Rare Books for sale online

[Dust Jacket Collector]

As a lifelong book collector & internet junkie I'm often seeing rare books for sale online which I already have but might be of interest to others. I know you can leave a 'wants list' on some sites, but these are usually restricted to a small number of items & if you're anything like me that would only be the tip of a very large iceberg.

What prompted me today was seeing a copy of Thomas Suthren Hope's 'The Winding Road Unfolds', 1st UK edition in Dust jacket on ABE. It's a rare thing & much sought after if a trifle dear (at £550) but I'm sure that's a mere trifle to some.

I'll keep posting any others I see. Feel free to add anything you spot.

[barkalotloudly]

offer them 150.00!!

[paulgranger]

I see that my rather worn copy of 'Rage of Battle', the Sphere paperback 1972 reissue might be worth £15, judging by the copies on sale on Amazon. I think I'll stick with that!

 

[Black Maria]

5 hours ago, Dust Jacket Collector said:

..... It's a rare thing & much sought after ....

I often wonder if the books we collect are really sought after , outside of our small collecting circle. A while back I remember watching a jacketed copy of the 1st

U.S edition on e-bay , it had one bidder and went for a snip ( under £50 I think ).

Edited 28 February , 2017 by Black Maria

[Dust Jacket Collector]

 

On 2017/03/01 at 02:31, Black Maria said:

I often wonder if the books we collect are really sought after , outside of our small collecting circle.

I still cling to the view that there are some serious collectors out there who just keep a very low profile. Even the most expensive items usually find a buyer in the end.

[MartH]

On 2017/03/01 at 03:34, Dust Jacket Collector said:

 

I still cling to the view that there are some serious collectors out there who just keep a very low profile. Even the most expensive items usually find a buyer in the end.

 

There are many techniques to going after super rare books that cost vast amounts of money , rule one is never to request a discount.

[Guest]

Ah,DJC- I fear I must inadvertently insult you to begin with- you are an abherration of nature!!!!  Let me explain-  Long years of bookselling and before that as a collector, suggest to me that there are only 2 types of book.  viz "Book as Function" and "Book as Icon".

     "Book as Function" is what most publications are- the beast is wanted for it's contents and published for that in the first place. Nowadays, much of this stuff could move online without loss to the stock of the intellectual life of humanity. eg City of Cairo Bus Timetable (See note at end) . The printed book was formerly the most efficient way of distributing that body of knowledge-which could then shift online as a way of distributing that knowledge more efficiently.

    "Book as Icon" is a book wanted for what it is as a physical object- a First Edition, fine binding, privately printed edition,etc.

Hope's "Winding Road Unfolds" ,offered by James Pickard, is an icon. The text is available for those that want it in modern paperback- the First is there a few times as well- But the greater part of the price is to get the dustjacket wrapper round the First as well- that is, to acquire complete as first published (down as James P. says) to the "unclipped" price on the jacket- A complete First. Thus, you want it for both reasons- the content is within your field for reading and studying but the item is wanted for it's rarity as an icon.

    Now one of the joys of book collecting is that the variety of stuff is so great that there are areas of collecting to suit all pockets. The millionaire can get the choicest items with the wave of a credit card or cheque book. He lets the specialist dealer do the work for him. Thus, some obvious areas are expensive- collecting first editions of Charles Dickens is a rich man's game-The First of "Great Expectations" in fine condition (if it could be got) would cost more than most collectors in other areas would spend in a lifetime. And unlikely to turn up by chance in a local bookshop for next to nothing (No bookshops for a start-that's another topic)

     What has always been a pleasure to me is where ordinary people (ie on "average income") are strong collectors in an area, where dedication to the pursuit over decades not only produces a fine collection but the collector adds to the stock of knowledge on that subject.And what often intrigues me is how collectors alight upon their chosen subject in the first place- often pure chance-rather than the rich man's collecting areas which are well known. The collector of modest means can get real pleasure from years of attention to detail and collecting- the variant edition, the odd signed or "association" copy,etc. One of the greatest price rises in recent years is for the 5th Annual Report of the Registrar-General for England and Wales (c.1838,from memory). A dull parliamentary paper-one of a very long series of "Reg-Gen."- but now wanted by collectors of the history of computing (and there are many-and rich to boot-)it was the first book printed from data that was mechanically generated.

