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From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

 

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

 

 Most new bookdealers burn out within three years...

  

[Satnrose]

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Re: From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

That's how I found the 1860s cocktail book I got a few years ago.  I had written off the sale as a dissapointment but since I was there I just kept digging through box after box even though it seemed to all be literature/school books.

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Re: From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

jkachelmeyer - If I recall correctly, a copy of Poe's Tamerlane and Other Poems was found in a basket. It is believed that only 12 copies still exist. It is recognized as one of the rarest first editions in American literature.


From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .


The middle has bottomed out.


Be very careful in your buying habits. The vast majority of what used to be good saleable stock has become overwhelming on the internet. The demand is not enough to absorb the supply. It doesn't matter how good the book is, it has to be scarce or rare, unusual or extraordinary, bizarre or far out, signed or sublime.

 

Above all, desireable.


I always used to say, "If you have to think twice, buy it!" But now you have to think thrice...


[Satnrose]

Message 182 of 353
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Re: From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

I met someone recently who thought books were going to go up in the

future, so he was still buying.  His reasoning is that they are not making

as many quality books like they used to.

 

 

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Re: From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints


paramind - I think it really depends on the type of books that your friend is buying. Some will increase, but many will decrease. Illuminated manuscripts will no doubt always be in demand. 

 

While not 'quality' books, my 30 year son started collecting Tom Swift books when he was in third grade. When he was collecting it wasn't easy finding them but then along came the internet and ebay and they became more common. A couple of years ago he had me sell off his entire collection. His thinking was that the collectors would soon be dying off and he better sell them before it was too late. Certain subjects and authors which once were highly collectible are not so collectible anymore and in some cases there are cycles with subject matter. One year the topic is hot and the next year not so much and then several years later in demand again at least that has been my experience in the limited time that I have been selling books.

 


From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .

 

One of the dirty little secrets of our business is that there is no such thing as a "true retail value" of a collectible book.


The value of a book is purely subjective and is determined mainly by desireability, although condition and rarity are important factors. We price books by determining what other people are asking for it and what it has sold for in the past and then try to guess the top price that we can actually sell it for now. And we usually guess wrong.


[Satnrose]

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Re: From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

jkachelmeyer re: Tamberlane...hmmmm that basket I was thinking of was instead a pile of old agricultural booklets.


From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .


Always try to look through the boxes of paper when at estate sales or auctions, etc.


The first offprint publication of the Theory of Relativity is a slim pamphlet that can be easily missed. There are many such items out there that are worth a kaboodle of money. The most recently located copy of TAMERLANE was found in a pile of old agricultural booklets.


It can be very tedious and dirty, but often well worth it. I once found a couple of pre-JOC Rombauer recipe pamphlets that way.


[Satnrose]

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Re: From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .


You can't tell what's inside a house from the outside.


Estate sales are unpredictable. You cannot really judge the quality of the sale from the ad, the neighborhood, the house itself, the person running the sale, etc. And it only takes one good book to make it all worthwhile.


[Satnrose]

Message 186 of 353
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Re: From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

Just wanted to say thanks for the memories!

Yesterday I listed a newspaper commerative booklet about the Susquehanna Flood of 1904. When I listed it, the recently repeated line "If you have something good, don't be afraid to list it for top dollar".

Well this book had one sort of comp, sold a while ago here for $5. That felt way undersold, so I put it up for $50/$40 and it sold sometime before 3 AM today.

Less that 12 hours.

I probably sold it low, but the front wrapper was loose, and there was some ciphering inside on a couple of the pages.

I listed it in photographs>pre-1940 (another frequently proffered tip which I decided to use for the first time yesterday).

As the book came in an auction lot as an item I wasn't "interested in" this constitutes "found money". 

I can only hope Joel followed through on that concrete sealer I suggest to him and that it worked. It wouldn't pay him back for all the good advice, but it would be a good solid start.

Message 187 of 353
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Re: From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

 No, you can't always tell, but a newer house, in my experience, is less likely to be productive simply because there has been recent move - and it's the process of moving that acts as a kind of sieve. Also, if you can ascertain how long the house has been occupied by the same family, this can be another good indicator - longer often being better, of course. Finally, so many liquidators post so many photos of contents in advance of sales now that it's far easier than it once was to evaluate a sale's potential.

Message 188 of 353
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Re: From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

I totally agree. When I first started selling on ebay I went to a lot of estate / tag sales and a local 55 + community had a lot of sales each week so it was easy to hit a lot of houses in a short amount of time. I've learned that this isn't the best use of my shopping time, as people in those communities have recently moved and thinned out a lot of their "good stuff."

