Is it worth it?

I am trying to decide whether a book is worth the price. The book is
about California history. My girlfriend is a nut about early California.
I would give it to her for Christmas. The problem is the front cover is
not attached. He asks $250 for ir. He says he has discounted the book
from the prices he has seen in view of the binding problem. I can have
the binding attached for $100.

The dealer is certainly honest. He does tend to over value his books. I
can't find a similar book online.

My questions are - How much does a disattached cover reduce the price?
How much does a repair restore a price?

I know this is nebulous I wouldn't be here if it was clear. I have
purchased crappy copies only to find better copies listed later.

Thank you

This is only my opinion, but I would wait for a different copy of the book.
I suspect that a title in that price range will pop up on eBay some time in
the next 12 months. That's not to say that you could get it for $350 (the
cost of the book and the cover re-attachment) but it wouldn't surprise me to
see you pick up a nice copy for half that.

Where have you already looked on line? Maybe we can suggest a few more
places.

Also, I'm wondering why you picked out that particular book. Did your
girlfriend request that title specifically? With a scope as broad as "early
California", and a willingness to spend $250-$350 for a book, I'm quite sure
there are any number of antiquarian dealers who could find you something
both appropriate and beautiful.

Another thought...some people are more interested in content than the
package. A lot of older books have been reproduced on CD's, or by Google.
These can be great for someone primarily interested in research or
genealogy. If she's more interested in what's inside than having the book on
her shelf, look for it in PDF format and get her a pair of diamond earrings.


Alice

--
Book collecting terms illustrated. Used and out of print books for sale.
http://www.mywingsbooks.com/



"Ted Jones" wrote in message
...
I am trying to decide whether a book is worth the price. The book is about
California history. My girlfriend is a nut about early California. I would
give it to her for Christmas. The problem is the front cover is not
attached. He asks $250 for ir. He says he has discounted the book from the
prices he has seen in view of the binding problem. I can have the binding
attached for $100.

The dealer is certainly honest. He does tend to over value his books. I
can't find a similar book online.

My questions are - How much does a disattached cover reduce the price? How
much does a repair restore a price?

I know this is nebulous I wouldn't be here if it was clear. I have
purchased crappy copies only to find better copies listed later.

Thank you

I think there are alternate books. We have a good time reading ephemera
about San Diego. I felt an alternative was a better idea. Her failure is
she reads the books I give her. Due to an over romantic gesture, I give
her a rather rare or exotic "Christmas Carol" each year. She always
reads the book of the year. She holds two Elliot Hubbard Christmas books
in original red and green suede. They are in dark red and dark green and
not flaky. If I gave her a first edition, she would read it.

PDFs are out, she views computers as sadly flawed toasters.

Thank you.





my-wings wrote:
This is only my opinion, but I would wait for a different copy of the book.
I suspect that a title in that price range will pop up on eBay some time in
the next 12 months. That's not to say that you could get it for $350 (the
cost of the book and the cover re-attachment) but it wouldn't surprise me to
see you pick up a nice copy for half that.

Where have you already looked on line? Maybe we can suggest a few more
places.

Also, I'm wondering why you picked out that particular book. Did your
girlfriend request that title specifically? With a scope as broad as "early
California", and a willingness to spend $250-$350 for a book, I'm quite sure
there are any number of antiquarian dealers who could find you something
both appropriate and beautiful.

Another thought...some people are more interested in content than the
package. A lot of older books have been reproduced on CD's, or by Google.
These can be great for someone primarily interested in research or
genealogy. If she's more interested in what's inside than having the book on
her shelf, look for it in PDF format and get her a pair of diamond earrings.


Alice

--
Book collecting terms illustrated. Used and out of print books for sale.
http://www.mywingsbooks.com/



"Ted Jones" wrote in message
...
I am trying to decide whether a book is worth the price. The book is about
California history. My girlfriend is a nut about early California. I would
give it to her for Christmas. The problem is the front cover is not
attached. He asks $250 for ir. He says he has discounted the book from the
prices he has seen in view of the binding problem. I can have the binding
attached for $100.

