-

 

An Overview Regarding Condition, Grading and Value

Condition refers to a book’s physical appearance and the completeness of its contents. In general, the better a book’s physical condition, the more it will be worth.

Terms that might be used to describe old books include (from best condition to worst condition) “As New,” “Fine” (no defects), “Very Good,” “Good,” “Fair” (worn but includes complete text), and “Poor” (very worn, but readable). Missing or mutilated covers, pages, or illustrations must be noted and are major faults that will severely compromise the book’s value.

Age alone does not determine a book's value. The significance of the content, the book's condition, and market demand are key factors in assessing the worth of an old book. Nonetheless, certain types of books are typically more desirable, such as those printed before 1501, English books printed before 1641, books printed in the Americas before 1801, and books printed west of the Mississippi before 1850.

Books are valued for either their contents or their physical characteristics. Examples of books valued for their contents include first editions of significant literary or historical works and initial reports of scientific discoveries or inventions. Illustrated books that offer a new interpretation of a text or feature the work of a renowned artist are also prized. Books that were suppressed or censored can be both important and rare, as few copies may have survived. Physical characteristics such as special bindings, early use of new printing processes, or autographs, inscriptions, or marginal annotations by famous individuals can also enhance a book's importance and market value.

A book that is known to exist in only a few copies can have significant monetary value if it is highly sought after by collectors and libraries. To determine how many copies of a book are currently for sale, you can search the Internet using services like abaa.org, addall.com, alibris.com, abebooks.com, or vialibri.com. For information on how many copies are held by libraries, your local librarian can help you access databases such as OCLC’s WorldCat. However, regardless of its scarcity, a book without important text or distinguishing physical characteristics is likely to have little market value.

 

“Building Great Collections; One Fine Book at a Time.”

 BlindHorseBooks.com

 

Member of  
ABAA [American Booksellers Antiquarian Association] 
FABA [Florida Antiquarian Booksellers Association]  
IOBA [International Online Booksellers Association]  
The Ephemera Society of America

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

-
Image
  Henrik Johan Ibsen 20 March 1828 – 1906) was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of realism" and is one of the founders of Modernism in theatre. He is the most frequently performed dramatist in the world after Shakespeare. Several of his later dramas were considered scandalous to many of his era, when European theatre was expected to model strict morals of family life and propriety. His major works include Brand, Peer Gynt, An Enemy of the People, Emperor and Galilean, A Doll's House, Hedda Gabler, Ghosts, The Wild Duck, Rosmersholm, and The Master Builder. Ibsen's later work examined the realities that lay behind many façades, revealing much that was disquieting to many contemporaries. It utilized a critical eye and free inquiry into the conditions of life and issues of morality. The poetic and cinematic early play Peer Gynt, however, has strong surreal elements. He is w...
Read more
-
Image
    Remembering C. S. Lewis on his birthday. Did you know ….. Lewis destroyed the first version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe when his friends criticized it; he then rewrote it from scratch. Lewis and fellow novelist J. R. R. Tolkien were close friends. They both served on the English faculty at Oxford University, and were active in the informal Oxford literary group known as the Inklings. According to Lewis' memoir Surprised by Joy, he was baptized in the Church of Ireland, but fell away from his faith during adolescence. Lewis returned to the Anglican Communion at the age of 32, owing to the influence of Tolkien and other friends, and he became an "ordinary layman of the Church of England". His faith profoundly affected his work, and his wartime radio broadcasts on the subject of Christianity brought him wide acclaim. Clive Staples Lewis was a British novelist, poet, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian, broadcaster, lec...
Read more
-
Image
  Aubrey Beardsley (1872 – 16 March 1898) was an English illustrator and author. His drawings in black ink, influenced by the style of Japanese woodcuts, emphasized the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He was a leading figure in the Aesthetic movement which also included Oscar Wilde and James A. McNeill Whistler. Beardsley's contribution to the development of the Art Nouveau and poster styles was significant, despite the brevity of his career before his early death at 25 from tuberculosis. In 1892, Beardsley travelled to Paris, where he discovered the poster art of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and the Parisian fashion for Japanese prints, both of which would be major influences on his own style. Beardsley's first commission was Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory (1893), which he illustrated for the publishing house J. M. Dent and Company. Beardsley was the most controversial artist of the Art Nouveau era, renowned for his dark and perverse images and grote...
Read more