Timeline and Literary Movements: http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/index.html

Donna Campbell is an Associate Professor of English (American Literature) at Washington State University. She is also on Library Thing: http://www.librarything.com/profile/campbedm

My collection started when I found a signed copy of Sinclair Lewis’ Main Street at an antique store. I was a fan of his and knowing that he had held the book was a real thrill, I paid $150 for the book. That was about $145 too much, the book was a 16th printing, the cover was faded and loose, and it had no dustjacket. The autographed page might be worth more without the book.
Since then I have learned more about books and what to collect and I have made a few better purchases since that one. You really have to know what you are looking for if you spend what for you seems like a lot of money. Except for that one book, and Steven Pastore’s Sinclair Lewis: A Descriptive Bibliography the most I have paid for a book is $25, including the shipping, but I have put together a nice little collection if I do say so myself.
Learning about the books you want should be as much fun as collecting them. Find a bibliography that points out how to tell first editions, make your own if there is not one like I did for Bill Mauldin. Online listings from accredited brick and mortar bookstores like Second Story Books were a great resource but they are putting out less information lately. If you are looking for books about a time or topic use tag mashes here on LT. I have found that to be as useful as my university’s library catalog.
Good Luck.

That reminds me of the summer I worked at a little used book shop. The proprietor set it up for his wife, and she had no interest. (No comment on the quality of their marriage.) He stocked it by buying books at $1 per bagful on the last day of the annual week long church book sale. (In other words, what no one else wanted.) Then he filled one wall with "First Editions" and priced them as collectibles, because first editions are always valuable, right?

What he didn't follow through with was the logic that EVERY book has a first edition, no matter it's later success or failure.

It was a nice, quiet summer.

Right, EVERY book has a first edition. It is the rare book that gets past the first printing lot less the 16th.

The trick is to find the First/First of the books that make it to 16 printings.

hunnyd, I made a list of things I'm specifically looking for and take it with me when I go to a used book store. It's easy to become overwhelmed otherwise and you never know in what little out of the way place you might find something you've been looking for forever.

hunnyd, a fun way to gain a little familiarity with book collecting is to read John Dunning's "Bookman" novels - Booked to Die and so on. Nicholas A. Basbanes's books are equally enjoyable light reading, although nonfiction. That just gets you in the mindset, quite painlessly.

Then you move on to ABC for Book Collectors and you'll want your own copy (or at least bookmark it online, I'm told it's available for free) and when you are ready to really frustrate yourself, read The Adventures of a Treasure Hunter: A Rare Bookman in Search of American History by Charles Everitt, because he's searching in your own field of interest, Americana. A wonderful book, but it makes me want to cry when I think how thick on the ground those rare books were in his day and how elusive they are now! Still it gives you a lot of good ideas and it's a highly entertaining read.

It's surprising, how when you buy what your heart tells you is an interesting book of high intrinsic value, how often it turns out to gain value with time. Some of the books I bought for my kids would be $100+ (if I had known enough to preserve the jackets, I was no collector in those days) and some of the books my mom bought for me would be much more valuable (but there was a flood disaster and they are no more).

But above all, collect what you like, and you will always be happy with your collection!

Sign up for a subscription to Fine Books & Collections Magazine. They also have a monthly e-newsletter which is fantastic.

Spend some time finding out what you like. A collection doesn't have to be first editions to be valuable or interesting. Someone has already said, collect what you love.

The first blog (of scores I'd recommend) tot he newbie collector specifically is The Private Library: http://privatelibrary.typepad.com/the_private_library/

Good Luck! Don't be a stranger, let us know what you learn as you go.

You all are so very helpful, this group surely is a blessing! :)

moibibliomaniac I have already expressed my thanks to you for the link to Cambells site- it is very informative and helpful. I printed it, and like to look at it often to get a feel for what the author may have been experiencing when he/she wrote the books I'm reading.

TLCrawford great idea to search from -tags here at LT ! I hadnt thought of that. :)

2wonderY I understand what your saying about first editions...but it has defiantly helped me avoid buying books I would have pounced on earlier this year. I saw a title hidden on the shelf and my heart skipped a beat...like "NO WAY, no one has picked this up?"..and then I opened it and it was like the 23rd printing...ahhh okay, I dont have to buy it, I can wait until I find a copy a little older :)

varielle Thank you! I am doing just that, I've also been carrying around a printed copy of my catalog here at LT, so I dont make any double purchases.

muumi Both of those look very interesting, and I will give them consideration. :) I hear what you are saying on the kids books specifically. My children have alot of books from my childhood-I would call them reading-copys only, and I probably should go thru and pull the ones in good shape off their shelf to preserve them. :)

benjclark I think that subscription is a great idea, and I am searching it on another tab right now.
Some thing I'm learning is defiantly to be more selective, and dont take kids with me when doing my rummaging :)

I'm making it a goal to research each book, and pick one up to read one after another. Sometimes I pick one up, read a bit, flip thru it and decide that its neat- but not my favorite...or get so excited about the book I blast it all over my facebook and go on a desperate search for more from the same author marian grey by Mary J Holmes (first touchstone and I fail. Sorry) But I am very proud of my collection so far. I need more bookshelf's :D

>12 muumi: muumi

Part of the reason that some children's books are valuable is basic supply and demand. Either the majority of copies owned were damaged or utterly destroyed by the children who loved them (you only hurt the ones you love) or few copies were sold in the first place (an especial problem with books primarily sold to libraries).

When more people want copies in a certain printing and condition than there are copies generally available, prices will rise.

James Keeline

You can get a PDF of An ABC for Book Collectors, 8th edition, at ILAB here

Os.

Only found this correspondence so wonder if there is still interest but found it so interesting because I think all collectors start with some basic collecting instincts and not much more and then knowledge comes later as one reads and researches. I only collect books which I may at some stage wish to read but of course I keep breaking the rule . I also try for books in reasonable condition.... I hate worn ex library copies though love well cared for inscription or personal library books. But first editions in literature are worth pursueing if collectable. I also like interesting biography and travel, Also collect certain series of books eg.Saturday book, or Britain in Pictures or King Penguin ....this also makes the folio society very collectable but not necessarily valuable . good art books are also worth collecting, Indeed any specialist collection that is coherent and exhibits a sound knowledge of the subject makes for something worthwhile. In this way my own library is diverse.