help estimating value of a book

I've recently acquired a copy of Peter Beard's book The End of the
Game. It is the 1965 first edition, with the dust jacket. Searching
through the internet has revealed that this is a fairly valuable book,
but unfortunately mine is a library copy. How much will that reduce
the value of the book by itself? Aside from the library stamps, I'd
say that the book is in good condition, with a dust jacket in very good
to almost fine condition. If you could offer any comments on this
book, I would appreciate your help.

wrote in message
ups.com...
I've recently acquired a copy of Peter Beard's book The End of the
Game. It is the 1965 first edition, with the dust jacket. Searching
through the internet has revealed that this is a fairly valuable book,
but unfortunately mine is a library copy. How much will that reduce
the value of the book by itself? Aside from the library stamps, I'd
say that the book is in good condition, with a dust jacket in very good
to almost fine condition. If you could offer any comments on this
book, I would appreciate your help.


You might as well staple a "Kick Me" sign to the back of your shirt.

"fvndoc" wrote in message
news

wrote in message
ups.com...
I've recently acquired a copy of Peter Beard's book The End of the
Game. It is the 1965 first edition, with the dust jacket. Searching
through the internet has revealed that this is a fairly valuable book,
but unfortunately mine is a library copy. How much will that reduce
the value of the book by itself? Aside from the library stamps, I'd
say that the book is in good condition, with a dust jacket in very good
to almost fine condition. If you could offer any comments on this
book, I would appreciate your help.


You might as well staple a "Kick Me" sign to the back of your shirt.

His toga, svrely ?



michael adams

....

wrote:
I've recently acquired a copy of Peter Beard's book The End of the
Game. It is the 1965 first edition, with the dust jacket. Searching
through the internet has revealed that this is a fairly valuable book,
but unfortunately mine is a library copy. How much will that reduce
the value of the book by itself? Aside from the library stamps, I'd
say that the book is in good condition, with a dust jacket in very good
to almost fine condition. If you could offer any comments on this
book, I would appreciate your help.


If the book is really only in "good" condition, rather than "very good" or
"fine", absent the library markings, then it is probably more devalued by the
condition than by the ex-library status. I see that addall.con shows one ex-lib
1st for an asking price of $95. Curiously, that one was apparently rebound by
vandal librarians. AS a rough rule, I generally figure that ex-lib takes about
80% away. But this discount may shrink when you are talking about a rare book.
I don't think that this book qualifies as rare, however. Scarce, maybe.


Francis A. Miniter

Francis A. Miniter wrote:
wrote:
I've recently acquired a copy of Peter Beard's book The End of the
Game....


I see that
addall.con shows one ex-lib 1st for an asking price of $95. Curiously,
that one was apparently rebound by vandal librarians....


Strong words, and not entirely fair. We're not talking about a
priceless rarity--just an ordinary book in some demand that has become
hard to find. Library books are meant to be used by the reading public,
and librarians do their best to keep them useful, often on an extremely
tight budget. If a book has been heavily circulated, is in continued
demand, and is falling apart, then rebinding is the right thing to do.
The new binding is usually of the ugly utilitarian variety because
that's all the budget allows.

I know we all moan about what librarians do to books, and this moaning
is often justified. I recall an incident related in RCB several years
ago, about a valuable William Blake collection that had been entrusted
to a university library; rather than setting aside the books in their
special-collections area and maintaining them in their original
condition, the librarians went ahead and defaced them with the usual
stamps & stickers. Yes: Aaaaarrgh! But they aren't all like that, and
for the most part, librarians do more good than harm. Calling them
vandals for keeping an ordinary book in circulating condition seems a
wee bit harsh.

But, then again, perhaps you were just hyperbolizing, and I'm the one
who's being harsh...

--Jon Meyers