This is the second part of my “Shipping Large Boxes of Books” In the first part of this I related the story of shipping a large set of “The Encyclopaedia Britannica” to a customer at a US Embassy. Early in October I got another order for a set of “The Encyclopaedia Britannia. This order was for the large format version of this edition which was printed on fine rice paper. This again was the 1910 / 1911 edition which is considered to be the last great version of this set. This was a very heavy set of books. The total weight of the books was almost 100 pounds. If memory serves me correctly I sent one box which weighed 43 pounds and another which weighed 48 pounds. These books were shipped from Pennsylvania to Washington state – completely across the country! I wanted to insure that the books arrived in the condition they left my shop. I wrapped each book in kraft paper. I chose heavy duty boxes which I purchased at Staples. The boxes were designed to handle up to 75 pounds per box, so I had a good margin of safety. In addition to wrapping each book individually I placed bubble wrap on the bottom of the boxes and around the empty spaces in the boxes. I taped the boxes with 2” wide packaging tape. I shipped the 29 volume set in 2 boxes. In retrospect I think I should have used 3 boxes. When I took the boxes to the post office the clerk who assisted me seemed to have difficulty lifting the boxes. The boxes felt heavy to me, but I did not have difficulty moving them. Next time I will limit my boxes of books to 35 pounds or so. I insured both boxes of books. I shipped 2 boxes and I insured each box for half of the total value of the books. I thought about insuring each box for the total value of the set – there is an argument that could be made for doing that – the entire set would be worthless if just one of the boxes was damaged , but I decided to take the risk of insuring each box for half of the total value. I shipped the books via USPS media mail. I could have also shipped them via UPS ,but I have had good results with the USPS. I obtained delivery tracking and confirmation for both boxes.