Comments on: What is your old book worth?

By: Ms.Lynn Meeks

Ms.Lynn Meeks — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 04:27:07 +0000

Sorry Lis Holderman I tried to Thank you for your time of reading this and any thing that you might be able to do for me and I hit the wrong buttom.
almost sounds like the story of my life, not really
Thank you so very much
Lynn

By: Ms.Lynn Meeks

Ms.Lynn Meeks — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 04:23:07 +0000

Hi Liz Holderman
I enjoyed reading all of your articles on books and at the age of 77 you can still learn, but thats my problem,being a senior I don’t want to collect any more. I have 4 large plastic tubs of very old books that would be too expensive for me to have evaluated. I would appreciate it if you could give me some ideas on how to liguidate and as reasonable as possible. I think 2 of these are blue vellum of Edgar allen Poe. most are 1800’s and upm to 1960’s

By: Josh B`

Josh B` — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 00:06:07 +0000

I have what I believe to be a first edition of Jack Londons Call of The Wild, Robert Louis Stevensons Treasure Island as well as some hardback versions of both Lincolns Gettysburg address and The Life and Times of General George Washington. All are not in terribly good shape ( in my humble opinion) but are still very readable and in no damage of falling apart any time soon. Curious if any of these books may carry any value as they were part of a collection I inherited from my great grandmother. There are rloughly about 300 book in all but those are the only ones of note that I have discovered out of the small amount I have gone through.

Thanks in advance for any assistance and Happy Holidays!

By: colin watts

colin watts — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:10:38 +0000

Hi. I have 14 hard back editions of The War Budget a photograghic record of the Great War published by the Daily Chronicle in 1918 which arent in mint condition a bit mottled but perfectly readable and I was interested in there value if any. Thanks for your time.

By: david clancy

david clancy — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:37:39 +0000

Hi. Im just wondering the monetary value of an old book which I have in my possession. It is a hardback, John Clanidge book titled “A mirror for the burgesses and commonalty of the city of Bristol” from 1818.

By: liz holderman

liz holderman — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:12:39 +0000

Hi Brenda -

The value of antiquarian books without copyright dates can be determined by various points including the particular publisher, binding variants, advertising, paper stock, quality of print, typographical errors and changes in the text or illustrations, among many others. Historians have studied and documented these points for dating books of worth.

If your father’s books are from the 1600s or 1700s they can indeed be valuable an antiquarian items. If they are from the 1800s and 1900s, the value could be determined by a lot of factors, including collectibility of the title, condition and edition. Unfortunately, an old book may not have great worth just because it is old.

As a starting point, you might submit a couple of them to the “Ask a Worthologist” section of WorthPoint. That will give you an idea of their potential.

By: brenda zwadlo

brenda zwadlo — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:59:23 +0000

while reading a mystery book,”death of a bibliophile” it was brought to my attention that early antiquarian books had no copyright and different publishing houses could print copies of the same book. so how do you know if the early copy you have is valuable? do you use the publisher as the basis to find pricing thru the computer?

also i have inherited my dad’s collection of antiquarian books. what is the best and cheapest way to have them appraised? is it cheaper to do them in groups as opposed to individually? i’m sure some are only worth a $100 or less while others may be in the thousand category.

By: Liz Holderman

Liz Holderman — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 21:32:06 +0000

Hi Donelle -

WorthPoint actually has a feature that allows you to receive research information and appraisal values for your collectibles. Just go to “Ask a Worthologist” and follow the instructions there. Best of Luck!

Liz

By: Donelle

Donelle — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 04:59:04 +0000

I have the Complete Works of Robert Burns Vol 1 and 2 published by Ballantyne press, with no publishing dates. Very Old covers. Containign hisPoems, Songs and Correspondence with Illustrations on steel. Wondering how I would go about valuing these books.
Many thanks

By: Jan Spikes

Jan Spikes — Tue, 26 May 2009 15:23:08 +0000

I have a set of 3 books by Alexander Dumas. They are The Count of Monte-Christo, books I-II, III-IV, and V-VI.
The title page of each shows Chicago, Glydahl & Hansen Publishers, 1914. Across the bottom of the page are the words Berlin, Copehagen and Malmo.
These hardback editions have red covers with gold embossed printing. The authors name is at the top, and the title below, all enclosed in an ornate gold design topped by a crown. At the bottom are crossed swords. Are these books first editions? Of any value? Their condition is good.
Please let me know. Jan Spikes E-mail is:
jan.spikes@gmail.com