   So,DJC, there may be many who collect the literature of the Great War as "knowledge"- and some who collect as "icon"- When the 2 meet, as with,say, a collector of "Winding Road Unfolds" (No names,no pack drill), then that is unusual.-an abherration in fact-but a most pleasant one.

    (Sometimes collecting and the funds to do it can get a little out of hand - I well remember a very wealthy collector of Churchilliana- rich enough to have his "assistant" carry a briefcase with reference print-outs of his collection and the bibliographies. The standard Churchill bibliography is "Woods". This man was well beyond that- he carried a micrometer in his jacket pocket to measure paper thickness-and,for example, had found a number of variant editions of Churchill's WW2 speeches and messages(bumped out in large numbers) simply because different paper thicknesses indicated  different printings. But at that level, then "Obsession" should remain with Calvin Klein)

 

Note-  A little in joke- if there were a 1914 or 1915 Cairo Bus Timetable  edited by the Arab Bureau, I suspect that would be a tad more collectable....Others will know why !!!

 

   

 

 

 

[Black Maria]

I must say that when I visited the military book fairs ( another thing that the internet has mostly killed off ) I would always ask what the dealers best price

was for a book and they would normally knock a bit off  . Although once a dealer did say that he didn't have best prices , only prices.

[Dust Jacket Collector]

Whether or not I ask for a discount very much depends on the price being asked and the scarcity of the book. If it's something I've been searching for many years for and the price is reasonable I'll buy it, no haggling. I've seen too many slip away whilst waiting for a reply from the dealer to risk it again.

Fortunately I have a copy of 'The Winding Road' in as perfect a condition as when it left the press. The price being asked for this one is more than twice what our man in Brighton would want but probably half what would be asked by a certain dealer in the smoke. It's all down to what you can afford on the day.

I recently bid £56 for Dawson's 'Somme Battle Stories' on eBay but was pipped at the post by £1. It's now on ABE for £200. It's probably worth somewhere in between.

We're lucky that the really big prices in our field only apply when WW1 meets Modern Firsts - Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Dos Passos, cummings etc. I avoid them.

[Guest]

37 minutes ago, QGE said:

 

Separately,  Ashcroft and VCs is a similar dynamic in terms of market domination

 

     Oh- and let's see what the market brings the morrow- The1st July Somme VC  at Dix,Noonan and Webb.  It is interesting as here the auction is not really about competition between bidders- with Ashcroft defeating either the same under-bidder or there have been up to 211 (thus far) different ones. Rather, it is the battle between Ashcroft and the auctioneer's reserve on the lot-which,of course, will have been determined by an intimate knowledge of what Ashcroft has paid in past years.

   (Moral of the story- NEVER leave a bid with an auctioneer- buy at auction through a variety of agencies- All a commission bid does is tell the auctioneer what you are prepared to pay-You may get the lot below your top bid-but it will cost you dear in the future as the auctioneer sets estimates and reserves with knowledge of your purse and aspirations- Same advice towards auctioneers as a lawyer would give to a client in a police interview -tell 'em nothing!!)

     As with any form of book collecting- a deep purse may take you further than the poor man- but in the end, if the poor man has the greater knowledge, he will be the greater collector.

[Dust Jacket Collector]

Look, you two, fascinating though this discussion is, the purpose of this thread was to point out any interesting rare, sorry hard-to-find, books that turn up for sale on-line. I shall have to start another thread at this rate.

Perhaps, as a final point, I'm a book collector. My sole aim is to get the books I want as cheaply as possible. If that means asking for a hefty discount so be it. The dealer can just say no (most don't. I recently asked if there was any leeway on a £450 book, no sum suggested, & was told would £250 be OK). It's certainly not the same as asking for a reduction at the till in Tesco's. They pay a fairly fixed price for their stock whereas a book dealers £200 book may have cost him £100 or only £1.

