First Edition Books, Antique and Curious Tomes
Ranked #2,375 in Books, Poetry & Writing, #95,866 overall
Welcome to My World of First Edition Books
As time went on, as others were generally abusing their older books and trying to get rid of them, I started saving them.
They aren't all valuable, but there are a few gems. Truth be told, they are all treasures, the older the better. I'm not in it for the money so much as the sheer joy of having shelves and shelves of history, particularly books that make other first edition hunters and strange book collectors drool.
Some of them are pretty good reading too!
Settle back as I show you my collection and help hunters find first edition books and other rare books for their own collections.
How to Identify First Edition Books
Things to Look For To Find Your Treasure
Note: Some books also start their life with a limited edition first printing which is signed and numbered. The printings that follow still count as first edition books, but may not be considered first printing. Obviously, the signed and numbered editions are rarer and more valuable.
Getting Started
Start by opening to the copyright page and looking for the date. The copyright page is the page that has all of the publisher and library of congress info. If this page says first edition, first printing, then you've found one.
Printing Runs
Next, check for the printing run. In newer books, a list of numbers (or in some cases letters) will appear. If you see '1' or 'a' in the list, then you have a first edition book, (but not necessarily a first printing). Many older books do not have these printing lines, and so you will have to do further research before purchasing the book. However, older books that simply say First Edition usually are just that.
Some notes about printing lists/runs. The publisher Random House never uses 1 to indicate first edition books. If you see the words first edition, and the number 2 in the print run, it is indeed a first edition, first printing. They're just jerks.
Also, some print runs show the numbers or letters, and the last two digits of dates! So a line might look like 3 4 5 6 7 90 91 92 93 94. This means that it is a third edition (3) and that it was published in 1990.
Title Page
Let's back up a moment. We've gleaned everything off of the copyright page that we can. The title page has the name of the book, and the author's name and usually a date. This date should match the date on the copyright page. Sometimes you will see two dates. This generally means that publication started at the end of the first year and actually went out early the following year. This usually indicates a first edition book, but you should conduct research just to be sure.
Questionable and Collectible Editions
Book Club Editions - These are usually promotional, with no price on them, only available through book clubs and promotional deals. They often say First Edition, which means they are the first edition of the book club version. These are not first edition books. They are often condensed, or different in some way and are not particularly valuable or rare. On newer books, the book jacket will say Book Club Edition. Some booksellers remove the cover to obscure this fact, but you can usually tell a bare book club edition by its fancier cover and clean cut pages.
Printings Before Publication/Advanced Reading Copies - These are usually printed up to test how the book will be printed and bound, errors that weren't scrapped, books given to critics before mass publication and the like. These are much like movie scripts and drafts that get loose every now and then. These tend to be collectible as they may be different from the final product, have errors in some way, or just rare because 50 were made before standard publication. They are not strictly first edition books, but are usually novel enough (pun intended) to attract collectors.
First Edition Books by Other Publishers - Sometimes a different publisher will print a book, and re-release them as first edition books. These are never as valuable as the original printing, but may be collectible for a variety of reasons.
Antique Books
People disagree on what defines antique, and some people will call any old junk "antique". Personally, I like to apply the following criteria:
1. Over 100 years old (or older!)
2. Has unique or certain craftsmanship
3. Is unique in its own makeup, and is not reproduced in any significant way today.
The first one is easy. You can check for dates in a book, and if the book is over 100 years old, I consider it more or less an antique. Its sheer age is worthwhile to someone because it has survived so long, hopefully in good condition. Note: Although books from the last century impress some, many book collectors don't consider a book to be aged unless it comes from the 1600s-1700s, when books were first being printed in Europe, and in the United States respectively. Although a 100 year book may fetch some amount, the real demand is in books that are closer to 300-400 years old, and are in high demand.
The second usually manifests itself in leather binding, or processes no longer used, or publishers that have long since closed shop. I personally don't know enough about paper, and glues and other parts of the bookmaking craft to identify a book as important due to how it was MADE, but when I see an old leatherbound book in good condition, published by a company that no longer exists, or published by a particular organization, I usually snatch it up, even if just for the novelty of it. First edition books that are aged are even more wonderful, and it's a bonus when the book is well crafted.
Third, I have a collection of school books from the Civil War. They are probably very common, they have long since been replaced by newer more accurate texts, and they aren't in the best condition, but I know they aren't made anymore, and none of my collector buddies has a set of them. Are they worth anything...maybe. They are always of interest to other collectors though because they don't have any. *shrug* Sometimes that's worth collecting them, if just to impress your friends. Collectors always want what they don't have, and thus are willing to buy or trade for what you have discovered.
The Most Valuable First Edition Books
Most of these books run anywhere from $8000 to $50,000, but some, like James Joyce's Ulysses can easily fetch $200,000 or more in very good condition.
Note: If a lot of these books look like books you had to read in middle school/high school/college, you are not mistaken. If only they handed out first eds in high school...
At any rate, if you can find any of these in any condition, well done!
Arranged alphabetically by author, and then chronologically.
