Does anybody collect books?

[BagLady]

I read a lot. This book is the second one I've bought at yard sales that was signed by the author.
It is not old. In fact it was published just 6 yrs ago.
The author is a comedian, who has been on Comedy Central, This American Life, and The Bob & Tom Show.
My thinking is to save these books for my Grandkids in the hope that some day they will have value.
What do you all think? Am I wasting shelf space?

 

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[Oddjob]

Yes I collect book, manuscripts, folio's and maps. Mainly incunabulum but there are a few items that are newer I keep an eye out for as well.

Fact of the matter is books can be worth a small fortune, but something big history and or politically related is what makes a book. I have newer books signed my self, not exactly worth a thing but to a few people.

You want to keep paper for your grand kids that will have value one day; keep various election and campaign poster. Then if your lucky one of them will screw the world up completely and that paper will be worth a small fortune.

I was lucky enough to find a box at an estate sale in Berlin full of books. At the bottom was 17 debate posters of Anton Drexler and Adolf Hitler. 3 of the duplicates I sold off at auction for just over 110K each but I kept the rest.

I have been very lucky with adding to my collection since I moved to Europe. Insurance for them is also very cheap as well.

So if this is your start to collecting, then do your self a favor and study up on what is big, no matter how old it is the pattern is nearly always the same. Best of luck to you, this is not a hobby for the weak. If you really want to give to your grand kids, perhaps gold and guns are better, because they are always worth money, paper is not.

 

[BagLady]

Great info, Oddjob. Yours is an amazing story!! I will keep my eyes out for historical pieces.
We do some prospecting, and have several rifles, shotguns, and a .38 pistol.
Our 11 yr old Gson is on board for both. Our 4 yr old Gdaughter is the book lover. (My "mini-me").

I doubt I'll ever find anything as fascinating as you did...300k...!!!!!!!!

 

[Oddjob]

Great info, Oddjob. Yours is an amazing story!! I will keep my eyes out for historical pieces.
We do some prospecting, and have several rifles, shotguns, and a .38 pistol.
Our 11 yr old Gson is on board for both. Our 4 yr old Gdaughter is the book lover. (My "mini-me").

I doubt I'll ever find anything as fascinating as you did...300k...!!!!!!!!

You never know what you will find out there, a pretty common book that is newer is Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, the 1957 edition. A very common throw away or flea market book. But if you have one then you can flip it between 10K-30K.

There are many books out there just like that one. Most people have no idea they are sitting on gold; many collectors have their sights set on what they are after but then there are books like the fore-mentioned that we keep our eyes out for as well, perhaps one or two for the collection but really it is to pull out when you find that one item you can not afford, it is a book you will not miss but one that is sought after.

Biblio.com | Used Books and Rare Books from Antiquarian Booksellers

Try that website, cross reference your current paper you have at home just to see what it is going for. Run through the site to see what is selling, meaning you should look up commonly seen books in your area and see what they are selling for.

If you have issues with some paper, just PM me here, if you happen to find that your sitting on something major and want to dump it then PM here. I do not broker, heck I believer in keeping brokers out of the deal, but maybe it is something I collect or maybe I know someone after such an item.

 

[austin]

I used to collect, but since I retired from my college, I have given my library away. Gave stuff to my University(UTSA) and even sold some. Pushin 70 and just didn't need them anymore. Let others use them to read and research. We have a book store here called Cheever;s with a huge collection of titles, mostly rare. Even used to find things at Half Priced books. Never know where a rare and valuable book will turn up. Even had a copy of Old Yeller signed by Fred Gipson. My maps, portfolios, research papers and artwork went too. Bout all I collect now is dust...

 

[BagLady]

I appreciate your help Oddjob. I'm going to add you to my contacts/friends list.
Sprechen sie deutsch? I have a magazine my grandparents used to subscribe to from Switzerland.
This copy was from 1963, when Kennedy was shot.
Also, what can I do with the newspapers I have from that tragedy, and the first moon walk?
They are complete and in good condition. I know they are not worth anything but for the history, but I'd
rather they had a better home than in a bag in my closet.

 

[diggummup]

You never know what you will find out there, a pretty common book that is newer is Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, the 1957 edition. A very common throw away or flea market book. But if you have one then you can flip it between 10K-30K.