Back to ABE, my favourite portal!

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Dust Jacket Collector said:

the purpose of this thread was to point out any interesting rare, sorry hard-to-find, books that turn up for sale on-line.

   

   DJC-Fair enough. Economics lesson over. On one point though, I would disagree- Many booksellers do not get books at knock-down prices-The specialist on balance takes a shorter margin- he knows what he can sell for,whether the item is already on a "wants  list" and must acquire stock in his chosen area. Persistent requests for a discount can get very tiresome- the more so when one knows it is an informed customer who will know the item would cost much more elsewhere. In that respect, ABE is ideal- a communication through ABE ("Ask a Bookseller") must be answered-and politely. Thus, a polite refusal from time to time. More serious antiquarian booksellers do get tracked by collectors who follow the market- they will know at which auction,for example, the bookseller purchased and at what price. You have illustrated this with an item missed on Ebay and now online-  but if you were outbid at £46 or so,then why now think that it's"value" is c.£100 ?

    I will end the pros and cons on 3 little anecdotes relating to bookseller, offers and the original cost of the item:

1) A chap who used to work for me- a Yorkshireman-and a little blunt if he felt offended- A customer made a particularly  unrealistic offer (downwards, of course,-most booksellers will entertain higher offers willingly)  "This is a respectable London bookshop,Sir,not a Moroccan street market"

2) A Manchester bookseller (now deceased) noted for being curmudgeonly when he wanted (but kindness itself when he wanted-His son is now a specialist seller in military books)-When asked for a"trade discount" at the PBFA Summer Bookfair at the Russell Hotel- "I don't come down all the way from Manchester, get the best room in the hotel, have a top-notch restaurant meal in the evening, and employ the services of the best available  local tart just to give  you a discount Sonny" (He did give a discount)

3)  The same bookseller was asked by another Northern bookseller to price a pamphlet that the latter had found in the former's shop-  "£!,000.50". The other bookseller chuckled  and wrote a cheque for £1,000- It was refused, the vendor insisted on £1,000.50-the purchaser altered his cheque accordingly-then asked why he was so set on that odd price. The reply-"I've always wanted to make a thousand pounds profit on a pamphlet"

 

       Now then-on a serious note- I will endeavour to point out some "scarce" books coming up for auction-  I have put up separate threads about a couple of manuscript items that came up recently- Not to encourage profligate spending by our fellow Forum members-but to alert students of those particular areas that the items actually existed- regardless of their fate against the hammer.

     DJC- I look forward to your scholarly commentaries in due course with regard to Great War literary items-It has been a pleasure and a learning curve to read your previous writings.

 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, QGE said:

will delete.

 

     Similarly-   DJC-  Start finding those books-and telling us all about them!!

 

PS- Can you remind of the details of a Great War literary item- a literary review publication- put out through the government in 1918-1919 or so??  I had once the first 3 volumes(may have been all published), all octavo-c.250pages per volume. The printers' code suggested a large print run- 6 figures. It had small articles by some leading literary men of the day- eg Thomas Hardy and Joseph Conrad-as well as illusartions, eg Nicholson (?) I mentioned it to my former neighbour Rik Gekoski,who was on top of the bibliography of Conrad-but had never heard of this publication-as the article was not in the bibliographies of Conrad.

    Cannot for the life of me remember what the thing was though!!  Does it ring a bell??

 

   DJC-  This seems to be it-  Below is BL catalogue entry and the one set available on Tinternet. Does it ring a bell-the print run was large but it seems uncommon:

 

·                                 Title: Reveille, etc. no. 1-3. Aug. 1918-Feb. 1919.

·                                 Subjects: Periodical publications.- London

·                                 Publication Details: London, 1918, etc. 

·                                 Identifier: System number 002852499 

·                                 Related Titles: Recalled to Life. A journal devoted to the care, re-education and return to civil life of disabled sailors and soldiers, etc. no. 1-3. June 1917-April 1918. London, 1917, 18. 8º. (Uk)MP1.0003037453 

·                                 Physical Description: 8º. 

