Posted 12 years ago
madmike
(12 items)
The wife picked this map up at an estate sale in Tuxedo NY when she was 16 years old. She believe it was a doctors estate. The writhing on the inside looks like a number 6 Kellogg 1839. Is the signature worth? I've been told the map is worth quit a bit but in this economy how much is quit a bit. At auction or direct sale. The wife wants to liquidate it. We keep it in a large envelope to protect it.
NO SELLING HERE
I am not selling it, I don't want to get rid of it. It is a very nice Atlas. I just figured that some one would know what its worth.
I can only locate copies without the maps ranging between $20-100 depending on condition. Your copy has 5 maps? According library entries there should be 8 plates in total. Even incomplete it's far better than having none, so I guess retail would be a couple of hundred at least.
Regarding the inscription it looks like "C. Kellogg". The only match I can get among known people is Charles Kellogg, an American polititian who died 1842. But Kellogg is a common name so it's still a far shot.
If you in-large picture 3 you will see that there is 8 plates. 2 plates per sheet. Thank you for your information. it is greatly appreciated.
Ah yes, it looks complete then. Very nice! I'm really not sure exactly how much it could be worth. It depends on how fast you wish to sell it. Fastest ways are selling it off to a dealer for only a fraction of market value. Or put on auction on ebay with a low starting bid. Rare stuff like this with maps and graphics have the potential of becoming popular bidding targets and could give a good selling price but it is also risky. Slower ways of selling is by simply listing a lowest price limit (I would do ~$300) on ebay, biblio, amazon or whichever site is most suitable. Another slow option is to consign with a dealer where you usually have to wait months or years for the book to sell before you see the money.
If you try ebay please remember that lots of photos that are nice & clear, along with a detailed description, can be crucial. Also don't forget to type in year printed in info and it's well worth paying a little extra to have the listing visible in ebay.co.uk too.
Good luck!
Thank you for your information it is greatly appreciated. My wife was doing research yesterday and found one that sold last year on ebay for $6500.00 and it was not in as good as shape as ours. Were still not sure how we are going to handle it, we could use a new roof this year.
I stand corrected - big time! Yes I did underestimate these maps heavily. I found another auction where it sold for $4375 by the high-end auction house Sotheby's in 2009. But this set was in near excellent condition. Regarding these things the condition matters a whole lot. There seems to be some foxing on your maps, but not too bad overall.
As already stated, auctions can be very unpredictable as there are good days and there are bad days. It's probably the best way to go in case you decide to sell this beautiful gem. One of the well established auction houses could be a wise way to go, but it could take over 1/2 year before the sale takes place and even some more delays before you receive the money.
Once again good luck & thanks for showing this atlas!
These quotes are absurd. I buy four or five of these a year at public auctions, including but not limited to eBay. Most are acquirable for between 300 and 400 USD. If someone paid 6500 USD for one of these, they should be considering legal action. As for Sothebys, they would not even consider this atlas.
The present example is a good one from an early, most likely 1835, edition of Burritt's Geography. The maps are in uncommonly good condition, which should push it strongly towards the high end of my estimate.