W.H. Auden
Book of Poems (1928)
Agatha Christie
The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920)
The Secret Adversary (1922)
The Murder on the Links (1923)
The Man in the Brown Suit (1924)
Poirot Investigates (1924)
The Secret of Chimneys (1925)
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926)
The Big Four (1927)
The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928)
The Seven Dials Mystery (1929)
The Murder at the Vicarage (1930)
The Sittaford Mystery (1931)
Peril at End House (1932)
The Thirteen Problems (1932)
Lord Edgware Dies (1933)
The Listerdale Mystery (1934)
Murder on the Orient Express (1934)
Parker Pyne Investigates (1934)
Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (1934)
The ABC Murders (1936)
Arthur Conan Doyle
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902)
F. Scott Fitzgerald
This Side of Paradise (1920)
The Great Gatsby (1925)
Tender is the Night (1934)
Graham Greene
Babbling April (1925)
The Name of Action (1930)
Rumour at Nightfall (1931)
England Made Me (1935)
A Gun for Sale (1936)
Journey Without Maps (1936)
Brighton (1938)
The Confidential Agent (1939)
The Power and the Glory (1940)
The Ministry of Fear (1943)
After Two Years (1949)
Dashiell Hammett
The Dain Curse (1929)
Red Harvest (1929)
The Maltese Falcon (1930)
The Glass Keygreene (1931)
Ernest Hemingway
The Sun Also Rises (1926)
Three Stories & Ten Poems (1923)
In Our Time (1924)
James Joyce
Chamber Music (1907)
Dubliners (1914)
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1917)
Ulysses (1922)
D.H . Lawrence
Sons and Lovers (1913)
The Rainbow (1915)
Lady Chatterley's Lover (1928)
T.E. Lawrence
Seven Pillars of Wisdom (1922)
Beatrix Potter
The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1901)
The Tailor of Gloucester (1902)
The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin (1903/4)
The Tale of Benjamin Bunny (1904)
The Tale of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle (1905)
The Pie and the Patty-Pan (1905)
The Tale of Mr Jeremy Fisher (1906)
The Tale of Tom Kitten (1907)
The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck (1908)
The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies (1909)
The Tale of Mrs Tittlemouse (1910)
The Fairy Caravan (1929)
J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997)
Lenses on Repairing Books
They can be saved, however!
Check out these lenses on book repair and learn more about how they go together and can be saved.
Dog Eared Pages
My friends at Dog Eared Pages have a great selection of old and hard to find books, as well as all kinds of books for your reading and collecting pleasure. I recently scored 3 first editions at a great price!
Dog Eared Pages - Used Books
News and Miscellaneous - Estate Sale Finds
There are always dozens of sales friday-sunday, and invariably, older folks have great book collections. Sadly, its time for them to sell them off, and they rarely seem to end up in the hands of their family, so they sell them, and at pretty low prices.
If they are savvy book collectors, you can expect to pay a premium for some, but generally they go cheap because they're "just old books".
Will update after my foray.
Update: Surprisingly slim pickings today. Two big estate sales and lots of garage sales but not a lot of books. In fact, both estate sales came up bust. I did manage to find a few firsts, but I was being really picky today and settled for a dedicated first edition of The Struggle For Europe by Chester Wilmot (Collins, 1952, London)
The cover is a bit torn but intact, the pages in good condition, and it is full of color plates of maps depicting troop movements throughout Europe near the end of World War II.
Despite the slim pickings today, I still like going to Sun City for thrift stores, and garage/estate sales because you can really find some great bargains there.
This weekend (May 23) was much better for Estate Sale hunting. At one location found 2 First Editions and an old book of poetry with no publishing info. Still tracking down info on it.
As a bonus, my wife found some great original Calvin and Hobbes collections which you can't get anymore.
March 13, 2010
Back to Sun City to check out some estate sales and the second hand stores in the area.
I own a Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, but I couldn't resist 1917 Barse and Hopkins edition from 1917 in good condition.
J P Muller - My System in terrible condition (loose pages), but it has the charts and is intriguing - 1905
Peril at End House, Agatha Christie - a good condition 1943 Tower edition
Dragon Seed, Pearl S. Buck - First edition
The Silver Chalice, Costain - First edition. This is not the signed, numbered limited edition so it's only worth about $5, but it was still a decent find.
First Edition Books and Antique Book Guides
Get some help doing your research
First Edition Books and Antique Books on eBay
Find a first edition or antique bargain
Caveat Emptor
First Edition Books and Antique Book Feedback
Found any good books lately? First Editions? Antiques? Rare and Curious Books?
Want to brag about your rare, old editions?
Do it here! I love to hear about great finds and personal collections.
Also, if you liked this lens, be sure to rate it at the top, thanks!
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Jim Odell
Apr 22, 2012 @ 11:59 am | delete
- I have a 1931 copy of My System by J P Muller. it's a hardback in relatively good condition given its age. All pages are intact with photos and pictures - pages in very good condition. Any ideas on value or rarity
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JHFSEO
Apr 22, 2012 @ 8:36 pm | delete
- I don't have any reliable pricing information for this great exercise tome. The first Danish edition would have been 1904, and the first edition in English would have been around 1909 or so. Your copy, sight unseen, is nicely aged, but not particularly rare, and new versions can be bought in bookstores. I can't speak for the demand for the 1931 edition, but in a used/antique bookstore it might fetch $10-20 or so based on your description, everything else being equal.
