There's a richness to antique books that transcends their status as one of the world’s most beloved collectibles. Books document the evolution of our need to make sense of the world around us. This urge can be seen in the first Gutenberg bible of 1455; the ‘First Folio’ of plays by William Shakespeare, published in 1623; John James Audubon’s monumental “Birds of America,” which was printed between 1827 and 1838; and even the pocket-size Beat-poetry paperbacks, published by City Lights bookstore in the 1950s and ’60s. Each, in its own way, reveals the priorities and passions of the culture.
Whatever the genre—be it biographies or cookbooks, children’s books or classic works of science fiction—and regardless of the title, most collectors focus on first editions. First editions are coveted because their print runs tend to be small. They're also considered to be the closest a reader can get to the author’s original intent for his or her work. Thus, first editions are particularly desirable if a book has been changed for the second printing.
Especially collectible are first editions of books that went on to win literary awards. The landmark children’s book “Where the Wild Things Are” earned author and illustrator Mau...
Another, more recent, famous first edition is the 1997 version of J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” which was published by Bloomsbury in the U.K. in a print run of 1,000. The book went on to sell millions of copies for Scholastic in 1998, when it was re-titled for the U.S. market as “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” No wonder copies of the Bloomsbury first edition routinely sell in the five figures.
Some people collect books for their aesthetic value. For these collectors, antique and vintage leather-bound books and sets are particular favorites. Some are covered in calf skin, which book binders found easy to dye. Others were made of Levant leather, which is goat skin and sometimes called Moroccan leather.
Examples of leather-bound books include individual works or collections by 19th century authors, from naturalist Charles Darwin, whose “On the Origins of Species” was first published in 1859 before being re-titled as “The Origins of Species” in 1872, to novelist Charles Dickens, whose monthly and weekly serialized stories were bound into classics such as “The Adventures of Oliver Twist” and “A Tale of Two Cities.”
American 20th-century novels such as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” (1925), John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” (1939), and J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye” (1951) are also highly collectible. And as cooking shows have become a fixture on television, vintage cookbooks have enjoyed a surge of popularity, the most famous of which is probably “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” which was written in 1961 by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck.
Prized science-fiction books from the past 150 years include Jules Verne’s “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea,” which was first published in France in 1870 before being translated into English in 1872. H.G. Wells gave us “The War of the Worlds” in 1898 and “When the Sleeper Wakes” a year later. Collectible modern science-fiction authors range from Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, and Arthur C. Clarke to Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert, and Philip K. Dick, whose 1968 “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” was the basis for the 1982 sci-fi-film classic, “Blade Runner.”
In all cases, a book that has been signed by its author is more sought-after than one that has not, although books with inscriptions (eg: ‘To my dear friend, so-and-so’) are usually not as collectible as ones with just a signature. Biographies and memoirs are a favorite of former politicians and retired generals, who have been known to use the bully pulpit of a book to tell their version of history. Such books can often be found with the author’s signature on the title page.
Interviews & Articles
Digging Up the Weirdest Old Books and Comics From the Thrift-Store Bargain Bins

When we first encountered Alan Scherstuhl's "Studies in Crap" column over at the "SF Weekly," we knew he was one of us. Every week… [more]
When Being a Lesbian Was Profitable, For Men

The times they are a-changing: Last weekend, lesbian couple Kitty Lambert and Cheryle Rudd made history, exchanging the first gay-… [more]
Great Works of Literature Gone Chick-Lit

If you're a serious collector of literature, you'd probably think it horrifying to alter Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" so … [more]
Hellfire and Damnation in Your Back Pocket

I suppose second only to manufacturer-produced cooking pamphlets, one of the least collectible forms of ephemera is the religious … [more]
Rare Books: Collecting Forgeries

Collectors of autographed baseball cards are alert to the existence of forgeries, so they know to be on their guard. But how many … [more]
A Visit To the Prelinger Library

When you walk into the Prelinger Library, the first things you notice are the three long aisles that run down the length of the sp… [more]
To Catch A Thief: A Rare Book Expert on His Literary Obsessions

I don’t remember a time when I didn’t read books. In grade school, I devoured library books. I also loved comic books, and was whe… [more]
The Last Word on First Editions

Strictly speaking, a book’s edition refers to the setting of the text. So the first time you set the text and print a book with it… [more]
Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)
Gallery of Book Trade Labels

Greg Kindall's collection of over 2100 colorful and historic book labels, pasted into books by publishers, printers… [read review or visit site]
Rare Karate Book Collection

This visually interesting and highly specialized collection from the Hawaii Karate Museum focuses on rare and histo… [read review or visit site]
Czech Book Covers

This Smithsonian microsite showcases Czech avant-garde book cover designs from the 1920s and 30s, complete with hig… [read review or visit site]
Google Book Search

Want to do one quick search and pull up the mother lode of vintage books? Try Google Book Search, a database filled… [read review or visit site]
Bookscans.com

Bruce Black's gallery of paperback book covers from the 1940s and 50s. With help from numerous contributors, he's a… [read review or visit site]
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Every Scarf Has a Story
Wall Street Journal, May 22ndBeginning as the personal collection of the Hermès family, it contains silver cups, belt buckles, Victorian children's toys, blankets from Turkmenistan and antique books, among other items. When Mr. Agin, who also works under the name Pierre Marie, got...Read more
The Singular Obsession of Colin Herrick
East Bay Express, May 21st"Here I used to make all this big art and now I'm going blind, cutting all my little paper dolls," Herrick said, pointing to the scraps of antique books, collages, and drawings strewn across the studio. "It gives me a headache. It'll probably give you...Read more
Conquistador letter found
Art Newspaper, May 21stpresident, Ortiz Rubio, placed restrictions on its export and transferred it to the Archivo de la Nación after finding out that one of Cortés's Italian descendants, Antonio Pignatelli, was trying to sell some of the best documents to a US dealer in...Read more
The English Gardener In The USA (Part1) Liberty Hyde Bailey, The Garden Of ...
Horticulture Week, May 18thLast autumn I was searching for inspiration in an antiquarian book shop in Hyannis, (USA). I was killing time waiting for the boat trip to Nantucket Island. It turned out that in that particular book shop that I found the inspiration that I was looking...Read more
ANN ARBOR: Antiquarian Book Fair back in town on Sunday
Heritage Newspapers, May 18thOrganizers say the Michigan Union ballroom is a wonderful setting for an antiquarian book fair with its wood paneling and tall windows. To be able to see a medieval manuscript produced before the invention of the printing press, a first edition of your...Read more
35th annual Ann Arbor Antiquarian Book Fair coming to the Michigan Union
AnnArbor.com, May 15thWhat: The Ann Arbor Antiquarian Bookdealers Association and U-M's William L. Clements Library host this 35th annual event, which will gather book collectors, more than 40 books dealers (from as far as Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri and Minnesota), book...Read more
David Stark Creates Classic Pop-Up Books
New York Times, May 14thhis team began making sculptural art pieces out of paper and using them as centerpieces or decorative props. Not quite origami, the sculptures are often created with strategic cuts to antique books, so the pages open into a fruit or flower. Enlarge...Read more
“Books NOT Books” – An Exhibition at the London International Antiquarian ...
ILAB, April 23rdThe ABA (Antiquarian Booksellers' Association) will be hosting what is thought to be the first ever “Books NOT Books” exhibition at the London International Antiquarian Book Fair in June 2013. The oldest, and with nearly 200 exhibitors one of the...Read more
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