Hello Benjamin, I am a bookseller and a collector. Just wanted to let you know at one time, before modern printing, 1st editions were valued because the earliest imprint of a press book was considered to be the clearest. Subsequent editions were less sought after as they were more likely to have small imperfections because of the wearing down of the type. This is also true in limited edition press books where each book is numbered. So in a limited edition of 300, number 4 is more sought after than number 267. I am enjoying your videos. Thanks.
Is it just me? I don’t care as much for the “first edition” type as I do what the edition looks like. For instance, I’d rather have a whole library of Easton press and Franklin library rather than spending hundreds and thousands on rare beat up first editions.
Benjamin, this topic reminded me of an early experience that opened my eyes to the world of book collecting on a scale that had been unknown to me. I still find it amusing to recall visiting New York with my parents in late 1986 when I was a teenager because of one notable excursion. I was left alone in my room in our Manhattan hotel on a rainy day that November and wanted to find a "used/rare" bookstore nearby. In very fine print in the yellow pages was some place called H. P. Kraus (that was it, no further description). OK, I thought that this would do because it was so close. I'll just walk over there. The buzzer on the door was the first indication that something was very different about this "bookstore" at 16 E. 46th St. The second was the nonplussed almost baffled expression on the face of the person who answered the door. She (Kit Currie) had the most refined English-British accent I had ever heard in person. “Would you like to see a catalogue?” she asked. “Yes, thank you.” I saw around the room floor-to-ceiling glass bookcases and another younger woman (who I learned was H.P. Kraus’s daughter) at the back of the room. (Thinking-Wow.S__T!, Jay...what have you gotten yourself into??) I think she (Kit Currie) enjoyed showing catalogues to a lone 16-year-old kid who literally walked in off the street that dreary gray day. This experience was my introduction to Western illuminated manuscripts and incunabula. I could not afford anything, but I later received a copy of Kraus Catalogue 173: The Fifteenth Century. I think my persistence resulted in my name being placed by Mrs. Folter, HP’s daughter, on their catalogue mailing list until the decision was made to close the 46th St. location about 2002. My last visit there was in 1995. Mrs. Folter graciously arranged for a magnificent copy of the Speculum Doctrinale of Vincentius Bellovacensis [printed in Strasbourg, The R-Printer (Adolf Rusch), before 11 February 1478] to be brought out from the vault ahead of time. I wanted to see the “beautiful original South German monastic binding of blind-stamped pigskin over bevelled wooden boards, panelled with double and triple rules, 5 large chiselled brass bosses on each side, with clasps and brass catches, Ms. Exlibris of the monastery of St. Mang at Füssen with their 15th-century paper title-label and separate shelf-mark on front cover; bookplate of the Starkenstein family of Switzerland.” We talk of coffee table books, but this superb and massive specimen of late medieval bookmaking was the size of a small coffee table and weighed about as much. There are few “bookstores” of that ilk left in the world today. Jay
Jay, this was such a beautiful story. Thank you so much for sharing this with me, my friend. You've sent me down an exhilarating rabbit hole to learn more about the Speculum Doctrinale of Vincentius Bellovacensis. Extraordinary. I completely agree with you that we don't have many bookstores like that today. Many of my favourite ones have died out. When I find a special one, I support it as best as I can 😊📚
@@BenjaminMcEvoy Benjamin, after that experience and for several years I bought 11 incunabula including some in their original fifteenth-century bindings. The problem though was an increasing realization that I was treating these as artifacts rather than as literature. Really, who wants to read a volume of St. Bonaventura in Latin no matter what kind of binding encases it? I sold all of them before I was 30 in 2000. In the intervening years I have found ways to see and sometimes handle stellar books without owning them through summer and autumn courses sponsored through Rare Book School in Charlottesville, VA. In 2012 I spent a week at the Morgan Library in NYC studying medieval manuscripts, and the following summer I went to the Scheide Library at Princeton to see among other books without intervening bullet-proof glass a Gutenberg Bible in its original binding and the four Shakespeare folios. There is also a London Rare Books School at the Institute of English Studies (ies.sas.ac.uk/london-rare-books-school). My point is that now I buy only books of literature to be read. My advice is to read what you enjoy, and if you spot a particularly nice and affordable copy of a favorite book, buy it! The Website vialibri.net is the best place to start. It tells you where a copy of the book you might want can be located anywhere, i.e. Direct From the Seller, AbeBooks, Alibris, Antikvariat, Buchfreunde, Biblio, eBay (UK)(US), Amazon.com/uk/fr/de/it/au, Antiqbook, ZVAB, maremagnum, etc.
I have been binge watching a few of your videos and it has gotten me excited at 45 to start hitting the classics and enjoying the paradise that is reading!
I don't have a very large budget. So, my book " collection" consists of several shelves of books with Thrift Books stickers on their spines. They aren't very handsome looking, but I do love having my own little library from which I can pick out my reading material. I do enjoy seeing other people's antiquarian book collections, though. ☺️
I have two small collections of non-fiction books that are very dear to me...cookbooks and home decorating books from the 60's and 70's. I feel like a time-traveler as I delve into how people decorated their homes and what they ate. Also, I was born in 1969, so seeing many of the interiors and reading certain recipes brings back wonderful childhood memories. I've even come across recipes in Southern Living cookbooks and realized with a start that it is a dish my mother or grandmother used to make. And cooking from them and eating the results is quite literally the icing on the cake! ;) I also have an interest in collecting first editions of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series, Arthur C. Clarke's science fiction novels, and Madeline L' Engle's juvenile fiction. I have a copy of her book A Ring of Endless Light signed to me personally and it's one of my most treasured books.
Don’t know how I missed this video all week! I collect children’s collections of fable, fairy tales and/or poetry from the late 19th c to mid 20th c. For me it’s more of a personal endeavor, but I do try to find high quality editions. I’ve chosen this niche because: 1. I have small children and love sharing these classic tales with them, much better than most of the modern twaddle. 2. They remind me of my beloved nana, who had a few collections of nursery rhymes from her childhood in the early 1900’s that I discovered on a high shelf as a teen and fell in love with. 3. The turn of the century was the ‘golden age’ of illustration here in the West, and is absolutely unmatched. Many of these illustrations are found in these children’s classics, and I am a nut for great pen-and-ink illustration. Great topic, Ben!
What a beautiful collection, Cai! And your reasons for collecting are so inspiring. The turn of the century really did gift us with so many incredible illustrators. Arthur Rackham's fairy tale illustrations, and his depictions for The Wind in the Willows, are some of my personal favourites. I also adore the Beatrix Potter story - her illustrations are so nostalgic to me :)
I am a librarian by education. I have had two careers, one as a librarian, the other as a Systems Administrator (UNIX is my second language). I would say over the course of my life, I had acquired 3,000 books. Six months ago, we moved to a smaller home, about half the size , and I had to literally divest about 75% of my physical books. I went through a decision process for each book, and although it was difficult, I kept the ones that meant the most: A Riverside Shakespeare, an Edgar Allan Poe, a beautiful new Everyman's Library Edition of the Duke's Children by Anthony Trollope, a 1942 hardback edition of Louise and Aylmer Maude's translation of War and Peace, and a few out of print books. All the rest I gave away, including The Great Books of the Western World that my father gave me when I was four, because I replaced all of them with Kindle books. The only book I miss is Harold Bloom's The Best Poems of the English Language, but I believe I will be able to replace it with e-books. I gave the book away to a young aspiring poet, so I hope the book will be encouraging.
