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#1
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Advice on how to research rarity of book
Hi!
I have a set of 6 volumes Works of Charles Dickens. I want to find out how rare they may be. Any advice on what to look for or how to reasearch would be great. This set is bound in what appears to be leather, with raised decorations (looks like little clusters of grapes on vines) and ornate embossed/guilded in gold initial (D) on the front. The spines have the book titles and Scribners in gold. One Book has part of the cover on the spine loose exposing what appears to be woven cloth beneath the leather. Bound with cloth? Title pages have New York Charles Scribners Sons 1926. Some have a synopsis of story by Thomas Y Crowell & Co Copyright 1904. One Volume (Martin Chuzzlewit) contains a postscript dated May 1868, discusing a dinner on April 18, 1868 in New York. All are Illustrated, Bleak House & The Personal History Of David Copperfield credits H.K. Browne for Illustrations. Any advice as to how to care for these beautiful books would be welcome. Thank You! Sandy |
#2
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Hi!
I have a set of 6 volumes Works of Charles Dickens. I want to find out how rare they may be. Any advice on what to look for or how to reasearch would be great. This set is bound in what appears to be leather, with raised decorations (looks like little clusters of grapes on vines) and ornate embossed/guilded in gold initial (D) on the front. The spines have the book titles and Scribners in gold. One Book has part of the cover on the spine loose exposing what appears to be woven cloth beneath the leather. Bound with cloth? Title pages have New York Charles Scribners Sons 1926. Some have a synopsis of story by Thomas Y Crowell & Co Copyright 1904. One Volume (Martin Chuzzlewit) contains a postscript dated May 1868, discusing a dinner on April 18, 1868 in New York. All are Illustrated, Bleak House & The Personal History Of David Copperfield credits H.K. Browne for Illustrations. Any advice as to how to care for these beautiful books would be welcome. Thank You! Sandy I'm not an expert, just someone who's bought a lot of classic books, including many sets of Victorian authors. Your damanged set of Dickens would be worth around $45. That's my guess. Provided that you have all volumes in the set -- an incomplete set is pretty much worthless. You have to bear in mind that Dickens was the most popular writer in history, and there were a *lot* of sets of his novels printed. Yours sounds like a standard set, nothing special. |
#3
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Al Smith wrote: You have to bear in mind that Dickens was the most popular writer in history, Much as I like Dickens, I find this observation a bit of a hyperbole. Whose history? Even for the Brits, didn't Agatha Christie have more sales? -- Ht |
#4
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You have to bear in mind that Dickens was the most popular writer
in history, Much as I like Dickens, I find this observation a bit of a hyperbole. Whose history? Even for the Brits, didn't Agatha Christie have more sales? I doubt it. But for popularity, as opposed to total sales, you'd have to factor in the size of the potential English readership worldwide in Dickens' day, compared with the size of the potential readership in Christie's day. Dickens wrote for a smaller audience. And Dickens wrote decades earlier, meaning that his books were read for decades longer than the books of Christie. They there's the question of which writer has been more popular in translation. |
#5
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"Sandy" wrote
Any advice as to how to care for these beautiful books would be welcome. Using a mixture of bleach and ammonia, very carefully wipe the leather using a fine grit sandpaper. When clean, seal the leather with multiple coats of a urethane floor finish. |
#6
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On 2005-01-27, Petronius wrote:
"Sandy" wrote Any advice as to how to care for these beautiful books would be welcome. Using a mixture of bleach and ammonia, very carefully wipe the leather using a fine grit sandpaper. When clean, seal the leather with multiple coats of a urethane floor finish. What is this garbage? Someone asks a serious question and you respond with a recipe to destroy the book. -- Jonathan Grobe Books Browse our inventory of thousands of used books at: http://www.grobebooks.com |
#7
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Jonathan Grobe wrote:
On 2005-01-27, Petronius wrote: "Sandy" wrote Any advice as to how to care for these beautiful books would be welcome. Using a mixture of bleach and ammonia, very carefully wipe the leather using a fine grit sandpaper. When clean, seal the leather with multiple coats of a urethane floor finish. What is this garbage? Someone asks a serious question and you respond with a recipe to destroy the book. -- Jonathan Grobe Books Browse our inventory of thousands of used books at: http://www.grobebooks.com What!!! This will damage a leather-bound book! But...I just used it on the cover of my Ben Hur 1860... -- 'Child, do not throw this book about, refrain from the unholy pleasure, of cutting the pictures out. Preserve it as your chiefest treasure.' - Hilaire Belloc |
#8
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"Jonathan Grobe" wrote in message ... On 2005-01-27, Petronius wrote: "Sandy" wrote Any advice as to how to care for these beautiful books would be welcome. Using a mixture of bleach and ammonia, very carefully wipe the leather using a fine grit sandpaper. When clean, seal the leather with multiple coats of a urethane floor finish. What is this garbage? Someone asks a serious question and you respond with a recipe to destroy the book. -- Jonathan Grobe Books Browse our inventory of thousands of used books at: http://www.grobebooks.com I'm ignorant about some things, but not an idiot. Any real advice? I love my books. I keep them from direct sun, dust them with a soft dry cloth, no chemicals, minimal handling. How could I repair the spine without harm? The fabric is guaze-like, brittle and starting to shread. The leather is split all the way down one side, not tatered at all. Thanks, Sandy |
#9
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Petronius wrote:
"Sandy" wrote Any advice as to how to care for these beautiful books would be welcome. Using a mixture of bleach and ammonia, very carefully wipe the leather using a fine grit sandpaper. When clean, seal the leather with multiple coats of a urethane floor finish. This bad advice will now have your name on it for as long as the internet exists. I know why you did it, but the inside joke is too obscure. Francis A. Miniter |
#10
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"Petronius" wrote in message ... "Sandy" wrote Any advice as to how to care for these beautiful books would be welcome. Using a mixture of bleach and ammonia, Which will cause dangerous fumes, which have been known to have fatal reactions. Your joke (based on a previous bit of "advice" here), may seem humorous.....but please consider that someone without even the most basic bits of knowledge about books, is likely to lack the same basic knowledge of common household chemicals. Kris |
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