Modern Book Collecting: A Basic Guide to All Aspects of Book Collecting: What to Collect, Who to Buy from, Auctions, Bibliographies, Care, Fakes, Investments, Donations, Definitions, and More

Everything you need to know about collecting books, in one classic guide.

Modern Book Collecting offers advice that answers all the most important questions a book lover and collector might have—what to collect and where to find it, how to tell a first edition from a reprint, how to build an author collection, how to get the best price from dealers, how to understand the prices and rarity of books, and more. Robert A. Wilson reveals the world of collecting, focusing on books that are collected most often—those by important late-nineteenth- and twentieth-century writers.

Covering every aspect of book collecting, this book includes a handy dictionary of terms used in auction and dealer catalogs, a comprehensive and accurate key to identifying first editions from nearly two hundred American and British publishing houses, a list of bibliographies of more than two hundred collected modern authors, a directory of book auction houses and rare book dealers, and a section on Internet resources.

For book lovers looking to embark on the wonderful adventure of collecting, or established collectors wanting a go-to guide, Modern Book Collecting is a must-have resource.

Robert A. Wilson was proprietor of the famous Phoenix Bookshop in New York City. He is a passionate writer and authored of bibliographies of Gertrude Stein, Gregory Corso, and Denise Levertov. Wilson specializes in rare books and manuscripts.

Nicholas A. Basbanes is a writer and journalist. His bestselling book A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in nonfiction.