3,000 books is an incredibly impressive collection! I can relate to the pain involved in cutting the collection down so drastically. I also moved quite recently, and there isn't a ton of space for books, so I was forced to decide which ones meant the most to me. It's ultimately a rewarding exercise. I love the editions you decided to keep, Karen. I have a Riverside Shakespeare that means a lot to me (and a Chaucer), both with little college seals in the front in recognition of getting strong marks in my exams. How wonderful of you to have gifted Bloom's excellent anthology to a young aspiring poet. I never regret the books I give away. Many of the books that meant the most to me are now in someone else's possession. A book can be life-changing, so, as a gift, it can't really be beat!
This is helpful. As somewhat of a book collector myself (I'm cataloging my books as I write this), I've found it challenging to narrow down my specific niche.
I recently started collecting the blue Pelican non-fiction books of the 40's, 50's, 60's that are now of course out of print. I find the subject matter incredibly diverse and interesting, and the aesthetic quite charming. They aren't particularly rare obviously, but it's such a big collection that i won't run out of books to collect for years to come. I have around 10 so far, all purchased for a few dollars each at op-shops and second-hand stores.
That's so cool! I recently stumbled across a haul of these very books whilst helping family, and they really are such treasures. They don't print books like this anymore. The subject matter, as you say, is so diverse. They look beautiful. And they're rich in content. What a brilliant collection - you have a fun journey ahead of you :)
Same here! I have recently started collecting vintage Penguin books. I'd found a 1949 edition of John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men (on Amazon of all places!) and have been on the lookout ever since. I study English Literature and have mainly been focusing on the Pelican English literature books because of that.
Hey Ben! Book collecting is one of my favorite things. I have a weird way that I go about it. Estate sales! I collect only classic books. It's hard finding first editions, first printings, but I love getting close. I have found many first editions, with later printings. For me, it's honestly such a joy to pick through estate sale books and get home and start doing the research. I have landed a few 1st printings this way! I will keep the best version of each of my favorite books. Many are not even first editions. Ill keep the oldest printing and best condition title that i find. I will often buy duplicates of the classics I love and take those to the classic book shop in my home town and trade them in for in store credit and grab an old book that ive wanted for my book shelf. I usually only pay about $1-5 per boook. Also, I collect book shelf decorations.
Nice one! Perfect way of putting it. The etymology of "passion" contains the meaning of suffering - like the Passion of Christ. Torment is so often a sign that something is personally meaningful to us!
Definitely people should read the rare books they buy. I can't think of anything more sad than a book's content forever trapped between its covers because its owner is too scared to handle it.
OMG. Siddharta was recommended to me by one of my classmates in College. I read it that Summer and I have never forgotten the effect it had on me. Really glad to see you love it too.
I discovered your chanel today, i liked your view in collecting books, i'm brazilian and i like collecting brazilian/portuguese books and autors, but i have interest in picking some english books, especially the old ones, but i don't think my english is good enough to apreciate them yet. Thanks for the video :D
Hi! I try to collect one of my favourite books in different languages: 100 years of Solitude. I read it about 25 years ago, in portuguese (I'm brazilian). Then i learnt spanish and bought the book in this language. Now, even i can't read another language, I have that book in french, greek and german.
Hello, my husband collects old fishing and sailing books. He has amassed a huge collection including a first edition confessions of a carp fisher by BB. Every book is much loved and reread regularly. The fishing ones are gentle and the sailing ones are adventurous. I don’t really have a particular collection except I love old illustrated books and any book that has a personal message written inside e.g... ‘to Betty on her 21st birthday, love from Aunty Forsythia’. There is no worth in it but I just love thinking about the recipient opening the book and why that book was chosen as a gift.
That's a very special collection! I find I'm most interested in readers who collect books on their outdoor sports. I always get a glimpse into a fascinating world I don't know much about. I love finding books that have personal messages written inside too. It makes me feel a sense of connection - another reader, just like me, had this book and it meant something to them!
I have two different niches when it comes to book collecting: I collect early editions of Faulkner Novels (I recently found a first edition of The Mansion for $75 which was such a good find) and I collect major literary works in their original language. I think the great part about this is that I have two different niches, one is much more difficult, and one is much easier, and I can pretty much add to it whenever I like. My Faulkner collection is much more difficult to add to, but is so much more rewarding when I do find and purchase that First Edition I've been clamoring for, but that doesn't mean my world language collection is less valuable. I've always found my world languages collection keeps me in the hobby, because of the fact that it's easy, and if I am feeling like I want to grow my bookshelf, I can find a piece that I want to order in it's original language, and I get that dopamine hit of adding to my collection without going through all that much effort to get one of those books. I also think there needs to be a sweet spot for having a collection niche. I think Faulkner lands right in there, where he's popular enough where his early editions are in circulation, but not so popular that they are impossible to find or are way out of my price range. He might edge slightly towards the "too difficult to collect to be worth it" side of things because he did not sell well while he was alive, but I think that's the perfect setup for a collection niche that is difficult but also extremely rewarding.
Early editions of Faulkner novels! What a great idea for a collection. I also love that you collect major works in their original language. I started to do this myself when I really fell in love with a particular work, and after lots of deep reading. I can't read the originals, but having them there is quite motivating, as I'm sure I'll learn some of the languages in the future, but it also feels like you have something a little closer to the author. Anna Karenina, Don Quixote, and Les Misérables are three works that leap to mind for me - I pore over the original languages despite not being able to read them. I completely agree with you on the "sweet spot", and Faulkner sounds like he's right in the middle of it when it comes to book collecting!
My most treasured book, for both sentimental reasons and because it is probably worth something monitarily, is a first American edition of the Jungle Book. Sentimental not because I love Kipling so, but because I inherited it from my uncle. So I'll never get rid of it. I have a tiny antique collection besides, that. Otherwise, due to spatial reasons I can't really be anything but a magpie and not be overly focused. Though I'd like to acquire some nice Austen's just so I can use my paperbacks for annotating.
I’ve started unknowingly to collect a few books on a subject I love, the circus and the fairs. With this in mind I’m particularly interested in the characters behind the scenes especially dubious ones ie pickpockets and magician, performers who were led into this world from a checkered past. First additions is something I’m going to focus on and I’ve only found a few so far but they have been out of my price range. Whilst learning al the time your inspiration has set me on a trail of fun in book collection, thank you very much. Glen
I've been collecting books for a long long time. And last month I decided to make a log of all the books in my house. It took me about a week to do so. My account at this point is 2763.. not counting the additional 300 on Kindle.
@@BenjaminMcEvoy well it was a job and I'm glad I did it. I can categorize them for when I'm no longer here and where they should be distributed to. But it took me all of my adult life which is several decades. But I love them many of them are very old some are not most classics I don't have a lot of fiction. But they're like children I love them all!