 

REVEILLE.

Published by HMSO (1918)

Used Soft cover

Quantity Available: 1

Destination, Rates & Speeds

Item Description: HMSO, 1918. Soft cover. Book Condition: Good. No. 1-3 . 1918-19. All Published. Contributors include Sassoon, Bridges, Belloc, Hardy, Seaman, Baring, Barrie , Drinkwater, Kipling, De Bosschere, G K Chesterton, Conrad, Beerbohm, Masefield, R Nichols, R Graves, W H Hudson, E Wharton, W Nicholson , etc. Paper spines frayed & rubbed. No.3 a little dusty with some marginal staining, but a good set -No. 3 being a very difficult issue to find. Bookseller Inventory # 81538

 

Edited 1 March , 2017 by Guest
More info

[Dust Jacket Collector]

Thanks both. I hope I don't come across as anti dealer - where would I be without them. With regard to pricing and discounts, I suppose as a collector you get to know roughly what a book should fetch. If it seems reasonable I'll pay that. If it's way too much I'll ask for a bit off. ( I'm reminded of all those antiques programs on the box where the buyers seem to get enormous discounts. Apparently, according to Alan Bennett, this is all fake as the Beeb promises to pay the sellers the full asking price after the filming).

I see I've now broken my own rule by going completely off topic.

GUEST - can't think of a Government literary publication. There were several commercial ones like Graves' 'Owl', the Sitwell's 'Wheels', the Criterion, various ones from Wyndham Lewis etc. Was it a propaganda journal of some sort?

[barkalotloudly]

how interesting, with the rise of the internet many dealers are selling books about which they are not sure how to price, i can take you to books that have been available for 2/3 years why? because they are overpriced!!! and will surely still be available at the 200 year anniversary of the Great War lol if i feel it is justified i always ask if the price maybe lowered even it is just "post free" you only have to look at the books on e*** anything remotely expensive does not seem to sell!! postage costs to and from this and other country have also greatly reduced the number of potential buyers/sellers, i did try to point this out to an American who was asking nearly $70.00 postage for a book to this country and to the seller asking for the same amount for some aerial photographs that would have fitted into an A5 size envelope,

i am waiting to see when the book that was purchased for 90.00 and is for sale at 300.00 sells??? the lazy so and so even used the original sellers description  word fro word hey ho onwards and upwards  

 

[Guest]

6 hours ago, barkalotloudly said:

how interesting, with the rise of the internet many dealers are selling books about which they are not sure how to price

 

    Woof- a good example today- an item (Great War literary) listed 3 times on Tinternet-  one at £175-from an experienced English specialist dealer. The second at £1346, also from an English non-specialist dealer-noted by his colleagues (ie me) for some enthusiastic pricing............... and one from a specialist dealer in the United States  at.......... £20,5000 (No,not a typo)

 

      So -the cheapest is 0.85% of the price of the most expensive. Alternatively, the most expensive is 114 times the cost of the cheapest  [Surely Some Mistake-Ed]

  

Edited 1 March , 2017 by Guest
more info

[David Filsell]

I have gained much pleasure and education from book dealers over the years. But my, how things are changing. Just been told by a well known (he says) aviation specialist dealer when offering him some sixty or so military aviation titles, some fairly rare and unusual. "Amazon and eBay's ruined the trade. I don't pay more than a pound for anything." I didn't expect to fund a holiday from the sale and I do accept a 100 per cent  mark-up when he sells (as I did when buying for the trade for a while) but despite the sad loss of many traditional second hand bookshops, have the  mighty powers of amazon and the internet really ruined the trade or just changed it and those in it.

I told the bloke told politely to ***s off. So, am I stupid or is he! Answers to the second suggestion only please

[Guest]

20 minutes ago, David Filsell said:

am I stupid or is he! Answers to the second suggestion only please

 

     The Trade has changed. Many formerly collectable middle-range books have become virtually worthless due to the number of copies listed online. And the prospect of cheap replacements coming online as others sell. By reverse, truly rare items- or those with some distinctiveness-such as an association copy- have gone up quite a lot. The low-key stocks of many a British bookshop- the country town or seaside "poke-around" variety are now not sellable at any price-and many dealers will not even take them away for nowt. 

