There’s brisk demand for Karl Malden’s 1997 memoir, When Do I Start?, following the sad news about his death yesterday at the age of 97. I think he was a truly memorable actor. On The Waterfront remains one of my favourite movies. Only a handful of signed copies remain.
Archive for the ‘Signed Books’ Category
David Carradine vs Marilynne Robinson
Friday, June 5th, 2009Yesterday’s bestselling authors on AbeBooks were David Carradine and Marilynne Robinson. A strange combination with the recently deceased movie star just beating out the Orange Prize winner.
The Selected Works Of T.S. Spivet a signed bestseller
Monday, June 1st, 2009
Reif Larsen’s debut tale about the twelve-year-old genius cartographer who must traverse America to accept a prestigious award from the Smithsonian is earning him great praise from critics on both sides of the Atlantic for not only the clever storyline but the book design as well.
The books margins are riddled with the doodles, diagrams, and maps drawn by young Spivet to help discribe his journy to DC.
This looks like a beautifuly put together book, and I think it would be a lot of fun to read, however my major complaint is that, once again, that the British cover looks about a hundred times nicer than its North America counterpart…
… perhaps I will have to order a copy from one of our UK booksellers
10 Bestselling signed books on AbeBooks
1. The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen
2. The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
3. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
4. The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie
5. Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower
6. The World’s Wife by Carol Ann Duffy
7. Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
8. The Children’s Book by A.S. Byatt
9. Walking the Perfect Square by Reed Farrel Coleman
10. Drood by Dan Simmons
AbeBooks Bestselling signed books
Sunday, May 3rd, 2009Interestingly enough it seems that Elizabeth Strout has not been very busy signing copies of her new book Pulitzer Prize winning novel Olive Kitteridge, so when collectors went looking for signed copies of her work they found their way to her debut Amy and Isabelle since it was her only work with a quantity of signed copies. Whether the lack of signatures is due to Strout having developed a distaste for signing or simply because she has not yet gone on an author tour has yet to be determined (or at least I don’t know). If indeed it’s the former, some buyers may have snagged a gem.
Top 10 bestselling signed books on AbeBooks for April 2009
1. Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout
2. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
3. Everything Ravaged Everything Burned by Wells Tower
4. Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith
5. Fool by Christopher Moore
6. The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
7. Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen
8. Drood by Dan Simmons
9. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
10. Indignation by Philip Roth
Top 10 bestselling signed books
Sunday, April 5th, 2009AbeBooks top 10 bestselling signed books for March 2009
1. The Vagrants by Li Yiyun
2. Fool by Christopher Moore
3. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
4. Drood by Dan Simmons
5. Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower
6. The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer
7. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
8. Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith
9. The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon
10. The Forever War by Dexter Filkins
Ten most expensive book sales on AbeBooks for March 2009
Saturday, April 4th, 2009Top 10 most expensive sales on AbeBooks for the month of March 2009
1. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein - $9,730
Written in 1966 and set in 2075 where a lunar colony revolts against earth. This copy was a first edition (sixth printing) signed by both Robert and Virginia Heinlein.
2. Early Italian Engraving by Arthur Hind - $7,500
Published in 1938, this collection (2 parts in 7 volumes) was limited to 375 copies (part I) and 275 (part II). Volumes one and five signed by author.
3. Album Pintoresco Isla de Cuba by Pierre Toussaint Frédéric Miahle - $6,752
First edition printed in Havana in 1848. Illustrated with 30 lithographs from Miahle the book depicts daily life in Cuba and its capital in the mid 19th century.
4. Ulysses by James Joyce - $6,250
Published in 1935 by the Limited Editions Club of New York this edition of the Joyce classic was number 855 of 1500 and was signed by Henri Matisse who contributed the illustrations for the work. Ulysses chronicles the passage through Dublin by the protagonist, Leopold Bloom.