There is nothing like seeing "It" the very first time.. at the library book sale every Monday, at a thrift store in SE Portland, at the great queen of them all, Powell's Bookstore downtown.. or an old bookstore on the coast.. and suddenly, there it is and you realize "it could be mine! You se your hand reaching out, under It's own power, it seems... and then walking out to the parking lot with it... this can only happen once, but it happens enough that it keeps you searching always.. This is the thrill of collecting. It is not meant for everyone, but if you are one of the lucky ones, then you know there is nothing like it, and keep the flame alive! Great videos Benjamin, thanks! AL
The original first edition Stephen King covers were the ones I knew as a teen in the 80s. My sister collected them and each cover I found so fascinating, especially Carrie and The Shining. They were true pieces of art!
I'm with you there, Jeremy. I adore these first edition covers. I've been taking note of who designed each one. They really are like pieces of art - and so iconic!
@@BenjaminMcEvoy I once set a Firestarter jacket on fire in the microwave, I already had a copy I purchased when new, but I found a nice looking copy at a thrift store to use for trade credit and when I gave it a 30 second zap in the microwave to get rid of any possible vermin, the metallic paint on the jacket burned, pretty cool as it looked like it was meant to be that way. I made some good trades by taking volumes on vacation with me to areas where the book would have local interest. Traded an early 1900s edition on Florida's flora and fauna for a first of Rosemary's Baby, I loved Ira Levin books too.
I just very recently picked up a 1911 copy of Anna Karenina, and a 1914 copy of Crime and Punishment, both published by William Heinemann Ltd. I'm definitely not planning on investing in many 100+ year old books, but these two novels are masterpieces. The only other novel I plan to purchase of that age is The Brothers Karamazov, my other favourite novel. Aren't books just a wonderful, wonderful thing. Truly love your channel mate.
@@gutenbird I found Anna Karenina on eBay, and crime and punishment on Amazon. But my other older books are mostly Op shops/thrift shops, Ive found a 1970 copy of War and Peace and a 1946 copy The Magic Mountain both at op shops as examples ☺️
Hi Benjamin, I’m a high school history teacher here in the US and collect older Southern fiction and books about the Old South/ Civil War/ Antebellum period. No one cares about it but I love it. I have some very old editions of Gone with the Wind, some great old Uncle Remus editions and others too. I think this type of collection is controversial but as a historian, I’m dedicated to giving all books a good home.
I’m a lover of books - first as a reader and for the last 15 years as a collector. I’ve learned so much, made my share of mistakes and learned to collect what I love, and to be patient. I have also learned from other collectors and dealers about the business and their love of the book trade. I collect history, philosophical and economics related titles with a focus on liberty and the American experiment. First editions are mostly out of my budget but it’s amazing what settling for secondary 1st editions as well as 2nd and 3rd editions of important works will do for one’s library. I collect because I love books, love to look and admire them and to imagine previous owners and their own relationships with my books
If the Lincoln in the Bardo is a Canadian first edition it’s unlikely to increase in value that much as the collectible first dictions are the US edition (true first) and the UK edition (Booker winner). Follow the flag etc
WWII Books. I own 282 of those. Collected for reading. I'm affascinated about the war, the operation, the soldiers, the commanders, the weapons everythings! In this period i buy a lot of books of all the battle on the seas. On Pacific, Atrlantic and Mediterranean sea.
I did too. It was a great recommendation. When I finished it I immediately began reading it again at page1. This guy would make a great book salesman wouldn't he? ~LOL~
Again Yassine is here , the Moroccan one, though it's middle night now, m watching carefully your videos, your pronunciation and your strong arguments and opinions ❤️✨ much love
Ben, great topic, well explored. I have a large personal library, with a number of what I call sub-collections ( Bob Dylan, England Test cricket, field guides to animals and plants, chess, Doctor Doolittle, evolution, etc. some of these topics can be obscure to the uninitiated - Robert Crumb, Philip Guston, Australian explorers, Hillsborough Disaster, Beethoven, etc. And of course particular authors are explored in depth - William Faulkner, Harlan Ellison, DH Lawrence, Harold Bloom, Patrick White, etc ). That rule about “collect what you love” is the most important rule, I think. To collect for investment purposes seems alien to my sensibilities. And reading great literature from a screen is not for me. I need a physical paper copy - it connects me with every other reader of my chosen physical text, with the tactility and texture of paper, and my own childhood, when devouring whole libraries seemed routine. Thank you for your thoughts, Ben. And happy hunting!
Thank you :) I'm completely with you on that! Collect what you love. Do what you love. Spend time with people you love. I'm reminded of Ray Bradbury's story of how he tore up his Buck Rogers comic strips as a child because his friends made fun of them. The next day, he realised they weren't his friends, and he was much happier collecting what he loved - and he never looked back! Happy reading, my friend!
Hi Ben, I collect The Folio Society editions. I purchase them at Christmas and for my birthdays. Usually my parents buy me a folio society edition for Christmas and birthday as gifts as some are expensive. Sometimes, I buy some in the sale. I love buying them as gifts for my mum. I've bought some of my mum's favourite novels in a folio society edition. To Kill A Mocking Bird wasn't easy to find in a folio but I found one and was very happy with it. Mostly I have classics such as Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Frankenstein, Rebecca, Dracula, etc, etc in folio society editions but more recently I've bought Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies in these editions. The Mirror and The Light comes out in folio society this Christmas. My collection tells people I'm a romantic, likes some gothic style literature and enjoys historical fiction as well.
What a great video. I’m definitely going to test the waters of book collecting. I’m lucky enough to have happened upon a few notable first editions: Richard Wright’s “Native Son,” Betty Smith’s “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” and my father n law gifted me Henry Adam’s “The Education of Henry Adams.” I also have a couple volumes from the Little Leather Library, little green pocket editions that were sold in drug stores in the ‘20s. From what I understand they are fairly attainable and inexpensive, so I think I’ll start there.
Thanks for sharing - just started collecting vintage scifi and have 2 book hauls and also just started a channel too on my finds and what the hobby is about! New sub today and love the tips
I collect several obscure authors who's novels were made into 1950's swashbuckler B-roll movies. Rafael Sabatini (Captain Blood and The Sea Hawk, with Errol Flynn), P.C. Wren (Beau Geste, with Gary Cooper). They are relatively easy to find in first editions, and are fantastic reads. I also have a collection of L.L. Baum's Oz books - not the first editions, but the "white book" Reilly reprints, because that's what I read as a child. Speaking of childhood memories, my grade school library had a section of Scribner's Illustrated Classics. In reproducing that shelf in my own library, I've found myself accidentally collecting books based on the illustrator - mostly N.C. Wyeth, but also Dulac, Rackham, and Pyle.
Like you, I collect Everyman’s Library editions, which I treasure. It’s so fun to find them in second hand bookstores. I started about 3 years ago and have amassed around 120. I love the EL Pocket Poets, too. Oh, and Agatha Christie. I collect the black faux leather Bantam books when I see them second hand.
Wow! 120 amassed over the course of 3 years is really great going. This is one of the reasons why I love secondhand bookstores. You almost always find these Everyman editions among the stacks. Agatha Christie is a really nice one to collect too. She's on my little list of authors I'd love to collect in the future.