     Neither of you is stupid-  times have just moved on- As with "The Wild Bunch" when Ernest Borgnine  and William Holden  discuss how difficult it had become to rob trains compared to former times- "Them days is closing fast"

 

     PS-60 books-could be listed on Amazon-only pay a commission when sold. It might be a revelation

Edited 1 March , 2017 by Guest

[David Filsell]

Thanks,

But  a quid a knob still seems foolish for rareish books without even looking still seems strange.

[Guest]

45 minutes ago, David Filsell said:

Thanks,

But  a quid a knob still seems foolish for rareish books without even looking still seems strange.

 

     I have known similar-  it's frustrating. My sympathies. Alas, Mr Bezos seems quite happy with the way things are-even if you or I are not.

[Guest]

OK- DJC-Well, here's a little rarity-alas, not literary. There is no mention of this magazine on GWF. Found-of course-when looking for something else online

 

Vol.1 nos.1-5 and vol.2 nos 1-2, together 7 issues bound in one volume

KARONGA KRONICAL

Published by Nyasaland Printed at the Livingstonia Mission Press -1916 (1914)

Used Softcover

 

Item Description: Nyasaland Printed at the Livingstonia Mission Press -1916, 1914. 8vo. (21.5 x 14 cm.), original wrappers, later cloth, Bookplate of Sir Hector Livingston Duff, Ex libris Bath Public Reference Library, the Sir Hector Duff Collection. Edited by Lieutenant (later Sir) Philip Mitchell (1890-1964) and Lieutenant E.C. Richards, this copy originally belonging to their commanding officer, Sir Hector Duff, annotated throughout by him and with an extensive prefatory note in his hand: "This little camp newspaper dates from the time when the Nyasaland Field Force was entrenched at Karonga on Lake Nyasa, between the battle of Kasoa (Sept 8 1914) and the invasion of the German East Africa.This bound volume of the paper must be a great rarity now: in fact, as far as I know, it is the only copy in existence". A humorous look at camp life. Bookseller Inventory # 52135

 

     Despite the comments by it's former owner, Sir Hector Duff, other copies are known-  Bodley has perhaps all bar the last issue-  IWM has it listed (worryingly, listed as being in a box-suggesting odd issue/issues-let's hope this has not been junked). It is also listed as being in Johannesburg Public Library on Worldcat.

      Scarce- the bookseller price is 3 times what my Ford Fiesta cost-well, I'm not much of a car enthusiast. The vendor is a long-established and reputable London bookseller (Past President of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association). His speciality is Travel, so perhaps more priced for the rich African collector than Great War buff. 

     There we are- Look up it's price and blanche- Perhaps the IWM Library is worth a bit more than the critics think.

 

 

[Dust Jacket Collector]

Goodness. What is it about these little magazines that draws such high valuations? Another one it would be interesting to read. It just needs the decimal point being moved one place to the left. At least that American seller doesn't have it otherwise the point would have moved the other way!

[Black Maria]

To be honest I could suggest some rare (ish ) books that are online but (a) They would be considered too expensive by 99.9% of the forum members

who I suspect even if they did want them would rather buy a cheap paperback copy or better still download for free or purchase a 99p kindle version

(b) those of us who might have been interested will already own them, and (c) The only people who would buy them will probably be the dealers who

are probably the only ones outside our circle who are avidly following this thread

[Dust Jacket Collector]

Actually I was thinking of the 0.1% of us who might afford them, might not have them & might have missed them. I find that however seemingly comprehensive my searches are things escape me.

[Black Maria]

9 minutes ago, Dust Jacket Collector said:

Actually I was thinking of the 0.1% of us who might afford them, might not have them & might have missed them. I find that however seemingly comprehensive my searches are things escape me.

I would of course send you a private message if I saw something online that I know you are after

p.s as long as I'm not after it too !