5. Pison, das erste Theil by Leonhard Thurneysser - $6309.40
First editions of two complementary alchemistic works bound together in one volume by the Basel born goldsmith, alchemist and Paracelsist Leonhard Thurneysser (1531-1596). In Pison “he introduced quantitative methods, solubility tests, crystallographic evidence, and several flame tests in a more advanced procedure. In the second title he describes the method of water analysis by specific gravity and by distillation and weighing the residue, the specific apparatus for analyses, and treats the systems of various rivers, such as the Danube, the Rhine, the Spree, The Weser etc.
6. Thesaurus Graecae linguae by Henry Estienne - $4365
First edition of the The Thesaurus linguae graecae, or Greek thesaurus, published in 1572 by the Parisian printer Henry Stienne. The book served as the basis of Greek lexicography up to the nineteenth century.
7. Encyclopaedia of Sensors by Craaig A. Grimes - $3499.50
Published in 10 volumes in 2005 this is the first encyclopaedia ever published in the field of sensors.
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell - $3,275.00
First edition, First printing of Orwell’s 1949 dystopian classic.
9. Let Us Compare Mythologies by Leonard Cohen - $3,000
First edition copy, 1956, of the author’s first book, published when he was just 22. This was a presentation copy inscribed by Cohen to the Principal of McGill University.
10. The Luttrell Psalter – 2,950
A facsimile edition of the famous illuminated manuscript containing psalms, a calendar, canticles, mass, and an antiphon for the dead. Illustrated circa 1325-1335 and commissioned by Geoffrey Luttrell.
Bestselling signed books from February
Thursday, March 5th, 2009AbeBooks Top 10 bestselling signed books for February 2009
1. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
2. The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
3. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
4. Fool by Christopher Moore
5. Vagrants by Yiyun Li
6. The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
7. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
8. The Women by T.C. Boyle
9. Drood by Dan Simmons
10. The Widows of Eastwick by John Updike
Michael Phelps’ signed books
Thursday, February 5th, 2009Just six months ago, Michael Phelps had more Olympic gold around his neck than anyone else in history. Signed copies of his first book, Beneath the Surface, were going for $300 a pop. The News of the World and a picture of Phelps with a bong soon took the shine off those medals. There are plenty of signed copies of his latest book, No Limits, on AbeBooks but I’d be surprised if people are willing to today’s prices, which stretch to $245.
Inkheart first editions
Thursday, January 22nd, 2009
Still on Inkheart, since it is a book about books and we love that combination so, it’s a fairly collectable book for a recent novel (having first been published in 2003). There are several Inkheart first editions on offer but I think my favourite is this UK first where Cornelia Funke has sketched a doodled a small bookman illustration next to her name…
You can also nab the complete signed trilogy (Inkheart, Inkspell, and Inkdeath ) for just over $1200
Martin Luther King Jr In Books
Monday, January 19th, 2009One of the things I love about working here at AbeBooks is the discoveries I make. Pretty much any topic, event, or notable name triggers an “I wonder if we have a book…” response.
With today being Martin Luther King day in the United States, I was prompted to see what collectible books by King we had for offer on the site. (Ok, truth be told, I couldn’t help myself - I had to look as my curiosity got the better of me.) The offerings are pretty outstanding. There are thank-you notes signed by King, a book inscribed to his children’s babysitter, a first day issue MLK stamp and cover that was released on what would have been King’s 50th birthday and first editions of King’s first book, Stride Toward Freedom.
A first edition copy of Strength to Love with a rubber-stamped greeting in King’s handwriting can be purchased for just $250.00(USD) while a first edition copy of Where Do We Go From Here? inscribed to Leonard Bernstein will cost you $15,290.00.
Isn’t it great how book not only allow you to learn about history but also enable you to own a piece of that history? Just another reason to love books!
Top 10 Bits of Ephemera I Can’t Afford (But Would Like, Please).