I collect the Romantic poets- I have a few beautiful old copies collected from secondhand bookstores in Vancouver. Most are editions from the '30s and '40s and often have inscriptions in them from people who gifted them to a friend or lover. I also have all twelve volumes of Byron's journals. Next up for me is finding that Fabbri Chapman Hall edition of 'Bleak House' which is my Dicken's 'entry' book and still my favourite of all. I saw your collection of those volumes and fell in love with the look of them.
great video! I started book collecting about a year ago and I should have watched this video first lol. I was kind of all over the place in the beginning but have since become more focused on what type of editions I am more interested in.
This video has inspired me to go hunting for first editions of Nietzsche (in both English and German) on the Internet. Needless to say, they are ridiculously expensive. The cheapest I found is a £65 first English edition of Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Still, I can see that hunting for these treasures could be really fun.
Very interesting and useful video, thanks! I have only recently started considering myself a book collector, although I have been collecting (specific, selected) books for over 15 years and I have a library of over 1200 books, but it's only recently that I have started paying attention to things like the specific edition, the translation, where possible (for me to read it) buying them in the original language, etc. and I guess doing that kind of research and paying that kind of attention is what I felt was missing for me to call myself a book collector. I've been super excited recently because I found a thrift store, more of a flea market really, in my area that is ENORMOUS, probably some 15k sqm, that doesn't pay any attention to the books they receive but they empty cellars and attics so they get a lot of old books, beautiful (some first) editions for 1-2€ each or so. I found some absolute gems there and some things that I'd been looking for for a while.
Recently found your channel and I love it, thanks for sharing your enthusiasm and love of literature and life. I was one of those people who found Siddhartha at the right time in my life, and was never the same. Started me on a long journey of discovery and eventually peace, and I’m a bit jealous of your copy! 😆 cheers, keep up the good work! Sending love from Boston MA U.S.
Thank you so much! I'm so happy to have you here reading along with me :) Siddharta's definitely a special one - it's one of those works that I think about on practically a daily basis. Happy reading over in the great city of Boston, my friend!
I try to collect at least one signed book of all the alive Autors i enjoy. And one specific book in the language of the Country i visit, i am not far with it unfortenatley.
BMc. I collected Penguin classics for years . Kind of like Ginesh in Naipaul's, 'The Mystic Maseur' . I am a poor man's collector, except for my art books, i love paperbacks . Anyhow , back to the Penguin's. Until the last couple decades Penguins weren't printed on acid free paper . Many of them are yellowing , deteriorating. Should I trade them in so someone could get a good last read out of them? Some are oddities worth keeping? Maybe ? Any thoughts?
I collect books from my personal canon in Folio Society editions. Even though they aren’t the rarest books I own, that particular shelf always brings a smile to my face. Their edition of Anna Karenina illustrated by Angela Barrett is one of my favorites - and pairs perfectly with the HCLBC lectures. 😊
@@kieranhooton9665 Keep an eye on the second-hand market. Patience pays off and can score you some really special finds. I’ve found all of mine that way, and it makes for a fun search.
Thank you ... your tips are very helpful. I recently started re-reading and collecting books on Elvis Presley and it's fun .... patience is very important ... I'm mostly just an avid reader but I realized I want to continue reading and collecting related books and publications about him. When I was younger some of the books & magazines were easier to find but I didn't have money back then.
It started with buying vintage books I like here and there. Your video is encouraging me to organise my buys a bit more. I am glad I found your channel. One of my personal favorite is the 80s French edition of Stephen King 'It' in paperback, it's the edition I first read the novel in. The cover illustration is absolutely horrific and I love it🤣🤣🤣
Thank you for your video. It was exactly what I was looking for. Your advice was everything I needed to hear to reassure me that I am on the right path. Buying what I love and if it's not valuable to someone else at least I will enjoy owning it.
Excellent introduction Benjamin. I have a ridiculously large library related to my studies in the shifting winds of culture. I have some special areas of interest. While music is a serious area of interest I find that as a 'special area', it's too vague, amorphous and popular. I do have a few specialities though, I have been studying puppet history since the early aughts. And by puppets I do not mean Muppets™ nor insipidly cute children's fare, I mean puppets as art. Consequently I have several hundred books related to puppetry by now. Puppetry compared to music is obviously much more niche. And as a result the books (and DVDs) I've accumulated are much harder to find. And become quite valuable in fairly short time. Not that that has anything to do with my collecting. I am purely here for the information and inspiration. I also collect books along side of puppetry as well; books on masks, masques, commedia dell'arte, automata, puppet animation. And I also have within my interest a very pinpointed interest of European puppetry. And then even more interest in Czech Puppetry. So on a recent trip to Prague, besides actually watching a few serious puppet shows, I also came back with several gorgeous puppet related books. These books tend to sell slowly, disappear, then seriously appreciate. One Czech book in English was $70 a few years ago, then was being remaindered on Amazon for a mere $8, then rebounded to over $100 in the course of three years. (I bought an extra copy at the slashed price as a gift for a local puppeteer here in Tbilisi Georgia.) So indeed pick something you are truly fascinated with. There is a book on AbeBooks that I am seriously considering as I write. It's about $100. I have spent up to $250 on a book. But I have never regretted it. Thanks for the advice. There is one regret though, something I didn't buy. The two volume set on European puppet history by Henryk Jurkowski, whom I interviewed before his death. The books were $200 for the pair. Now they are $800 each. Alas...
Hi Ben x Hope you’re well and happy? This was a well timed, and super informative video as I’ve just started turning my thoughts towards collecting. I’ve spent the last year or so fine tuning my home library so I can, ‘shop my shelves’ and now I’m looking for a new focus. I love old books and the thought that others owned them before me. I’m unsure where to go with this but, without realising it, I already have a focus on Dickinson, Dickens and the Brontë Sisters. I primarily have contemporary edition’s of their works but many biographical texts, letters and non-fiction books on the authors. I suppose the next step is to look for older, rarer editions but I suspect that anything to do with the Brontë’s or Emily Dickinson is probably going to be impossible to find or cost prohibitive. I might be in with a chance with Dickens. I would love some of his All the Year Round periodicals so maybe that would be a starting point. Blackwells rare books might also be worth a browse next time I’m in Oxford x x Take the best of care. Hugs, Sharon x x
Hi Sharon :) It's so lovely to hear from you. I hope you're keeping well! If someone had asked me to guess what authors you would focus on collecting, I wouldn't have hesitated to say Emily Dickinson, Charles Dickens, and the Brontë Sisters. Biographies are a great way to build up an author-specific collection. I've realised I've been inadvertently building a Dickens biography collection myself. I would say that you may be in more luck with Dickens, as despite the fact that his All the Year Round periodicals are often valued highly, it's definitely not impossible to come across a stray one here and there. I'll bet it's possible to find a few bargains in this area! If British pubs are keeping these on their shelves without knowing their value, anything is possible... Blackwells' rare books section is great too. I visited recently and made a video on the store, which will go out soon, but I was too shy to ask someone to get the key to open the cabinets. There was a Shakespeare & Co edition of Ulysses, and I just knew there was no way that I was going to be leaving with that.... Happy reading, and stay well :) 😊📚
I've always had lots of books, but my book collecting fervor was ignited a few years ago when I found 10 first editions by the philosopher Mortimer J. Adler all inscribed to the same priest, whom I presume was a friend of his, in an antique mall. I was a fan of Adler's work and the set was reasonably priced so I picked it up. Since then I've been building a collection of my favorite fiction authors -- Michael Chabon, Don Delillo, Jonathan Lethem, Rachel Kushner, Thomas Pynchon, Tom Robbins, and others -- in hardcover 1st/1sts, a number of which are signed. I'd say I too often rely on Abe Books (through whom I just purchased a copy of "Book-Collecting as a Hobby") but I love going to rare book shops in the cities I visit to peruse their offerings. The highlights of my collection are a copy of Lethem's Chronic City inscribed to his "friend and master," Thomas Berger, and a 1st/1st of Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49. In terms of strategy I'm looking to build complete sets of 1st/1sts of some of these authors and am very close with Delillo, with a reportedly fine copy of White Noise arriving today. Many of his later works are very reasonably priced. I'm hoping to attend my first rare book show in Philadelphia next week and am excited by what I might find there!