I agree, you never know what you will find. Atlas Shrugged is a rare book but I don't know about 10k worth, unless signed maybe. Books found

Though there are books out there worth good money to be found, the vast majority aren't worth much. Even ones that are signed, even ones that are rare. It's all about who wrote it and what edition it is. A signed book with low printing numbers by a virtual unknown author is just that, unknown and not worth much. It's rare sure but that all it is. I don't collect, but I do buy with intentions of resale. My advice is learn how to read the information contained on the copyright page and research the book/author a little before you buy it, even if it's a 100 years old, because many are worth just a few dollars. I've learned this through buying over the years. You'll end up with boxes of books that you have to give away because they won't even sell at your yard sale for $1.

Some info.- Editions and Printings, How to Tell the Difference: a guide for book collectors

ps-Oddjob, what do you think about this book? Where would you sell it?
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/g...ge-russian-french-cloth-covered-art-book.html

 

[Oddjob]

Baglady, the words Diggummup offers stand to be very true. Seriously I have books that are the last known copies, insurance places them at priceless, which means it starts at 10K in general, could be worth far more depending on many things but most likely they added several notes when they had their own appraisers verify my collection and storage procedures that states something along 400% depreciated value.

You could have something one of a kind that is 300 years old and worth millions to one collector, worth 10K to an insurance company and worth whatever it may sell for at an auction house if they will touch it.

Then you could have something like what Diggummup has on here, if it is purchased story by Disney or another major company such as that then you can bet he will have new fishing boat by the weeks end after Christie's gets their hands on it.

It is something that you really need to know what you are doing so you do not pass up the right stuff and pay too much for the wrong stuff. Catch 22; sorry could not resist that little book joke, Catch 22 is a well collected and valued book.

On the subject of Kennedy Items; I have never seen another nation where Kennedy items are worth more than they are in Germany. The US news papers I could not really say and would not even try. The Swiss magazine though, I would be very interested in seeing a picture. I have a guy in Bonn who buys all my Kennedy stuff, he asks me every time if I have anything in German. When I dig K half dollars in Europe I just sell them to him along with the grip location I dug them in. The man is mad about his stuff and has the account to go with it.

US Newspapers, that is not really my thing. I would bet that if you did your research on them, perhaps posted them on here and called a few dealer from Biblio that you could find out a good ballpark on them. I collect what I know or at least have general knowledge of, very rarely do I ever buy something with no knowledge of, lesson learned years ago. The only reason the Swiss Mag has my interest is because I know someone who buys that stuff.

 

[Beans]

I went to an Estate sale put on by the family Grandkids. The garage was converted to a library. I started looking at the books and noticed they were signed or had inscriptions. Turns out the person who passed was a local book reviewer and newspaper columnist. The book companies would send him books to review. There were about 500 or more books. I made an offer for the whole room and they accepted. The books were from the 50s and 60s mostly western. They sold very well on ebay. I got so excited about the books I stopped looking around. As I was packing the books up I ran across original records (45s) of the beatles and others. They would not sell me those. They caught on to the value of the items in the rooms.

 

[Oddjob]

I went to an Estate sale put on by the family Grandkids. The garage was converted to a library. I started looking at the books and noticed they were signed or had inscriptions. Turns out the person who passed was a local book reviewer and newspaper columnist. The book companies would send him books to review. There were about 500 or more books. I made an offer for the whole room and they accepted. The books were from the 50s and 60s mostly western. They sold very well on ebay. I got so excited about the books I stopped looking around. As I was packing the books up I ran across original records (45s) of the beatles and others. They would not sell me those. They caught on to the value of the items in the rooms.

Very cool, sometimes we get lucky, many times we do not until we learn our lesson. That sounds like a great find you had there.

 

[BagLady]

Oddjob,
The magazine is not in great condition, but still very readable. Apparently someone swiped thru about 1/3 of the pages with a box cutter. I'd never really looked at until today. It has lots of pages and pictures of the assassination, funeral, family and even Oswalt getting shot. Here are some pic's. You can have it if you want to just reimburse me for shipping.

 

[OldSowBreath]

If you look at the Pulitzer Price winning photo of Oswald getting his just deserves, the guy in the white Dallas PD cap directly behind Oswald tormented my family for years; all because my father (a doctor) saved his life when he tried to commit suicide. My father also had a a hand in the decision to let Kennedy's body go back to Bethesda for the autopsy, which he regretted to his dying day. We knew many people that had connections to that day. I was actually downtown when Kennedy was shot, but not on the parade route.

 

[BagLady]

Wow OldSowBreath!! Talk about living history...that's a fascinating part of it. Thanks for sharing.