The dealer is certainly honest. He does tend to over value his books. I
can't find a similar book online.

My questions are - How much does a disattached cover reduce the price? How
much does a repair restore a price?

I know this is nebulous I wouldn't be here if it was clear. I have
purchased crappy copies only to find better copies listed later.

Thank you

Ted Jones wrote:

I am trying to decide whether a book is worth the price. The book is
about California history. My girlfriend is a nut about early California.
I would give it to her for Christmas. The problem is the front cover is
not attached. He asks $250 for ir. He says he has discounted the book
from the prices he has seen in view of the binding problem. I can have
the binding attached for $100.

The dealer is certainly honest. He does tend to over value his books. I
can't find a similar book online.

My questions are - How much does a disattached cover reduce the price?
How much does a repair restore a price?

I know this is nebulous I wouldn't be here if it was clear. I have
purchased crappy copies only to find better copies listed later.

Thank you

It is very difficult to say whether an unknown book is worth whatever. $250 is
a lot of money. The last time I contemplated spending $200 on a book it was a
first edition of Richard Francis Burton's translation of the poems of Catullus,
in vellum boards and published posthumously (1894).

Exactly how rare is this book? Have you checked addall.com ?


Francis A. Miniter

Ted,

If you feel the book with the front cover detached is the book you
think your girlfriend would like the most, then you won't care how
much the rebinding cost, or whether the rebinding affects the book's
value.

If you do have second thoughts, then you might want to look for one of
the Zamorano 80 books:
http://www.dsloan.com/Auctions/A12/A12Contents.htm
or
a book published by the Book Club of California:
http://www.bccbooks.org/pubs.htm

best,
Jerry Morris


On Dec 1, 4:22 pm, Ted Jones wrote:
I am trying to decide whether a book is worth the price. The book is
about California history. My girlfriend is a nut about early California.
I would give it to her for Christmas. The problem is the front cover is
not attached. He asks $250 for ir. He says he has discounted the book
from the prices he has seen in view of the binding problem. I can have
the binding attached for $100.

The dealer is certainly honest. He does tend to over value his books. I
can't find a similar book online.

My questions are - How much does a disattached cover reduce the price?
How much does a repair restore a price?

I know this is nebulous I wouldn't be here if it was clear. I have
purchased crappy copies only to find better copies listed later.

Thank you

I would say that a detached front cover would, in general, make a big
difference to a book's value. If it contains valuable plates, then the
difference would probably be less, since the value of the book would be
underpinned to some extent by the plates, and the detached front cover might
then be a much smaller consideration.

I hope Ted makes the right decision!

Best wishes,

John Townsend
Antiquarian Bookseller/Genealogist
http://www.johntownsend.demon.co.uk

I am trying to decide whether a book is worth the price. The book is about
California history. My girlfriend is a nut about early California. I would
give it to her for Christmas. The problem is the front cover is not
attached. He asks $250 for ir. He says he has discounted the book from the
prices he has seen in view of the binding problem. I can have the binding
attached for $100.

The dealer is certainly honest. He does tend to over value his books. I
can't find a similar book online.

My questions are - How much does a disattached cover reduce the price? How
much does a repair restore a price?

I know this is nebulous I wouldn't be here if it was clear. I have
purchased crappy copies only to find better copies listed later.

Thank you

On Dec 1, 8:23 pm, "Francis A. Miniter"
wrote:

It is very difficult to say whether an unknown book is worth whatever. $250 is
a lot of money. The last time I contemplated spending $200 on a book it was a
first edition of Richard Francis Burton's translation of the poems of Catullus,
in vellum boards and published posthumously (1894).

Yep, Catullus had definitely passed away by 1894!

a
first edition of Richard Francis Burton's translation of the poems of Catullus,
in vellum boards and published posthumously (1894).

Yep, Catullus had definitely passed away by 1894!

Very Good....Catullus died about 1875 years before Burton was born...
and Burton died about 4 years before his translation was published.

"An idealist is one who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a
cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup." - H.L.
Mencken