Moonraker Posted 15 April , 2016 Share Posted 15 April , 2016 There's a first-edition regimental history on offer on eBay, with the vendor going to great lengths to stress its poor condition. A previous owner was a named signaller in the 1930s who has drawn wiring diagrams on some/many of the pages: "There is a further complex wiring diagram facing the Title-Page, and it continues from there, with heavily drawn diagrams on the reverse of the maps and illustrations (so that they show through) and on the rear end-papers," warns the vendor. Even without the diagrams, the book is very tatty, but perhaps the diagrams themselves are interesting to some would-be purchasers and add to the value - (in much the same way as with a couple of postcards I have of Lark Hill Camp where the senders have inked in arrows pointing to particular buildings). Discuss! (I hesitate about linking to items for sale on eBay lest some cynic speculate that I am the vendor or connected with him/her.) Moonraker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartH Posted 15 April , 2016 Share Posted 15 April , 2016 It depends upon who did the annotations and if they where there. I have annotated review copies of France and Belgium 1917 Vol II and Vol III done by Lord Carver, very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barkalotloudly Posted 15 April , 2016 Share Posted 15 April , 2016 i would always go for a book with annotations they could provide a valuable insight, poor condition? can be rebound relatively cheaply if you wish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulgranger Posted 15 April , 2016 Share Posted 15 April , 2016 My copy of the 47th Division's history is sprinkled with notes and comments from a former member, which adds to its intrinsic value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seaJane Posted 15 April , 2016 Share Posted 15 April , 2016 If the named annotator was a friend of yours, it would increase the value to you immensely, no? If you are a collector looking for books in mint condition - value decreased. If you are a collector/researcher looking for books showing signs of how they were used - value increased. And in the middle is the dealer trying to decide the price as Oscar Wilde knew when he made Lord Darlington (in 'Lady Windermere's Fan') describe a cynic as "a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing." sJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Thompson Posted 15 April , 2016 Share Posted 15 April , 2016 Oh how I love my copy of the History of the 7th Battalion York and Lancaster Regiment, with all it's annotations and the best one of all says a named officer should be shot. My copy is also signed and address added by the owner and all the relevant paperwork proving it's authenticty. Brilliant. Cheers Roger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Davies Posted 15 April , 2016 Share Posted 15 April , 2016 It depends upon who did the annotations and if they where there. I have annotated review copies of France and Belgium 1917 Vol II and Vol III done by Lord Carver, very nice. If you are ever thinking of giving them to a good home, do please let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffsyeoman Posted 15 April , 2016 Share Posted 15 April , 2016 I have a copy of the history of the Staffordshire Yeomanry by Kemp (which covers both World Wars) . The online seller listed it at a considerably lower price than the usual - and no-one else was sniffing at it as the description mentioned biro annotations on the flyleaf and to the Appendices. Yeah? Transpires it belonged to a former Honorary Colonel of the Regiment who annotated the last appendix (CO's and Honorary Colonels) post 1945, through reduction to cadre and reconstitution as a Squadron of a new regiment in the 1970s, up to the time he took over. Yep, worth more to me - so thank you for a bargain, purists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Filsell Posted 15 April , 2016 Share Posted 15 April , 2016 I greatly enjoy annotated books and have an extensively annotated privately published memorial volume. Sadly it is completely illegible. I mean it. My wife's a doctor and I can read her writing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Broomfield Posted 16 April , 2016 Share Posted 16 April , 2016 My copy of the 47th Division's history is sprinkled with notes and comments from a former member, which adds to its intrinsic value. Ditto my history of the 2nd Division. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Maria Posted 16 April , 2016 Share Posted 16 April , 2016 " A good book leaves it's mark upon the reader, a good reader leaves no mark upon the book ". Generally I would say that was true , but like the previous examples, sometimes you come across a book that has some interesting annotations. I once found a copy of a WW1 Naval memoir in an Oxfam shop that had been annotated by the Captain of one of the ships in the book. I later sold it for a good profit and I'm sure it was the annotations that helped to sell it as there were other copies for sale at that time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartH Posted 16 April , 2016 Share Posted 16 April , 2016 If you are ever thinking of giving them to a good home, do please let me know. They are in a good home,now . IRC the review was for the RTR Journal. Annotated and "association" copies of important books are not uncommon and make them more sought after. I once got a very discounted copy of Whites Bibliography Of Regimental Histories of the British Army, it was dis-bound, and heavily annotated cost something like tenner plus discount and the book dealer apologised profusely. On inspection it turned out to be Whites proof copy. That will end up in a museum someday, the proof copy of one the most important military books published in the 60's, even I understand that. I have a least 20 important association copies of books, ranging from the Riecharchiv's Der Welkrieg set to signed Mahan's etc. But I have been searching hard for 34 years, As the Library of Congress states everything has a monetary value, it is only what someone is prepared to pay for it. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muerrisch Posted 16 April , 2016 Share Posted 16 April , 2016 Dr Dunn's personal copy of Robt. Graves's "Goodbye to All that" is heavily annotated by Dunn, and this is a most valuable commentary on Robt's reliability as an historian. Balls! Rot! Hyperbole! Fiction! So I then annotated my own copy with Dunn's words meticulously transcribed in red ink ............................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dai Bach y Sowldiwr Posted 16 April , 2016 Share Posted 16 April , 2016 I greatly enjoy annotate books and have an extensively annotated privately published memorial volume. Sadly it is completely illegible. I mean it. My wife's a doctor and I can read her writing! Have you asked her to decipher it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muerrisch Posted 16 April , 2016 Share Posted 16 April , 2016 my surgeon son-in-law, playing Balderdash, wrote PARK RANGER'S HUT it was read as PORK RANGERS HAT He is now known in the extended family as THE PORK RANGER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resurgam13 Posted 22 April , 2016 Share Posted 22 April , 2016 Some years ago I ordered a copy of the 1911 edition of "Essays and Criticisms by the Military Correspondent of The Times" from one of the large "book barns" and received an e-mail a few days' later that, having examined the book, they had decided that the condition was so poor (extensive notes and underlining) the book was going to be disposed of, and the sale cancelled. I replied that it was really up to me to decide on condition, and if they were going to dispose of the book anyway, I would happily take it off their hands for the price of postage, which was agreed. It turned out to be from the Library of Major-General Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend, who, I seem to remember, was not enamoured of the Author, Lieutenant-Colonel Repington. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Broomfield Posted 22 April , 2016 Share Posted 22 April , 2016 I presume none of this includes the collected works of P Hart, signed by the author. Some years ago I ordered a copy of the 1911 edition of "Essays and Criticisms by the Military Correspondent of The Times" from one of the large "book barns" and received an e-mail a few days' later that, having examined the book, they had decided that the condition was so poor (extensive notes and underlining) the book was going to be disposed of, and the sale cancelled. I replied that it was really up to me to decide on condition, and if they were going to dispose of the book anyway, I would happily take it off their hands for the price of postage, which was agreed. It turned out to be from the Library of Major-General Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend, who, I seem to remember, was not enamoured of the Author, Lieutenant-Colonel Repington. And presumably the annotations confirmed this ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resurgam13 Posted 22 April , 2016 Share Posted 22 April , 2016 A few scans: Scan #2 Scan #3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Maria Posted 21 May , 2016 Share Posted 21 May , 2016 I've just finished reading my copy of ' A Private in the Guards' and a previous owner has named all the Sergeants who are only mentioned by numbers in one chapter of the book and also some of the other N.C.Os and Officers whose names are omitted. Also in the chapter on the Final Advance in 1918 the author mentions that a Belgian brewery gave away free beer to the liberating British troops and the previous owner has added "That's when I had the rum ration of my whole section, they wanted free beer but I had to hang on to draw the rum ration - about a pint ". I bet he had a sore head afterwards ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Jacket Collector Posted 21 May , 2016 Share Posted 21 May , 2016 Nice one John. I've always been rather keen on Stephen Graham's books. I have a proof copy of Wilfrid Ewart's 'Way of Revelation' which has some corrections by the author & a letter from him mentioning Graham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Maria Posted 21 May , 2016 Share Posted 21 May , 2016 Nice one John. I've always been rather keen on Stephen Graham's books. I have a proof copy of Wilfrid Ewart's 'Way of Revelation' which has some corrections by the author & a letter from him mentioning Graham. Thanks Alan, I've had it a while and only just got around to reading it , a common theme judging by the skindles thread, ' How many GW books is too many ? . Your proof copy is one to treasure, having recently read 'Scots Guard' I did like Ewart's writing style , it's a shame he died so young. I was quite surprised to learn ( thanks Wikipedia ) that Graham only died as recently as 1975. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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