There has been a lot of excitement around our sister store, A House of Books, over the past couple weeks. Earlier in July we received a shipment of old, vintage books. We have been sorting through these dusty beauties looking for rare and valuable books, along with books we can use as shelf and home decor to put together for Elements. While a majority of these old books will end up in book sets, we have found some rare gems in this recent shipment which will be sold in the A House of Books shop. There are some oldies in these boxes, but just because a book is old does not mean it is rare or valuable. There are many characteristics we must look for in a book to determine its worth.
1. The author: We have a list of author's that are typically more sought after than others. An important aspect is if the author is in high demand in the collector world. Some examples of authors we look for are T.S. Eliot, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and John Updike.
2. Edition: Books that are first edition are going to have more value. Books are sometimes noted as First Edition on the copyright page. Another way to tell is if the publishing year on the title page matches the copyright date, although the year of publishing is not always listed. Books that are reprints or book club editions are way less valuable.
3. Condition: The prettier the book the more it is worth. Books labeled "very fine" or "fine" are in better condition than books labeled "very good" or "good". Missing pages spell doom for the book!
4. Dust jacket: Just like the book itself, the prettier the dust jacket the better. Books started being issued with dust jackets around the 1830s. They were intended to be disposable, but in the book collecting world they increase the value of a book. A missing jacket or one that is in shambles can cut a book's worth by more than half.
5. Signatures: Books signed by sought after authors, authors that notably rarely sign books, and/or deceased authors can significantly increase the value of a book.
6. Availability: Too many copies of a particular book in comparable condition make it hard to find a buyer. A book might be considered valuable, but if there are hundreds of them available the chances of a sale are slimmer.
While some of our finds have been cheer-worthy (looking at you signed Helen Keller!), many end up in pretty little vintage sets for display and that's ok too. Owning a book that has been around since 1903 is still pretty exciting!
We have created a complete Book Collecting Guide so you can print and take with you on your next hunt!