This was a cool video! I been accumulating books for awhile, but only recently have I considered seriously collecting after realizing it's not nearly as expensive as I imagined it would be. As an artist, I always really loved book illustrations and I am considering maybe trying to collect all the Caldicott Award and Honor books. I think the reason I got into book collecting though was the Oz Books. I always wanted to read the series, but the versions they have at places like Barnes and Nobel or similar stores never include illustrations which always made me too annoyed to bother buying them. Recently I found some earlier edition Oz books at a used book store and since then I been getting obsessed with books even more than I already was.
Here's some of my Walworth sentiments, Mr. Pip. Invest in portable property. Especially books, that way you can have a friend or two that'll always understand. To collect books is to collect friends.
I have just recently gotten into collecting rare editions of books. Unfortunately, I can barely afford modern editions, let alone first editions. There aren’t very many secondhand bookstores where I live, so I have to rely a lot on the internet. I purchased a copy of Martin Chuzzlewitt that was reported to be from 1868, several years before Charles Dickens died. Although I suspected it was too good to be true, I purchased the book anyway. After doing more research, I discovered that it was printed in the 1930s, but was using a revised text from 1868. Nevertheless, it’s an interesting addition to have. I’m hoping to find more websites that sell rare books.
Hey Collin! I ordered a Folio Society collection of Thomas Hardy books the other day, which I'm looking forward to breaking into. I've got quite a few - Middlemarch in Folio Society, Beowulf, the Greek Tales, and many more. Lovely editions :)
Wonderful! These are great points. I think profit is the worst reason to collect anything. Enjoyment and personal pleasure are my guides. My personal library is carefully curated around me and nobody else. Yes, I have several editions of particular well loved books, and I do not care if they will "make money". Book collecting is just for my own pleasure, and this is truly where the worth of each volume lies. Thank you for this lesson on collecting. Once again, you have given your audience much to think about.
I have a large collection of antique dictionaries. I didn't realize I'd been collecting cheap signet paperback classics until I reorganized my shelves and started pulling out matching editions. I also go for the odd rare book that I want more because I wish to read it than anything else. That's how I landed on a copy of Boar Hog Woman and some rare Thomas Pynchon.
First thing I’ve learned is collect what you love not what you think is rare and you should collect. Don’t like the classics? Don’t waste your money and get something cheap if you want to read it. Love horror like myself? Spec into that and pass on other “mandatory reads” Had this issue when collecting manga and I had to unhaul a lot I just bought because they were popular. I also collect Stephan King. Been collecting him since around 2013 and have all of his books in at least second printing or higher
I just picked up a 1st edition of The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck. It does not have the dust cover, but I am a big Steinbeck fan , so it is special to me. I also picked up a 1st edition of Hemmingway short story collection. I also pulled a 1st edition of the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
I am happy to say I have all of Peter Straub's novels in paperback form. I ordered The Harlan Ellison Hornbook from Thriftbooks, for five dollars. Turns out it was signed. Not addressed to anyone, thankfully. Just Harlan's signature.
Love this topic! Living in Greece, the one thing I really miss about the UK is second hand bookshops. And with Brexit, buying books over the internet can be tricky. If I buy a book from the UK for 40 euros, I have to pay an extra 15 euros in customs processing charges when it arrives and 10 euros in loval VAT. So the book now cost me 65 euros. Just thought I share my pain with an audience that would understand! :-)
I feel your pain. I used to live in Japan, and I gave up on buying anything that wasn't domestic. I relied heavily on my Kindle because sometimes you'd end up paying double just to cover the shipping!
@@BenjaminMcEvoy Ah! You do know how I feel!!! By the way, I know you have outgrown Murakami, but if you want to add a couple of hardbacks to your collection for sentimental reasons Norwegian Wood and also Novelist as a Vocation will soon be out and you can pre-order. Sorry to feed the addiction, but if you hang out with junkies that's what you get. :-)
Points of issue are fun to find, Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis, where the G in Gantry on the spine appears as Cantry, found it as an early collector for cheap. Book Club editions are worthless in the U.S., but I think it is different in U.K. Pick up debut novels and hope the writer improves, it happens. Primacy, I love uncorrected proofs and Advance Readers Copies. Love my signed first of Rabbit Run and other Updike books. Good idea to collect books on books when you begin collecting, I have passed those along to a young colleague when he started collecting. Read your books, be disciminating with hyper moderns, those with giant runs are unlikely to increase substantially in value, so you can read those in paperback or the Kindle. Condition also plays a part, I have a first of McMurtry's Terms of Endearment but it was not printed on acid free paper and they did not age well, hope to come across a later limited at a decent price, I agree patience is important, when a writer has their breakthrough book, it lifts their earlier works as well.
I buy the first Harry Potter book in the native language of each country I visit while I’m there. It brings me good memories of that country when I see the book from that country.
Curators of rare books don't typically wear any gloves to turn the pages, since the gloves cut down on the tactile sensitivity of the fingers and so increase the chances of tearing pages. The best practice is just to have clean, dry hands when touching rare paper or bindings, so there is no transfer of dirt, ink, or oil from fingers to the object. Curators di wear gloves when handling things like metal or glass objects, or photographic negatives, etc. So if you have a very glassy book cover that makes it hard to touch without leaving fingerprints even with clean hands, you might want to use gloves when handling it--or perhaps cover it with mylar. I have several collecting areas, including detective fiction. One area is printed material produced in the Southern United States during our Civil War. Two of the crowning glories of that collections are a copy of Great Expectations and a part of Les Miserables printed in Mobile, Alabama, during the war--very rare Confederate imprints of classic literature.
I collect Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass editions. I have several that are over 100 years old as well as translated editions (German, Icelandic, Norwegian, & Italian). I try to find editions that have unique or intriguing illustrations too.
@@BenjaminMcEvoy thank you! I must say besides my first copy I ever bought, my German edition is by far my favorite. (ISBN 978-3-8369-5864-6 if anyone is curious) The point you make about the joy of the hunt is soooo dead on. It's a wonderful feeling!
