If you sell books either in a store or online for any period of time sooner or later you will be called upon to do a task that can prove to be very valuable to your bottom line – determine if a book is a first edition. Determining whether or not a book in your possession is or is not a first edition can mean the difference between having a book that is virtually worthless or a book that might be (in some instances) be priceless. Most of the books that will come into the hands of most booksellers will fall somewhere in between those two extremes . I have rarely come across books that were truly worthless (that would be a very rare book) or truly priceless, but I have come across many books that were not worth very much and I have come across a few books that were worth a great deal to me. Having been involved with the sale of books in a store and online for over 7 years, I can identify many first editions just by looking at the books, but for many books I need a reference guide.
About a year ago I was at an auction. The auction contained a large number of books. There were over a hundred boxes of books and many trays full of books. On one of the trays were 2 volumes by Gibran. I identified 2 volumes as being true first editions. One was a first edition of “Sand and Foam” it was a limited printing – limited to 95 copies signed by Gibran. The other volume was a first edition second printing (the Christmas Edition) of “The Prophet”. I was NOT familiar with the Christmas Edition of the Prophet, but I was convinced that it was a first edition. I knew for a fact that the copy of “Sand and Foam” was a first edition. I bought both volumes along with a number of other Gibran books (not first editions) for the princely sum of $45.00. I don’t believe that any of the other bidders were even remotely aware of or cared that the volumes I purchased were first editions. I sold these 2 volumes a few months later to another book dealer for over $2500.00. In this instance my knowledge of first editions served me well.
I have met many book sellers at book sales who have expressed to me a lack of knowledge concerning first editions. I invited them and I invite you to get your feet wet. Collecting and selling first editions can be a source of great personal enjoyment and a source of financial reward. As I sit writing this article I am looking at a first edition copy of “Call of the Wild” by Jack London. This book is part of my personal collection. I love the story, but there is something extremely satisfying to me about having a first edition of the book. I can’t tell you why! Many years ago I would not have had the same feeling toward a first edition of this book as I do at this time, but today I find having a first edition of the book to be a great source of joy. If you like books period, you might also find this to be true. In a future post I will examine the guides that have proven to be valuable to me.
I am – John Pollard
JPollardbookseller@gmail.com
Brick and Mortar and on the Net
I’ve collected first editions and it is an extreme thrill when finding something that is a first and uncommon. Unfortunately, for me, that rarely happens, but what a joy when I came across an uncommon copy of a Phoenix mystery for 18.00 in a Boston store. It probably isn’t worth more than 100–but the subject matter and dust jacket art are some of my favorite things–so I feel I found something priceless!
It seems to me there are a lot of first editions that don’t really matter. An unknown author and unknown title being first and foremost. For example, most self published poetry books fall into this category. But some do not. That is where learning comes in and quite often learning is by experience. Hopefully the learning pays instead of costs.
That said, A lesson I learned long ago and I’ve given on Book Shop Blog before (I think it can stand being repeated)… A thrift store I frequent had a first edition ‘Welcome to the Monkey House’ by Kurt Vonnegut that I had passed over a few times but I picked it up in a “Bag Sale”. When I ran it through Bookfinder.com I was surprised to see it was a rare volume (only 5000 printed). I think what happened is that someone at the printing house wrote down 5M (5000) instead of 50M (50,000) on the order form and it went through. Mine did not have a dust jacket and sold on eBay for $60 while another copy, at the same time, with the DJ went for $360. – Dianne… Protect that Dust Jacket!