Rare books

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If you have come across an old or unusual book, you might be curious to know whether it is a valuable collectors' item. There's a good chance that you might be able to find out more about your book by tapping into the collective knowledge of LibraryThing members, but before you post a question on the Talk pages, there are some basic steps you can take yourself.

[edit] First steps

• Look at WorldCat or national library catalogues to get an idea of the different editions of the book that exist
• Do a search on a secondhand book site on the web (e.g. for books in English, you could try ABE Books or the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA)).
  • Make sure that you compare the same edition and printing
  • The condition of the book has a very big influence on the price. A 20th century book is likely to be worth a lot less if the dustjacket is missing or damaged, for instance. Booksellers use standardised terms for book condition
  • Prices are strongly influenced by the scarcity of a particular edition and the current interest in that particular author/work/subject
  • Remember that a dealer will pay you less for a book than the price they sell it for!
• Consult secondhand booksellers in your own area: they are the real experts
• For something really exotic, a search on Google or ABE Books can be a good way to find dealers who specialise in that type of book.
• Don't be too disappointed if it turns out to be worth very little. Not all old books are valuable, and you've still got a book to enjoy!

The lists below cover some of the things that often affect the market value of a book. They aren't absolute rules, though: in odd cases it may happen that a book is so rare that even a damaged copy is worth something, for instance.

[edit] Typical positive indicators for value

• Early work by author who later became famous
• Highly "collectable" author or illustrator
• "Niche" interest (in some subject areas a classic reference book that has never been reprinted will sell for a ridiculous amount, if you find the right collector)
• Little or no visible damage or wear
• Original dustjacket
• "First printing"
• Special binding or printing (letterpress, hand-tooled leather, handmade paper, famous small press, hand-coloured illustrations, etc.)
• Ephemeral cheap edition where few copies are likely to have survived (but only if it's something interesting in itself, e.g. first magazine story by famous writer)
• Book that was suppressed or taken off the market (e.g. after a libel suit)
• Association copy - belonged to someone famous, linked to historical events, etc.
• Publication date before 1830 or so

[edit] Typical negative indicators for value

• Late work by established author
• Mainstream "classic" published in huge editions (e.g. late-19th century editions of Dickens, Scott, Thackeray; most Bibles, schoolbooks, etc.)
• "27th printing" or similar
• Modern reprint
• Book club edition (although a few specialist book clubs actually add to the value of the book, e.g. the "Left Book Club" of the 1930s)
• Severe damage to pages or binding

[edit] Seeking information on LibraryThing

• Try to post your question in the most appropriate group (e.g. Military History for a book on Napoleon, German LibraryThingers for a first edition of Goethe's Faust)
• Make the subject line as informative as possible, so that the right person will spot your post ("Seeking information about 1847 edition of Ivanhoe" NOT "Old book query")
• Describe your book as fully as possible in your post: give the full title and author, as on the title page, and the publisher and edition details