Interesting quest for Computer Ephemera

"John A. Stovall" wrote in message
...

http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/s...leID=160701428

They are looking for a copy of the first publication of "Moore's Law".

SAN FRANCISCO - Intel Corp. is looking for a copy of the 1965 magazine
where co-founder Gordon Moore first laid out his famous "Moore's Law."
And it's willing to pay ten big ones.
The Santa Clara, Calif.-based chip maker on Monday (April 11) posted a
$10,000 reward on eBay for a "mint condition" copy of the April 19,
1965, issue of Electronics magazine. That issue of the long-defunct
publication contained an article by Moore where he first described how
the number of transistors on a processor were doubling every year.



This, with the "Origins of Cyberspace" sale, is more evidence that computer
books are a collecting field coming into its own:

http://news.com.com/Net+history+buff...3-5587750.html


William M. Klimon
http://www.gateofbliss.com

"John A. Stovall" wrote in message
...
http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/s...leID=160701428

They are looking for a copy of the first publication of "Moore's Law".



Follow-up he

http://www.newsday.com/technology/bu...logy-headlines


William M. Klimon
http://www.gateofbliss.com

http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/s...leID=160701428

They are looking for a copy of the first publication of "Moore's Law".




Follow-up he

http://www.newsday.com/technology/bu...logy-headlines


William M. Klimon

Makes me wonder. Suppose a person were to buy mint new copies of
all major periodicals and store them away with great care in a
warehouse somewhere, using the best preservation techniques? Would
this pay off in 40 years? Would it be a valuable legacy to his
children, or grandchildren?

It has certainly been true in the past. Anyone of my generation
who had purchased mint copies of DC and Marvel comics when they
first came out would have realized a considerable profit on their
investment. But would it hold true for the future?

Al Smith wrote:

Suppose a person were to buy mint new copies of all major
periodicals and store them away with great care in a
warehouse somewhere, using the best preservation techniques?
Would this pay off in 40 years? Would it be a valuable legacy
to his children, or grandchildren?

No. In the publishing world, anything "major" exists, pretty much by
definition, in large numbers, and therefore will almost certainly never
achieve scarcity value.

Anyone of my generation who had purchased mint copies of
DC and Marvel comics when they first came out would have
realized a considerable profit on their investment.

This is a different matter. When they first came out they were not
major. That's the whole point.

But how many comics and other ephemera came out at around about the
same time and are forgotten now? Most such material will never really
have any significant collectible value. With luck, the small amount
that acquires collectible value over the years might fetch enough to
pay for the original outlay, plus the cost of forty years of storage,
air-conditioning, humidity regulators, etc., but I doubt it. If the
material was selected judiciously by someone with a passion for the
material and an eye for the market that would be a different matter,
but simply trying to collect everything is neither feasible nor
fruitful.

But would it hold true for the future?

My crystal ball says "Probably".

John
http://rarebooksinjapan.com

But how many comics and other ephemera came out at around about the
same time and are forgotten now? Most such material will never really
have any significant collectible value. With luck, the small amount
that acquires collectible value over the years might fetch enough to
pay for the original outlay, plus the cost of forty years of storage,
air-conditioning, humidity regulators, etc., but I doubt it. If the
material was selected judiciously by someone with a passion for the
material and an eye for the market that would be a different matter,
but simply trying to collect everything is neither feasible nor
fruitful.

It's tough to know what will become popular and valuable in the
future. Comics just suddenly became fashionable to collect almost
overnight, I remember. It was the early Marvel comics that drove
the market.

I wonder if paperback books will ever achieve that sort of value?
I've got shelves full of SF paperbacks that I bought for fifty
cents each back in the 1960s. Great cover art. I've seen them
selling for fifteen dollars or so at SF conventions, but that's
not much of a rise in value, given inflation. A new paperback
costs seven or eight dollars. They are very perishable items, so
maybe a value item for collectors in the not too distant future.

"Al Smith" wrote in message
...

Makes me wonder. Suppose a person were to buy mint new copies of all major
periodicals and store them away with great care in a warehouse somewhere,
using the best preservation techniques? Would this pay off in 40 years?
Would it be a valuable legacy to his children, or grandchildren?

