Literary ephemera

[imagine.ink]

Since I sell mostly ephemera, including photographs, postcards, trade cards and the like  (I personally love and collect books, but listing and storing ephemera is extremely time and space efficient versus selling books), I have the opportunity to occasionally run across a "cross-collectible" -- something that spans the respective universes of ephemera and books.

I recently sold such an item ... an 1880s trade card illustrated by W. W. Denslow, who later would go on to illustrate The Wonderful World of Oz.   

Strangely, I've had this trade card in  my inventory for years.  In fact, I believe I listed it several years ago for only $5-10 without knowing it was illustrated by Denslow.   I always thought the illustration was charming, but when I randomly ran across this website while researching something else, I realized it was much more than just a pretty trade card.

http://wonderfulbooksofoz.com/2016/09/05/w-w-denslows-young-imagination-fantasy-trade-cards/

Once I knew the illustrator, I was able to capitalize on that in my listing and sold it on the first go-round for $24.99.   Note that I listed it in the books category, as well as the trade card category.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/302381960802?ssPageName=STRK:MESOX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1561.l2649

So keep your eyes open for that literary ephemera ... anything with a connection to a famous book, character, author or illustrator.  

[imagine.ink]

I just sold another piece of ephemera with a literary connection.  This time, it was a promotional tie-in for the 1925 silent movie which was the first film adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 novel The Lost World.

I made a point to mention Arthur Conan Doyle's name in the auction title and used the Books category, as well as the appropriate ephemera category. 

Although I can never be 100% certain, my hunch is that the literary connection to Doyle helped sell the item.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/302668818057?ssPageName=STRK:MESOX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1561.l2649   

[taylor_memorial]

I too, have found that ephemera is a solid expansion set for me. This week I've been listing a pile of Dungeons and Dragons stuff I bought at auction. I can fit it all in half a milk carton (individually bagged).

A while back there was a three day auction of the collection of a guy who was so "into" stuff he was written up in the Smithsonian--quite an expert on Niagara Falls stuff (the auction ran near to a million bucks gross). I picked up some bits and pieces here and there. A stack of Sunset (nearly gone); the entire collection of Johnsons animal book, already broken and matted and in archival sleeves as well as some other ads and stuff. Plenty of Chicago World's Fair stuff. Lots of vintage tourism pieces.

There is quite a market out there for the "pulp magazine" slot, as well.

[imagine.ink]

A good resource to discover all the types of ephemera out there waiting to be discovered is The Encyclopedia of Ephemera by Maruice Rickards.

Also, I think this idea (gleaned from an older thread) is a good one: 

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Booksellers/Great-bookselling-article-in-Sunday-s-Washington-Post/m-p/...

 Grisham recently sold several boxes of old Washington-centric yearbooks, church directories, old restaurant menus and high school sports programs to the D.C. Public Library.

I like this idea of amassing a collection of related items and selling them to one entity.

[figtree3]

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@imagine.inkwrote:

A good resource to discover all the types of ephemera out there waiting to be discovered is The Encyclopedia of Ephemera by Maruice Rickards.

Also, I think this idea (gleaned from an older thread) is a good one: 

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Booksellers/Great-bookselling-article-in-Sunday-s-Washington-Post/m-p/...

 Grisham recently sold several boxes of old Washington-centric yearbooks, church directories, old restaurant menus and high school sports programs to the D.C. Public Library.

I like this idea of amassing a collection of related items and selling them to one entity.

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Thanks for the recommendation! I see that the library where I work owns a copy of the book by Rickards (edition published in 2000). I'm going to look at it, just for information.

[taylor_memorial]

The latest chapter of Craig's Bookselling tips tells the story of a little pamphlet he found in a box of stuff at an estate sale a while back. It happened to have the first pictures from space--from a camera strapped to a V2 rocket during WWII.

He sold it for $10K.

I can't say I've had that kind of luck. BUT

I picked up a box full of Dungeons and Dragons stuff--early. Lots of modules, a few posters. Some module folder's without books, that sort of thing. Most of them are in the $15-25 range. I've tripled my money in actual sales.

There was a bidding war at that auction for this box. I got it for just below my max at $32.50 based on my knowledge of D&D in the past.

One item is very rare it seems: there were two listed here for above a thousand dollars and I'm certainly not going to question that valuation for a year or so!!!

I have sold the first module ever for over $200 and that was before the recession when money was worth a litte bit.

If you see something, buy something.