Limited Editions

From the FS ........""Strictly limited, bound to order and never repeated, these are outstanding works of literary or historical significance reproduced in editions that are works of art in their own right. Folio Society limited editions can almost invariably be found for sale on the open market at considerably more than their published price, reflecting their exceptional production and editorial standards. Find out more"".........

Limited editions? I thought that all FS books were, de facto, limited editions in the sense that they are not available to the mass market.

They look ostensibly expensive and the price reflects this. How do they compare in the value stakes though?

Well, we have had many discussions in other threads here on what are the various pros and cons of the Folio Society's "Limited Editions." You might want to look through the threads and find the ones which are titled "Limited Editions," as that will give you a good idea of the debate that has gone on over these books.

Suffice it to say, the binding details are usually superior to the average FS publications (though not always, in my opinion) and a Folio LE is not reprinted whereas the ordinary Folios often are (and they are, incidentally, available through certain retail outlets like Barnes & Noble).

Yes, I will have to dig those old threads up.

I cant believe though that you can buy FS editions from Barnes and Noble, can you?

I sort of feel short changed by this!

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "How do they compare in the value stakes?" If you are asking whether their value appreciates, then the answer is "yes". I bought (among other FS LE publications) the Tolkien set. My best recollection is that I paid £170 for LOTR and £95 for The Hobbit and the same for The Silmarillion. All share the same limitation number.

Do a search on http://used.adddall.com using Tolkien for author and Folio Society limited edition for keywords. Thornton's are looking for appx $2500 for all five, The Tolkien Bookshelf $1250 for LOTR. Ellwood Books $365 for The Hobitt. Various sellers are asking $300+ for The Silmarillion. Doing the conversion, I paid around $500 for the five.

They are certainly holding their value by any standard.

#1

The "ordinary" Folios are the ones often more cheaply available on the second-hand market, so I suppose they are iffy, as mere financial investments.

By the way, does anyone know of a listing of Folio's limited editions? I'm trying to figure out whether a four-volume Arabian Nights set (looking leather-bound) may have been Folio's LE (I did not see it myself).

>4 - I suspect that "Night Thoughts" will hold up especially well in value over time, since it's an original publication -- the complete set of the Blake illustrations in color is not available in any other edition.

I remember the 400th Anniversary LE of Don Quixote, leather-bound with illustrations by Quentin Blake was available from the Society for $500 US and was limited to 1250 copies and sold out very quickly. Doing a search on ABEBOOKS, there are only 2 copies for sale--one for $1080 US and the other for $1450 US, so it has held its value very well.

In answer to LolaWalser's question, I know of no listing of ONLY the FS Limited Editions, but they are all listed in the Folio 60--including some very limited, signed editions of earlier publications that are causing me all kinds of envy issues.

PS: I am out of the country for 6 weeks and thus can't check my Folio 60 to see if a leaher-bound Limited Edition Arabian Nights was ever published. Maybe another Folio 60 owner could check.

To the Barnes & Noble question: It appears that Folio Society is using the Barnes & Noble Authorized Seller portal.

That is, they're selling their books on the Barnes & Noble site. (As opposed to B & N selling them.)

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/used/help/authsell.asp?

However, even though they're supposed to be used or out of print, and each book says "buy it used from the folio society," the descriptions of the books say that they're brand new.

And sometimes they're cheaper than on the folio site (and shipping is cheaper and faster to the US).

For example, the Origin of Species is $64.95 on the FS site, but only $54.95 on Barnes & Noble.

"This item is brand-new, in shrink-wrap shipped directly from The Folio Society."

Here's the link to the page. Scroll down to see the books.

http://tinyurl.com/qe6fc8

Oh, but you don't get the sale prices and deals. So I think it's still worth it to become a member.

But after fulfilling my requirements, I'll NEVER buy a book at full price before checking the B & N site.

I had a look ( a good look) around abebooks etc and the FS Special Editions really appear to not only hold their value but increase in value as some of you have pointed out......

Anyway any old excuse will do , so I splashed out and ordered

The Kelmscott Chaucer

1 x The First Folio of Shakespeare

The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations

..from the "Fine Editions" on sale, plus

Folio 60: A Bibliography 1947 - 2006

I better stop drooling now :-)

>10 - I really wanted to get The First Folio, too, but it will have to wait. I just received Folio 60 today, by the way, but my desk is covered with junk, so I haven't opened it yet.

Just make sure not to drool on the books! :-)