I've been something of an ardent book collector for decades; but, alas, after my divorce, I left many of my best first editions with my ex-wife. I don't much limit what I will collect, but my present collection (roughly a thousand books so, not large) emphasizes fiction, and particularly modern mystery and detective fiction. In my shallowness, I also collect books merely because some of them are so beautiful -- the Heritage Press and Easton Press hardcover editions, for example. I don't really pay much attention to whether the book in question is, or is not, likely to increase or decrease in value, and this is in any event a difficult determination to make with any accuracy. Many books that appear to be collectible on the basis of "rarity" turn out not to be, and sometimes, books you don't expect to have special value do turn out to become valuable over a relatively short period of time. Thus, for example, a while back I came upon John Le Carre's "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" trilogy in fairly pristine first printings, and for whatever reason these seem now to command some premium prices. But I won't be selling them. I also have the twenty-five volumes of Sue Grafton's "alphabet mysteries," a number of them signed, in first printings (with "A" and "B" only in second printings, alas) but I won't be selling off those either. Also, there is James A. Michener's Easton Press edition of his very fine "Space" in two volumes. These appear to getting somewhat scarce. Just for fun, I've obtained first printings of most of J. J. Marric's "Gideon" series. I've perhaps eighty or so signed books, and my favorite of those has to be David Levitt's two different versions of his fine novel "While England Sleeps," which was the subject of one of the larger literary scandals of the last century. It's odd. If one is an ardent book collector, one comes to love one's books almost as one loves one's children. Thanks for describing some of your own favorites among your collection. I hope you'll tell us more about it as it continues to grow.
I have read about 125 books that I unequivocally....LOVE. Although largely for different reason and subject matters....SELLECTIVE FEW...but my collection. I AM STILL SEARCHING FOR Eight- 8 books that Ive read....CANNOT FIND or cant remember the author or title...but, CAN remember 100 pgs of material of the 325 pgs. They fall soooo, easily from my lips......it drives me nuts. ILL KEEP LOOKING. GOOD LUCK Starting Your Unique Book Collection
Collecting with your interests in mind: I am always on the lookout for Old beekeeping books. I have a 1935 ABC XYZ of Bee Culture. It's exquisite. (Look up its embossed cover specific for that year.) Trying to figure out how to stop it's erosion. Anyway. I have a host of bee books.
I only a few antique books...my favourite find being a gorgeous leatherbound copy of Keble's "The Christian Year" from the 1800's. I do have a massive collection of 19th century literature, all hardcover, most being from Folio Society, over the past 30 years, but also the Cambridge Editions of the Complete Poetical Works of the famous poets. Also children's classics, most from Folio Society, lots of books on Victorian society and literature, daily life, etc., and art books on English country house decoration and the Pre-Raphaelites. Right now I am collecting the works of Alison Uttley! I am trying to keep my interests concise, but some sci-fi and high fantasy has slipped in!
I have become a collector without realizing. I love hardback spiritual books and mythology; Talmud, Quran, "Iliad and Odyssey", "Gilgamesh", old astrology books, anything by Kahlil Gibran and sages, egyptian books, and grimoires. Would love to get my hands on a handwritten Ethiopian bible translated into English with illustrations. It started years ago when an illiterate man gifted me a hard illustrated copy of "Bhagavad Gita" and told me, "you are going to need this." I lost that book in a move and am calling it back to me. Also, looking to stumble on an old complete copy of the 256 odus with patakis.
I have recently begun collecting dog stories. Old Yeller was my favorite as a child and I have discovered that there are several authors who wrote many stories about dogs and certain publishers that reprinted many under dog stories collections. It has become quite a lot of fun to hunt them down and read them. ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING has a political bent nowadays or is woke for the sake of being woke or politically correct…none of these old books are and I Love It! I’ve also begun collecting canine nonfiction and have run across some really interesting things I didn’t even know about, so that’s been a lot of fun as well.
Great video, Ben! I've been on a book buying hobby for a few years. An update on my Proust Project: I am absolutely loving Proust. It seems I've found an author who I can relate to on a incredibly deep level. Today, I visited my local bookshop and found a 1928 edition of Swann's Way printed by Modern Library and a first edition 1930 print of Anna Karenina Modern Library. Anna had the name of either the previous owner or first owner written in it. There are two other goodies I found; however, I figured the most notable should be mentioned. Happy Reading!
Thank you, Canton :) I'm thrilled to hear that your Proust Project is going so well. Marcel is a very special writer to me too. I can see quite a bit of myself in him, and would have loved to have met him. Nice one on picking up those Modern Library editions. I love these as much as the Everyman Library editions. And it's always exciting to see something of the previous owner left behind! Happy reading :)
I cannot express how happy i am for recently having the same edition of Jules Verne "A Captain At Fifteen" i read back in high school because the edition is from 1975, and i was more lucky because it is practically in perfect condition and i bought it for 2 dollars 🙏
That is such an incredible discovery! I was recently going through a very old box of books, and I found this brilliant Reader's Digest edition of Jules Verne's 'Around the World in 80 Days', with a really interesting booklet about the author's life tucked inside. I read the thing cover-to-cover right then and there :)
After noticing a decline in children's literature (particularly the accompanying artwork, but also subject matter), I decided to collect all the older fairy tale books I could find, preferably illustrated - as well as other older children's books. I have also collected older magic books and catalogs. Otherwise, my library is eclectic.
It’s funny and you are absolutely, you can just ‘luck’ into a completed ‘collection’ without knowing it. I knew I had American hardbacks of every Harry Potter and got them when they came out. It’s only now that I realize, ‘oh, oh they are first editions and in good shape too.’ I’ll never sell them because they were a seminal part of my childhood, but it’s sure weird how these things work. Also, I don’t know if my parents knew because my copy of Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone was initially in paperback and the one they bought me to complete the full collection of hardbacks, I just realized today (got it like 1+ years ago) is also luckily a US first edition.
Dollar stores can be an unexpected source. My teenage son acquired numerous Hardy Boys first editions, all in great shape and extremely cheap. Unfortunately no Dickens or Hardy !
Gosh! I never knew that 1st editions vary from subsequent editions!! My collection is pretty weird really.... since 1984, as a teenager, I have been collecting books on The Rolling Stones, of all things! I have over 80. I loved the music, not so much their current music, but music from the 60s & 70s. My piece de resistance is Exile by Dominique Tarle. It cost me a pretty penny in 2001 when it came out, but it is very rare, signed by the author, and it has very much increased in value... not that I would ever sell. I have a few other rarities too, combined with vinyl and cds. I also have a 1st edition East of Eden by Steinbeck... my favourite by him. PS, I've recently joined your Patreon book club and love it. Thanks for the amazing output, Ben 👏😊 Regards, Ruth.