Message 189 of 353
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Re: From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

"Recent" in this case meaning within the last 20 years or so. Smiley Very Happy

Message 190 of 353
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Re: From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .


Retail is rough-and-tumble.


eBay protects us from 90% or more of the aggravations and problems that come from running an open shop. And most of the remainder cannot be blamed on eBay, but are of the typical troubles that any retailer would have whether they were eBayers or not.


Don't let eBay make you soft.


[Satnrose]

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Re: From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .


Don't ever trust a price guide.


Well, at least not blindly.....


The same holds true for bibliographies, identification guides, catalogues raisonne, checklists, etc. Prices are subject to revision without notice. Bibliographers may not know of suppressed or obscure publications. Experts may misidentify their a$$. Complexity breeds mistakes. Nobody's perfect.


[Satnrose]


Adjunct Hint: Trust your own instincts. I can't tell you how many times other dealers have confidently told me things that turned out to be just plain wrong. (Present company not excepted.)


[Libreria]


Addendum: In case you're wondering, libreria is referring to me....


[Satnrose]

 


"Never trust a map of a wilderness area..."

- John Muir

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Re: From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .


If you can learn to hit a baseball with a bat, then you can learn to repair books.


Get some PH neutral PVA glue (BroDart Acid Free Bind-Art Adhesive), which becomes flexible and almost invisible upon setting.


Practice on some worthless books.


The most common repairable flaw is a loose hinge. Open the book and very carefully roll a drop or so of glue down the inside of the spine opening between the joint and the backstrip (the reverse side of the gutter). You can use a pencil or some other tool to spread the glue around, but you must be very careful not to glue the backstrip of the textblock to the spine. Don't use too much glue! Ideally, no one should be able to see that any repair has been done. Too much will make the book too tight and hard to open.


Beware of seepage! Wipe off and remove any excess.


I usually do this at both corners of both ends of the spine (4 places).


If you strengthen one side, you should always try to do the same to the other side, even if it doesn't seem to need it, because if they're not equal in strength, the other side might break eventually.


Note that the application of the glue moistens the paper and makes it weak until the glue dries- in a heavy book you can sometimes split the hinge if you don't remember this.


Make sure the textblock is properly aligned with the covers and endpapers before you let it set.


If you've done it exactly right, you can close it up and let it set (at least 15 minutes). If you have a problem, you can lay it flat and prop the cover open, but be sure to close it before completely dry. Don't ever let it set while standing up or it will stay out of alignment.


Some additional tools:


bone folder : used for shaping joints, hinges and gutters, and flattening paper
wax paper : used to keep the endpapers from sticking together from glue seepage
hemostats : used for inserting or removing excess glue, etc.
kitchen apron : used to keep you from getting glue all over yourself


One last thing: keep your fingers clean and wipe them at each stage of the process.


A link that may be helpful is: A Simple Book Repair Manual: Dartmouth College - Introduction Guiding Principles Setting up the Area Toolbox Parts of a book Practical Guidelines Identifying Repairable Materials ...


http://www.dartmouth.edu/~library/preservation/repair/index.html


[Satnrose]
Satnrose has done repair, restoration and conservation to 1000's of books.

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Re: From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints . . .


At the printing plant, we do occasionally soil the edges of books with dirt, fingerprints, etc. We use india erasers to clean them. They are very soft and crumble away easily. They are bar shaped about 3/4" thick and about 2-1/2" long. It works well but it does make a mess so do it over a piece of paper you can roll up and toss. It is best to open the hardcovers, clamp the block of pages between your thumb and forefinger and slightly fan the edge of the pages out while maintaining pressure before cleaning. Fan from both directions. Do not use the hard pink erasers. They will leave black smudges.


Another neat trick. Glue or two-side tape a flat piece of fine sand paper to a flexible plastic ruler or other flat object. This can be used to "trim" away those long folded-in dog ears you see occasionally where pages were folded into the book before it was trimmed to size. Open the dog ear so it extends beyond the edge of the book block, clamp dog ear and following pages tightly with your thumb and forefinger then pull the sand paper at a 45 degree angle across the dog ear toward the block of pages. Do it firmly but slowly. Try it first on an old magazine or catalog to get the feel for it. Must be fine sand paper or it will leave a rough texture. Do not do this to gilded or stained book blocks. I know it sounds complicated but it is quite easy to do.


[Mever, a bookbinder]

Message 194 of 353
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Re: From the Collected Works of Bookseller Hints

I simply refuse to wear a kitchen apron. 

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