Book Collecting
Archive: Used Bookdealer
(A comment on someone else's journal.)
Some do it because they think have an early edition makes them closer to the author in some odd way. The original reason for preferring Firsts was that later editions were usually more corrupt, each succeeding typesetter added his own errors.
And, this being nowadays, lots of people buy them as investments. Wonder how they'll fare. John Galsworthy is an example of an author whose firsts once brought big bucks but I've actually seen competent dealers toss them into their bargain bookcase.
I think the most I paid was for a used book was $50, the cheapest copy online. I paid about $100 for my <em>Shorter Oxford English Dictionary</em> (wish I could afford the CD-ROM).
I loathe the Easton press books. The endpapers look like shower curtain material. Some of the Folio Society stuff is OK if you don't need annotation or apparatus (textually the editions are often very weak).
For much of what I want I'd like to have the definitive editions that OUP has let fall out of print. (I love good footnotes.)
Feel free to share your feelings about Book Collecting. Please stick to the theme of the entry. Disagreement is fine. Homophobia, racism, and kindred expressions of hatred will be deleted.
This site is one of my hobbies. I genuinely enjoy hearing from people and hate moderating or killing comments. Forthright disagreement is fine as long as it is civil.
My thanks,
Richard
1 · Posted by: David Anderson on May 9, 2004 07:53 AM
Please could someone ley me have the address of the Folio Society in the UK. My father wants to write to them (a query about an invoice). He is 85, doesn't have a PC and regards e-mail and the internet with deep suspicion. I tried registering with their site but was unsuccessful.
Thanks
David
9/5/04