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Every issue of the Avid Collector, our Expert
Booksellers will answer your questions on rare and collectible books. [Have
a Question?]
Q. Some of the pages in this book are unopened (they are still joined
at fold) Why is it this way? Does this make my book more valuable?
The book is complete and in very good condition. - Linda
A. Traditionally, books are printed on large sheets of paper. The sheets
are then folded to create 'gathers' of ordered pages. These are
then placed in order, with other gathers, and are bound together
to form the entire book. When the sheets are folded, there will be folds
at the fore and top edges. Usually, these are trimmed before the book
is bound, but sometimes the trimming does not cut deeply enough to open
all the folds. This is why we sometimes see books that are unopened and
this is also why we see books that have been opened roughly, by somewhat
careless readers. An unopened book may have a greater collectible value,
but there is nothing intrinsically desirable about it. The extra value
may be derived from the simple fact that an unopened book is also an unread
book, and therefore may be in superior condition. However, if left unopened,
it wont be readable.
-- Neil
Cournoyer - Bookseller (ABAC, ILAB), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Q. In your opinion, who would be some of the authors whose signatures
would stand the test of time and appreciate? - Matt
A. Be careful of popular authors. Taste in authors changes like the
weather. Ever hear of James Branch Cabell? He was really popular
80 years ago, but all but forgotten now. Stick to themes: Pulitzer Prize
or Nobel Prize winners, Presidents, Generals or Admirals, Academy
Award Winners, and the like. Someone, some time down the road, is going
to have the same idea and want to start up a collection like yours, and
that's when the value of your collection rises.
-- John
K. King Used & Rare Books, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A.
Q. I've collected a few signed first editions.
I'd like to put them on display but I don't want to devalue them.
So far I've just left them in plastic in a box. What should I do? -
Paul
A. You
don't say where you would like to display your books. Perhaps
you mean in your home and for your personal satisfaction, or
maybe at a local or school library for instructional purposes
or even at a book fair. In any case, a few basic practices hold
true. Keep your books away from excessive moisture and/or dryness,
keep them out of direct sunlight (no, they aren't mushrooms; just don't
put them on a window sill or tabletop under a window) and shelve
them so they are standing on their bottom edges with a flat surface
supporting either side. If you want your books facing foward on a shelf,
then you should place them on book pedestals that are available
from library supply shops. Keep your books from leaning to avoid spinecocking
and continue to use your archival dustjacket covers. That, and keeping
them away from rough hands, are the basics that should keep them nicely
for you.
-- Revere
Books, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
Q. I've recently started collecting all the
1st edition hardbacks of the books I've loved over the last 40
years, mostly science fiction. Is there an authorative source
on science fiction books, who published what when? - Richard
A. The
following book is an excellent resource: Currey, J. W. Science
Fiction and Fantasy Authors: A Bibliography of First Printings
of Their Fiction.
It lists over 200 authors and gives enough bibliographic detail
to identify first editions, as well as research resources for
individual authors.
-- Neil
Cournoyer - Bookseller (ABAC, ILAB), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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