It has certainly been true in the past. Anyone of my generation who had
purchased mint copies of DC and Marvel comics when they first came out
would have realized a considerable profit on their investment. But would
it hold true for the future?

It's unlikely. People are now keyed into collecting everything.
JFK non-1st Dallas anyone? Oh, you have some, too.

In the past, hardly *anyone* kept toys or comics "like new"...
which is why the few that were kept MIB, have value.
The prime instance: Beanie Babies. Millions of people bought
these as collectibles, could discuss the value of a beanie
with an uncreased tag (even purchasing tag protectors!),
thought some were more valuable because they had a certain
number of stitches or colors.....and now, you can basically
buy the damned things by the ton.

Whatever it is, "invest" in the things that people are not
currently considering collectible....and which require
some preservation.

Kris

Take a look at the value of the true first of Vonnegut's _Sirens of
Titan_, 1959, Dell paperback. You will find it's well over 15 dollars
as you will Harlan Ellison's SF first edition paperbacks from that
time.

They already have value.

I've got a neat paperback. It's a very early copy of Jack Vance's
"Dying Earth" collection of short stories. Hillman Periodicals of
New York, copyright 1950 by Hillman Periodicals. It's No. 41 --
presumably of a SF series of books. Price, 25 cents. Nifty cover
of a red-headed woman in a transparent nightgown, standing on a
pedestal in front of three beetle-browed peasants. And there's a
poorly drawn owl flying in the air behind her. I must try to check
out its value.

I've got a neat paperback. It's a very early copy of Jack Vance's "Dying Earth" collection of short stories. Hillman Periodicals of New York, copyright 1950 by Hillman Periodicals. It's No. 41 -- presumably of a SF series of books. Price, 25 cents. Nifty cover of a red-headed woman in a transparent nightgown, standing on a pedestal in front of three beetle-browed peasants. And there's a poorly drawn owl flying in the air behind her. I must try to check out its value.

What do you know? It's worth $125 US. :-)




THE DYING EARTH [Buy it!]

Vance, Jack 125.00 Biblio Books from the Crypt

NY: Hillman, 1950. 1st printing, 1950. Hillman #41. Paperback
original. Vance's 1st book. 1997 SFWA Grand Master Award. Cover
has a corner crease as well as a hinge crease and slight spine
creases; several middle pages were creased and were once a little
wet at foredge - makes it a little puffy.. First Edition. Mass
Market Paperback. Very Good. Science Fiction. Catalogs: Science
Fiction Paperbacks. Hillman United States, N. Potomac"

http://used.addall.com/SuperRare/Ref...le=&exaAuthor=

Kris Baker sez:
"The prime instance: Beanie Babies. Millions of people bought
these as collectibles, could discuss the value of a beanie
with an uncreased tag (even purchasing tag protectors!),
thought some were more valuable because they had a certain
number of stitches or colors.....and now, you can basically
buy the damned things by the ton. "

A book collecting friend of mine bought into the Beanie Baby craze
despite my warnings to her.
Now she has a couple of hundred of the things around the house (with
tag protectors) and nobody wants them anymore.
Of course a collecting mania is nothing new, dating back at least as
far as the Dutch tulip mania of a few hundred years ago.
--
Bob Finnan
http://www.bobfinnan.com

I've got a neat paperback. It's a very early copy of Jack Vance's "Dying Earth" collection of short stories. Hillman Periodicals of New York, copyright 1950 by Hillman Periodicals. It's No. 41 -- presumably of a SF series of books. Price, 25 cents. Nifty cover of a red-headed woman in a transparent nightgown, standing on a pedestal in front of three beetle-browed peasants. And there's a poorly drawn owl flying in the air behind her. I must try to check out its value.


What do you know? It's worth $125 US. :-)


snip

I hate to disappoint you, but all that means is that someone has
listed it for sale for $125.

There's a big difference.

On Addall, I found copies starting at $38.35:

Hmmmm, true value might be closer to $50 to judge by the sales you
turned up. Still, my copy is in better condition than most of them.