The Vine: December 17, 2010
I have a book question I thought you or the Vine readers could help with. I want to buy my boyfriend a first-edition book for Christmas, and it turns out that all of his favorite books are thousands of dollars out of my price range.
After lots of Googling and checking Abe Books, I’ve found a book printed in 1944 called Stephen Hero — A Part of the First Draft of the Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, that is described as a discarded draft of Portrait of the Artist that was published by James Joyce’s wife after he died.
“First editions” of Stephen Hero have such a wide price range that I can’t tell if it’s collectible or not, but the $80 or so a good copy seems to run is far more affordable than first editions of the actual book.
So, assuming the Vine readers are less biased than booksellers who read the Abe Books forums where I posted this question, I’m hoping someone can tell me if this particular book is considered rare or collectible, if there’s something I should look for that makes a copy particularly worth the money, and if it’s really worth buying. It doesn’t have to look perfect.
Wish I Had an $18,000 Gift Budget
Dear Budge,
It’s been over a decade since I worked in the antiquarian bookstore, but this isn’t a volume I remember many people asking us to hunt down for them, so — as is often the case with vintage or “collectible” books — it’s a matter of separating the value from the cost. For example, several of our corporate clients thought the value was the cost, because the ability to buy and display a Fitzgerald first was the point of the purchase.
Then I would go home for the holidays and look at all the illustrated editions my dad had on the shelves from his childhood and think to myself, that’s a lot of money right there. But you can’t put a dollar amount on the fact that my grandfather also read them as a kid.
If it’s a genuine first and your boyfriend won’t object to some normal ageing, the copy you’ve linked to is fine, but unless the idea is for him to resell it himself, I wouldn’t worry too much about whether you paid an appropriately knowledgeable price for the market. If it’s a gift he’ll treasure and enjoy, that’s how you need to price it.
But I don’t have up-to-date knowledge here. Readers, any information to impart?
Tags: Ask The Readers James Joyce popcult
My favorite author is Edna St. Vincent Millay so I checked ebay for any books by her that were perhaps signed. I wouldn’t have cared if she had signed a cocktail napkin but I was lucky to find a book she had signed. I wasn’t really concerned with if it was a first or not, I just liked that she had actually held the book in her hand and signed it. Which she had. Granted, it wasn’t $18,000 but it was “worth” that much to me. (See Sars’ comment regarding value/cost.) So perhaps trying to find a first for your boyfriend isn’t really the issue – maybe you could find him an autographed book by his favorite author, or just a rare book, a unique book. By the way, the signed Millay sits in the same cabinet that my old copy of Marguerite Henry’s “King of the Wind.” Now this book isn’t worth anything to anyone – it’s a beat up old copy from the 60’s. But it’s one of my favorite books. If the house caught fire and I could save two books, these would be it.
Do you want to buy him a book by a favorite author or just any first edition? Is he a collector? If he’s not, I’d skip worrying about a first edition and buy the nicest vintage version of the book you can find. Most people who love what’s between the covers don’t usually care much about pristine dust jackets, etc. (I know, huge generalization.) But if you don’t know much about antiquarian books, it’s a rather difficult field to traverse.
A lot of the price variations you’re seeing are likely attempts by the sellers to establish a ‘collectible’ price. Which suggests that the collectibility of the particular book isn’t well established in the marketplace. Either it isn’t hotly in demand, which would drive the price up, or there are too many copies available, driving the price down. All of which means you can buy the inexpensive one (assuming it’s in the condition you desire) and ignore the haute-trollers.
Think of it like the real-estate market. People always want to price their houses higher than the market will bear, hoping some buyer will ‘value’ their property the same way they do. (That’s seldom the case, especially these days.) It appears that you’re in the equivalent of a buyer’s market.
I agree with Sars that you want to make a distinction here between value and cost. The idea, presumably, is that you want your boyfriend to treasure the book forever and not sell it, but you don’t want to wildly overpay either. So I think the big question is: 1) Does your boyfriend love Joyce so much that he would want to read a rough draft of part of Portrait of the Artist? If so, go for it. If not, find a different book.
Things you want to look for in assessing which one to buy are: presence/absence of a dust jacket, which printing of the first edition it is (in general the first printing from the first country it was printed in is worth more, i.e, for this book the 1st British printing is worth more than the 1st American printing) general condition of the cover and pages, any writing in the book (“To my good friend Carl Van Buren”=more $$, “to Bobby from Grandma Xmas 1945″=less $$). Deaccessioned library copies are worth considerably less than non-library copies due to all the stamps and things.
You might also give some thought to buying an unusually beautiful or special edition of one of his favorite books, instead of being fixed on a first edition. These can sometimes be nicer to look at and page through than real first editions, which can sometimes be crumbly and have that “Oh God I should be reading this with cotton gloves on” quality. For example, Arion Press out in California is a specialty press that does exquisite limited editions of books they find interesting, often in collaboration with well-known artists. These usually run in the hundreds of dollars rather than thousands, so they are still very special but aren’t in the 18K range. (Someday their edition of Flatland will be mine, oh yes it will).
There are some nice limited editions of Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man floating around Abebooks.
Easton Press books are collectible, leather-bound, and look classy on the shelf: http://bit.ly/igKM12
I’d be partial to the 1968 illustrated edition, numbered out of 1500 and signed by the artist: http://bit.ly/gZNyI4
(Those aren’t the only copies available; just the ones that seem a) most affordable and b) in good shape.)
I agree with others who’ve posted: if you’re looking for first editions, look for first printings as well (a third printing of a first edition is not “worth” as much). If the first edition is too pricey, try searching for “limited” or “illustrated” or “signed.” Books that’ve been flat-signed (i.e. just signed by the author and not inscribed “To Jimmy”) are particularly nice. Good luck!
I also vote for considering a “special” edition, not necessarily a first. Depends of course on your boyfriend and his collecting habits, but if he’d be thrilled by a vintage copy vs an actual first… might be a good choice.
You might want to consider whether any of his favorite writers offer alternative possibilities. I thought of George MacDonald as an example. His orginal text is part English and a whole lot of Scots language, which is actually readable with a little effort and quite a change from reading his work in edited English-only versions. Any chance one of your BF’s favorite writers has some similar options?
If his tastes include theology, Wipf and Stock Publishers offer reprints of classic and hard to find books on such topics. Obviously these are far from firsts, but if it’s material that would be otherwise unavailable, worth a look.
Hey all,
This is my letter. Thanks for your responses. He’s not the type of collector who is going to resell or would know a lot about the value. He just loves the look of old books and “Portrait of the Artist” is his favorite book, which is why I was looking at that. But you have given me great suggestions that I’ll take into account. It’s a bit late for Christmas now, but Valentine’s is only two months away. (The first gift idea was for a first book club edition of “Catcher in the Rye,” another favorite, and after lots of research into what makes that valuable and how much I should pay, I found a great deal on Amazon, only to have the bookseller e-mail me to tell me that when they went to get the book out of its locked case, it had been stolen. Must have been a really nerdy thief).
Anyway, thanks again. I’ll keep looking around for just the right copy.
@Liz: “Deaccessioned” is a word new to me! Thank you. So much love for the ‘Nation right now.