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Jan Hart
Apr 4, 2012 @ 3:23 pm | delete
- I have a Burse & Hopkins NY edition of FitzGeralds translation of "The Rubaiyat". It was given to me by my Grandparents, and doesn't have any distinguishing dates or copyrights. It contains no illustrations except for a cameo of FitzGerald done by "Eva Rivett-Carnac". This edition is bound in (suede?). Do you have any knowledge of these books, and how common they are? Any knowledge you have would be appreciated. I am sure it is an 18?? copy.
Thank you.
Jan
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JHFSEO
Apr 5, 2012 @ 1:56 am | delete
- Jan,
Very interesting. I have two copies of the Rubaiyat myself, a newer reading version, and a 1917 reprinting of the 1899 B and H copyright of the 4th edition translation.
With no distinction of which edition it is, you will have to compare the texts.
http://www.therubaiyat.com/fitzindex.htm is a great resource that compares the editions side by side. I would start there.
Based on what you told me, it could be a fourth edition translation of the 1899-1900 B and H edition, not the original 1859 translations. I'm seeing these go at bookstores in G-VG condition for about $20.
http://www.rubaiyatica.com/Rubaiyats.html - is a site that shows many Rubaiyat additions. Perhaps you can match it up to one of those.
For kicks, the 1859 first editions, of which there were 250, have errors, some of which were fixed by Fitzgerald himself in ink. These are selling in the neighborhood of $45,000.
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Mark
Dec 15, 2011 @ 4:13 pm | delete
- My son came upon a copy of La Divina Commedia It is in Italian. I measures slightly more than 4 inches tall and about 3 inches wide. It contains no illustrations. It is a tan color with a single flues-de-lis like pattern on the front cover, center, in a reddish color. The cover may be leather, but it feels very smooth to the touch. The spine has a gold pattern and has Dante La Divina Commediai in a maroon box.
The publishers page lists the title and author. Underneath that is an ornate stylized GS (could be CS). Underneath that in says "IN FIRENZE." Below that it has G.C. Sansoni, EDITORE.. Underneath that it says "1886."
On the back of that page is printed "Proprieta letteraria" At the bottom is printed "Tip. di G Carnesecchi e figli"
When closed all the edges of the pages appear a very dark red or maroon. The book is 531 pages. The end pages have a sort flues-de-lis pattern on a gold background.
Any help or advice you can give me in researching the identity or history of this book would be greatly appreciated,
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JHFSEO
Dec 15, 2011 @ 5:47 pm | delete
- Mark, this is an amazing find.
Unfortunately, I can't give you even a remote ballpark, but here's what I know.
The book was published in Florence, G.C. Sansoni was the editor (as this may be apparent). Sansoni has his name attached to editions of this work through the 1920s, so he may have been of considerable authority on the subject, or simply was in charge for the publisher - Tip. di G Carnesecchi e figli. There may have been a dozen or more publications of this story by different publishers at that time, that year.
None of my resources are coming up with a version of this particular edition for sale, but dissimilar editions seem to be going from $100-$1000 for that time period. I can't be certain that the box or binding are original for this edition. Most of the editions I see are not bound in leather. They may have been rebound professionally at a later date.
Since Dante wrote the Divine Comedy in the 14th century, like Shakespeare's works, later editions still hold quite a bit of value due to translations and special editions. Without pictures it is hard to determine the condition, but even in good condition (which means pages aren't falling out, binding is solid, but may have discoloring or page damage) this book could fetch at least a couple hundred dollars to the right collector, but may be worth way more or less.
I realize that's pretty broad, but I'm coming up zero on that particular edition. If you have a local book antiquarian or perhaps a lit professor at your local university, you may get better info.
If you are interested, send me a photo of the book and box to jhfseosquidoo(at)gmail.com. I'd love to see it, and the picture might give me some more avenues to check out.
Great find. Enjoy it!
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Steerpike1962
Oct 1, 2011 @ 4:00 pm | delete
- Do you collect modern first editions?
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Steerpike1962
Oct 1, 2011 @ 3:57 pm | delete
- Do you collect modern first editions? What is the most valuable copy you have found?
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LizMac60 Mar 16, 2011 @ 7:48 am | delete
- Lots of great information. Blessed by a squid angel and featured on Me?!! A Squid Angel on the libraries and old books page.
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CollectorsCottage
Mar 19, 2009 @ 2:17 pm | delete
- I'm a book lover as well, and I love the look of old books. And you're right - you can find some treasures in those old texts, they're always interesting reading! Another outstanding 5 star lens. I'm happy to add it to the Collector Clubs group!
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by JHFSEO
Hi all. I develop content for fun and for clients, and enjoy writing on everything that catches my attention including Arizona, sports, politics, civics,... more »
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