The Sea Wolf Jack London
I was at an estate sale today and came across a copy of The Sea Wolf by Jack London. I am new at book collecting , so please pardon my ignorance.
I am having trouble figuring out what it is worth in the market. The copyright says 1903, 1904 and it is followed by "Published October 1904, Reprints October, November, December 1904; June, November , twice 1906 November, 1907; September , 1908, March 1909; February,March 1910. " So I assume this is not a first edition but a reprint that happened in 1910. Would this be something a collector would like and how do you determine what it is worth? Thank you for your help, Lind |
The Sea Wolf Jack London
On 10/4/2013 10:49 PM, Linda Donnelly wrote:
I was at an estate sale today and came across a copy of The Sea Wolf by Jack London. I am new at book collecting , so please pardon my ignorance. I am having trouble figuring out what it is worth in the market. The copyright says 1903, 1904 and it is followed by "Published October 1904, Reprints October, November, December 1904; June, November , twice 1906 November, 1907; September , 1908, March 1909; February,March 1910. " So I assume this is not a first edition but a reprint that happened in 1910. Would this be something a collector would like and how do you determine what it is worth? Thank you for your help, Lind Hi Linda, I am assuming that your book was published by Macmillan in New York. That is vital information to establish it is the real deal and not a pirate edition. There may have been a Canadian edition in 1910. Does it say Toronto? What you have, it appears, is a 12th printing (in March 1910) of the first edition. Just so you know the lingo, when some one says "I have a first edition", they do, as you supposed, mean the first printing of the first edition. Anything less would be a misrepresentation. You can count the printings: 1st and 2nd in October, 1904, 3rd in November, 4th in December, 5th in June 1906, 6th and 7th in November 1906, 8th in November 1907; etc. Condition of the book matters a lot to collectors. There are websites where you can look up standards for the condition of used books. There are two websites I use most often to see what dealers are asking for books: www.abebooks.com and used.addall.com Critically compare your book, its printing and its condition to the condition of the books described at those sites. Take lower values for like condition. Those are the ones that are going to sell, and thus establish value. Books originally published with dust jackets that still have the dust jackets will sell for a lot more than books that have lost their dust jackets. (Would you buy a vintage Cadillac Eldorado convertible with the chrome trim removed?) Also like cars, a book should be in original condition, in the binding in which it came. Gussied up books are not as valuable, just as tarted up cars are not as valuable as those with their original features. After taking a look at those two websites, it would seem that the low price for a 1910 printing (Toronto) in good condition (which is not as good as you might first suppose) is about $14. You will need a guide to first editions. The best I have ever found is one that was published by ABBookman, now defunct. BUT, you can find it by using the WAYBACK engine. Another good listing of first editions by publisher can be found he http://www.cars101.com/firstid.html There are also "points of issue" for some books, features (such as typos) which distinguish a first issue from a second issue of the first printing. Bill McBride puts out a useful pocket size booklet listing points of issue. I hope this has been useful. Francis A. Miniter |
Quote:
Thank you very much, Francis for taking the time to so thoroughly answer my question. I had not thought about pirated editions! Yes. my book is by the Macmillan company in New York. I appreciate all the information you gave me and have copied down the websites to do the research. I am finding this hobby very interesting. Not only do I understand something about the people who are selling their books in an estate sale ( these folks were very literate, traveled a great deal and played classical music) but I get to learn about the history of the books themselves. In addition, I get to meet and talk with interesting people like you. I will have to be careful as this could get addicting and I still work for a living. I would keep and read all of the books I am finding but time and my husband will not allow that. lol I suppose I can come to this forum whenever I have a book question, and I will. Thank you again for your generosity. Linda |
The Sea Wolf Jack London
On 10/7/2013 7:37 PM, Linda Donnelly wrote:
'Francis A. Miniter[_2_ Wrote: ;695749']On 10/4/2013 10:49 PM, Linda Donnelly wrote:- I was at an estate sale today and came across a copy of The Sea Wolf by Jack London. I am new at book collecting , so please pardon my ignorance. I am having trouble figuring out what it is worth in the market. The copyright says 1903, 1904 and it is followed by "Published October 1904, Reprints October, November, December 1904; June, November , twice 1906 November, 1907; September , 1908, March 1909; February,March 1910. " So I assume this is not a first edition but a reprint that happened in 1910. Would this be something a collector would like and how do you determine what it is worth? Thank you for your help, Lind - Hi Linda, I am assuming that your book was published by Macmillan in New York. That is vital information to establish it is the real deal and not a pirate edition. There may have been a Canadian edition in 1910. Does it say Toronto? What you have, it appears, is a 12th printing (in March 1910) of the first edition. Just so you know the lingo, when some one says "I have a first edition", they do, as you supposed, mean the first printing of the first edition. Anything less would be a misrepresentation. You can count the printings: 1st and 2nd in October, 1904, 3rd in November, 4th in December, 5th in June 1906, 6th and 7th in November 1906, 8th in November 1907; etc. Condition of the book matters a lot to collectors. There are websites where you can look up standards for the condition of used books. There are two websites I use most often to see what dealers are asking for books: www.abebooks.com and used.addall.com Critically compare your book, its printing and its condition to the condition of the books described at those sites. Take lower values for like condition. Those are the ones that are going to sell, and thus establish value. Books originally published with dust jackets that still have the dust jackets will sell for a lot more than books that have lost their dust jackets. (Would you buy a vintage Cadillac Eldorado convertible with the chrome trim removed?) Also like cars, a book should be in original condition, in the binding in which it came. Gussied up books are not as valuable, just as tarted up cars are not as valuable as those with their original features. After taking a look at those two websites, it would seem that the low price for a 1910 printing (Toronto) in good condition (which is not as good as you might first suppose) is about $14. You will need a guide to first editions. The best I have ever found is one that was published by ABBookman, now defunct. BUT, you can find it by using the WAYBACK engine. Another good listing of first editions by publisher can be found he http://www.cars101.com/firstid.html There are also "points of issue" for some books, features (such as typos) which distinguish a first issue from a second issue of the first printing. Bill McBride puts out a useful pocket size booklet listing points of issue. I hope this has been useful. Francis A. Miniter I hope I am adding my reply the correct way. Thank you very much, Francis for taking the time to so thoroughly answer my question. I had not thought about pirated editions! Yes. my book is by the Macmillan company in New York. I appreciate all the information you gave me and have copied down the websites to do the research. I am finding this hobby very interesting. Not only do I understand something about the people who are selling their books in an estate sale ( these folks were very literate, traveled a great deal and played classical music) but I get to learn about the history of the books themselves. In addition, I get to meet and talk with interesting people like you. I will have to be careful as this could get addicting and I still work for a living. I would keep and read all of the books I am finding but time and my husband will not allow that. lol I suppose I can come to this forum whenever I have a book question, and I will. Thank you again for your generosity. Linda You are most welcome. Linda. There is a lot to learn and it does take years. Book collecting has been called the "gentle madness", though at some book sales I have attended, gentility is abandoned in favor of a mad dash at the books the moment the sale starts. We have one in Glastonbury, Connecticut, where the customers surround the tables of books and wait for the signal to start, then dive in at high speed to their favorite table (tables are organized by topic). The image of hungry piranhas comes to mind. Bookcases can make for good furniture, if you get ones with nice wood. I have more than 70 of them in my house. Placed on the outside walls, they help insulate and reduce heating bills. (I am hoping you can use these arguments on your husband.) Francis A. Miniter |
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