Thursday, January 15th, 2009 
Presenting, in no particular order…the top 10 things that aren’t quite books but are book-related that I would like to own, but can’t quite afford, so someone please buy them for me. Thank you.
1. Signed Photo of Pablo Picasso. I love Picasso. I love his art, and having seen/read much about him, he seemed like a vibrant, loving, creative, hot-tempered, exciting man to be around. A film about the life of Picasso inspired my first (quite successful) attempt at Dada poetry when I was in University for Creative Writing. Sadly for you folks, I can’t remember the poem off the top of my head (disappointed groans all ’round). $18,000.00
2. Truman Capote’s Birth Certificate. I love Truman Capote. I love his witty, neurotic, New York reputation. I love Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Holly Golightly wildly. I love that he was Harper Lee’s best friend. I love that I’ve not yet read In Cold Blood, but am dying to. And I love that Philip Seymour Hoffman played him, because I love Philip Seymour Hoffman. And we have Truman Capote’s birth certificate! How cool. Crossing fingers for lottery winnings.$35,000.00
3. Virginia Woolf’s Day Planners for Eight Years. Okay, I admit these would probably be fairly mundane and straightforward. “Lunch with Brent”, “Call dentist - have lost crown”, “send Roger for flea-dip” and the like. But I can’t help the hope of glimpses into her life, like she’d have absently scrawled on one Thursday “note to self: Write ‘A Room of One’s Own’. Also, buy pork chops.” $112,480.25
4. Two Life Size Green Eggs - Original Artwork by Dr. Seuss Who wouldn’t want this?! Dr. Seuss was such an integral part of my upbringing. The first taste of environmentalism I recall came in the form of the Lorax. The Cat in the Hat, Hop on Pop, and of course Green Eggs and Ham were all staples in my househould. I still have a stuffed Cat in the Hat doll somewhere, and we still watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas every year.$5,624.01
5. Land Sale Transaction Receipt from 1349 - the Year of the Black Death. Ok. I can be a little morbid. Speaking of the Black Death, have you read The Doomsday Book? If not, and you like science fiction, time travel, or just really good fiction, I recommend it. It’s a book I loved. Anyway, back to the document - imagine completing tedious paperwork while people have ghastly buboes and fevers and are falling down dead all around you. What a conversation piece! $1500.00 
6. Charles Bukowski button with art by R. Crumb R. Crumb and Charles Bukowski. What a couple of dirty, lecherous, skirtchasing old boozehounds. God Bless ‘Em. $95.00
7. Edward Gorey’s Dracula Jigsaw Puzzle. A 15×21 inch 500 piece jigsaw puzzle in black, white and red depicting the poster for the Edward Gorey production of DRACULA in New York City. Edward Gorey is fantastic. If you’re not familiar with him, check him out - he tells twisted tales of ennui and torture and oddities and eerieness, accompanied by dark, ghoulish and demented illustrations. He was very prolific and is now very collectible - there’s a lot there to love. $475.00 
8. Einstein’s Notes on Unified Field Theory. A page of a bunch of calculations, notes, theories, all part of Einstein’s second serious attempt to unify gravity and electromagnetism within a single field. Really though, so what? Everybody doodles. Look, I drew a kitty, just now. Didn’t trace it or anything. Nope. That’s allllll freehand. $38,500.00
9. Funny Letter By Mark Twain to a Friend in which he amusedly recounts that reports of his demise have been greatly exaggerated; apparently a Mark twain impersonator had been traipsing about enjoying Twain’s fame, when he died, and was buried, as Mark Twain. $15,000.00
10. Original Screenplay for the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang I love Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. What’s not to love?! It’s cheery, it’s got Dick Van Dyke, it was written by Ian Fleming (of James Bond fame), it has an incredibly nefarious and fearsome villain called the Child Catcher, and now, a new reason to love it - the screenplay was written by Roald Dahl! No wonder it’s so wonderful. $500.00