That is so cool, Ruth! I'm not sure how many people know this, but I'm a huge Rolling Stones fan. Exile on Main St. was the first album I bought, and continues to be my favourite today. A signed first edition of Exile certainly is an incredible gem! What a brilliant collection :) And the first edition of East of Eden is very cool too - also my personal favourite Steinbeck. And thank you so much for your kind words about the club! I'm so happy you're reading with us, Ruth 😊
@@BenjaminMcEvoy That's gas that you are a fan! 🤭😊👏 Exile, the book, is about the making of the album and has photos from the time by the author/photographer. Looking forward to our bookclub read of Ulysses and getting past page 116! 😁
My dream would be to have a signed first edition of The Waves by Virginia Woolf. She's my favourite writer, and The Waves is my favourite novel of hers, and my favourite book full stop. When I moved from Australia to the UK for a couple of years, it was one of only two books I took with me (and even while there, I bought a very small hardback copy, one that could easily fit in a coat pocket). There are currently 35 books on my Virginia Woolf bookshelf in my library - all her novels, plus short stories, essays, articles, memoir, diaries, letters, books about VW, etc. I would also love to have a signed first edition of Jacob's Room, Virginia Woolf's third novel, because she felt it was the first novel in which she was truly writing in her own voice. It was the first of her novels that was more experimental. In stepping away from the mould she felt she was closer to being in her element, so I would feel a little closer to her with one of those first, signed editions. Also, those works were published by The Hogarth Press, which was set up by her and Leonard, so it's likely that one of those editions would have had Virginia's and Leonard's hands behind setting the type and stitching the binding.
I collect Everyman and Folio Society, and have done so for decades. I have a Keats collection too, much slower to grow, but I include biographies and critiques of Keats. In a sense, I collect Shakespeare in that I collect the annual "Shakespeare Survey", which has all the latest scholarship on Shakespeare. Some volumes are quite expensive, but there is a lot of reading in them by people working in the field and go back to 1948, so almost all of my lifetime. My current project is collecting the new Edinburgh edition of Scott , plus I have a collection of his poems and the first edition biography by his son- in -law in early editions. I know he's not fashionable, but I don't care. In the early 70s an English Lit. academic said I was wasting my time on Dickens, and I said in twenty years your students will be writing Phds on Dickens, and he poo-hooed the idea. Fashion is ephemeral, good, entertaining and thoughtful literature isn't. Patronage is not dead, Unbound publishes books that have been funded by patrons who commit to just buying a copy of the eventual published work. Oh, and I have a completed collection of Terry Pratchett, a fun wonderful, writer, that if you scratch below the fantasy deals with many issues of modern life. He is my comfort read for those grey, wet Devon winter days when the rain blows off the sea and over my house.
Well as reader and book lover it was great to know you and is truly a great experience for me. There are certain books or writers , notably Cormac McCarthy I have read as per your suggestions . If possible like thins video , do a Vlog for kindle or physical books. I am great advocate for paper books. But honestly , in last three years it kindle which I have read , really everything I read was on kindle. What I did if I like some book after I read , only then I went to purchase physical copy of it, for example Remembrance of things past. It is like a trophy for me . But I read this , almost all the time kindle. Same with victor hugo and others . What is your take on it ? I do recommend to have separate kindle device for kindle books , why ? Because it does not do anything else apart from making you read , iPads etc and I get easily distracted. But I think it’s an interesting debate , but your point of view as lover of literature can inform many potential readers regarding positives and minuse of each medium.
I prefer paperback to hardcover, so I don’t know if I’d ever go all in for first editions, as right now I’m just collecting the most easily accessible versions of books I enjoy, mostly genre fiction and classics. If I did go more of a series collecting approach, I’d probably start collecting Gollancz’s SF Masterworks as the covers for those are phenomenal.
You can definitely build a very special collection with paperbacks. There are so many paperback runs that I adore, including Gollancz's SF Masterworks, which you mentioned. The covers are works of art :)
Beware of the ‘Poison ‘ books. I had a copy of a beautiful little book of poetry printed in 1800s of William Cowper’ poetry. The cover a nice shade of green contains arsenic. Found out later of its deadliness.
Hello Benjamin, I am a bookseller and a collector. Just wanted to let you know at one time, before modern printing, 1st editions were valued because the earliest imprint of a press book was considered to be the clearest. Subsequent editions were less sought after as they were more likely to have small imperfections because of the wearing down of the type. This is also true in limited edition press books where each book is numbered. So in a limited edition of 300, number 4 is more sought after than number 267. I am enjoying your videos. Thanks.
Great info!! Thks!
Is it just me? I don’t care as much for the “first edition” type as I do what the edition looks like. For instance, I’d rather have a whole library of Easton press and Franklin library rather than spending hundreds and thousands on rare beat up first editions.
Benjamin, this topic reminded me of an early experience that opened my eyes to the world of book collecting on a scale that had been unknown to me. I still find it amusing to recall visiting New York with my parents in late 1986 when I was a teenager because of one notable excursion. I was left alone in my room in our Manhattan hotel on a rainy day that November and wanted to find a "used/rare" bookstore nearby. In very fine print in the yellow pages was some place called H. P. Kraus (that was it, no further description). OK, I thought that this would do because it was so close. I'll just walk over there. The buzzer on the door was the first indication that something was very different about this "bookstore" at 16 E. 46th St. The second was the nonplussed almost baffled expression on the face of the person who answered the door. She (Kit Currie) had the most refined English-British accent I had ever heard in person. “Would you like to see a catalogue?” she asked. “Yes, thank you.” I saw around the room floor-to-ceiling glass bookcases and another younger woman (who I learned was H.P. Kraus’s daughter) at the back of the room. (Thinking-Wow.S__T!, Jay...what have you gotten yourself into??)
I think she (Kit Currie) enjoyed showing catalogues to a lone 16-year-old kid who literally walked in off the street that dreary gray day. This experience was my introduction to Western illuminated manuscripts and incunabula. I could not afford anything, but I later received a copy of Kraus Catalogue 173: The Fifteenth Century.
I think my persistence resulted in my name being placed by Mrs. Folter, HP’s daughter, on their catalogue mailing list until the decision was made to close the 46th St. location about 2002. My last visit there was in 1995. Mrs. Folter graciously arranged for a magnificent copy of the Speculum Doctrinale of Vincentius Bellovacensis [printed in Strasbourg, The R-Printer (Adolf Rusch), before 11 February 1478] to be brought out from the vault ahead of time. I wanted to see the “beautiful original South German monastic binding of blind-stamped pigskin over bevelled wooden boards, panelled with double and triple rules, 5 large chiselled brass bosses on each side, with clasps and brass catches, Ms. Exlibris of the monastery of St. Mang at Füssen with their 15th-century paper title-label and separate shelf-mark on front cover; bookplate of the Starkenstein family of Switzerland.”
We talk of coffee table books, but this superb and massive specimen of late medieval bookmaking was the size of a small coffee table and weighed about as much.
There are few “bookstores” of that ilk left in the world today.
Jay
Jay, this was such a beautiful story. Thank you so much for sharing this with me, my friend. You've sent me down an exhilarating rabbit hole to learn more about the Speculum Doctrinale of Vincentius Bellovacensis. Extraordinary. I completely agree with you that we don't have many bookstores like that today. Many of my favourite ones have died out. When I find a special one, I support it as best as I can 😊📚
@@BenjaminMcEvoy Benjamin, after that experience and for several years I bought 11 incunabula including some in their original fifteenth-century bindings. The problem though was an increasing realization that I was treating these as artifacts rather than as literature. Really, who wants to read a volume of St. Bonaventura in Latin no matter what kind of binding encases it? I sold all of them before I was 30 in 2000. In the intervening years I have found ways to see and sometimes handle stellar books without owning them through summer and autumn courses sponsored through Rare Book School in Charlottesville, VA. In 2012 I spent a week at the Morgan Library in NYC studying medieval manuscripts, and the following summer I went to the Scheide Library at Princeton to see among other books without intervening bullet-proof glass a Gutenberg Bible in its original binding and the four Shakespeare folios. There is also a London Rare Books School at the Institute of English Studies (ies.sas.ac.uk/london-rare-books-school). My point is that now I buy only books of literature to be read. My advice is to read what you enjoy, and if you spot a particularly nice and affordable copy of a favorite book, buy it! The Website vialibri.net is the best place to start. It tells you where a copy of the book you might want can be located anywhere, i.e. Direct From the Seller, AbeBooks, Alibris, Antikvariat, Buchfreunde, Biblio, eBay (UK)(US), Amazon.com/uk/fr/de/it/au, Antiqbook, ZVAB, maremagnum, etc.
I have been binge watching a few of your videos and it has gotten me excited at 45 to start hitting the classics and enjoying the paradise that is reading!
Thank you so much! That is so kind of you to say :) I really appreciate you watching and reading along with me!
P@@BenjaminMcEvoy
I don't have a very large budget. So, my book " collection" consists of several shelves of books with Thrift Books stickers on their spines. They aren't very handsome looking, but I do love having my own little library from which I can pick out my reading material. I do enjoy seeing other people's antiquarian book collections, though. ☺️
As long as you can read them, and line them up on a bookshelf... who cares? you got a bargain!
I have two small collections of non-fiction books that are very dear to me...cookbooks and home decorating books from the 60's and 70's. I feel like a time-traveler as I delve into how people decorated their homes and what they ate. Also, I was born in 1969, so seeing many of the interiors and reading certain recipes brings back wonderful childhood memories. I've even come across recipes in Southern Living cookbooks and realized with a start that it is a dish my mother or grandmother used to make. And cooking from them and eating the results is quite literally the icing on the cake! ;) I also have an interest in collecting first editions of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series, Arthur C. Clarke's science fiction novels, and Madeline L' Engle's juvenile fiction. I have a copy of her book A Ring of Endless Light signed to me personally and it's one of my most treasured books.
Don’t know how I missed this video all week!
I collect children’s collections of fable, fairy tales and/or poetry from the late 19th c to mid 20th c. For me it’s more of a personal endeavor, but I do try to find high quality editions. I’ve chosen this niche because:
1. I have small children and love sharing these classic tales with them, much better than most of the modern twaddle. 2. They remind me of my beloved nana, who had a few collections of nursery rhymes from her childhood in the early 1900’s that I discovered on a high shelf as a teen and fell in love with. 3. The turn of the century was the ‘golden age’ of illustration here in the West, and is absolutely unmatched. Many of these illustrations are found in these children’s classics, and I am a nut for great pen-and-ink illustration.
Great topic, Ben!
What a beautiful collection, Cai! And your reasons for collecting are so inspiring. The turn of the century really did gift us with so many incredible illustrators. Arthur Rackham's fairy tale illustrations, and his depictions for The Wind in the Willows, are some of my personal favourites. I also adore the Beatrix Potter story - her illustrations are so nostalgic to me :)
A very helpful video! I enjoy collecting copies of books that really thrilled me when I first read them; books that left an impact on me.
I am a librarian by education. I have had two careers, one as a librarian, the other as a Systems Administrator (UNIX is my second language). I would say over the course of my life, I had acquired 3,000 books. Six months ago, we moved to a smaller home, about half the size , and I had to literally divest about 75% of my physical books.
I went through a decision process for each book, and although it was difficult, I kept the ones that meant the most: A Riverside Shakespeare, an Edgar Allan Poe, a beautiful new Everyman's Library Edition of the Duke's Children by Anthony Trollope, a 1942 hardback edition of Louise and Aylmer Maude's translation of War and Peace, and a few out of print books. All the rest I gave away, including The Great Books of the Western World that my father gave me when I was four, because I replaced all of them with Kindle books.
The only book I miss is Harold Bloom's The Best Poems of the English Language, but I believe I will be able to replace it with e-books. I gave the book away to a young aspiring poet, so I hope the book will be encouraging.
3,000 books is an incredibly impressive collection! I can relate to the pain involved in cutting the collection down so drastically. I also moved quite recently, and there isn't a ton of space for books, so I was forced to decide which ones meant the most to me. It's ultimately a rewarding exercise. I love the editions you decided to keep, Karen. I have a Riverside Shakespeare that means a lot to me (and a Chaucer), both with little college seals in the front in recognition of getting strong marks in my exams. How wonderful of you to have gifted Bloom's excellent anthology to a young aspiring poet. I never regret the books I give away. Many of the books that meant the most to me are now in someone else's possession. A book can be life-changing, so, as a gift, it can't really be beat!
i have ambition to know people like you, and not for gifts! respect
This is helpful. As somewhat of a book collector myself (I'm cataloging my books as I write this), I've found it challenging to narrow down my specific niche.
I am so happy it was helpful! How exciting to hear you're cataloguing your books. That's always so much fun :)
I recently started collecting the blue Pelican non-fiction books of the 40's, 50's, 60's that are now of course out of print. I find the subject matter incredibly diverse and interesting, and the aesthetic quite charming. They aren't particularly rare obviously, but it's such a big collection that i won't run out of books to collect for years to come. I have around 10 so far, all purchased for a few dollars each at op-shops and second-hand stores.
That's so cool! I recently stumbled across a haul of these very books whilst helping family, and they really are such treasures. They don't print books like this anymore. The subject matter, as you say, is so diverse. They look beautiful. And they're rich in content. What a brilliant collection - you have a fun journey ahead of you :)
Same here! I have recently started collecting vintage Penguin books. I'd found a 1949 edition of John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men (on Amazon of all places!) and have been on the lookout ever since. I study English Literature and have mainly been focusing on the Pelican English literature books because of that.
This topic makes me think of the film The Ninth Gate where Johnny Depp is hunting down a rare book. Inspiring and excellent as always my friend.
I'll have to check that film out! Thanks for the recommendation :) That's my evening viewing sorted!
Hey Ben! Book collecting is one of my favorite things. I have a weird way that I go about it. Estate sales! I collect only classic books. It's hard finding first editions, first printings, but I love getting close. I have found many first editions, with later printings. For me, it's honestly such a joy to pick through estate sale books and get home and start doing the research. I have landed a few 1st printings this way! I will keep the best version of each of my favorite books. Many are not even first editions. Ill keep the oldest printing and best condition title that i find. I will often buy duplicates of the classics I love and take those to the classic book shop in my home town and trade them in for in store credit and grab an old book that ive wanted for my book shelf. I usually only pay about $1-5 per boook. Also, I collect book shelf decorations.
I have been collecting first editions for 20 years now. My greatest passion is my greatest torment.
Nice one! Perfect way of putting it. The etymology of "passion" contains the meaning of suffering - like the Passion of Christ. Torment is so often a sign that something is personally meaningful to us!
😊
Definitely people should read the rare books they buy. I can't think of anything more sad than a book's content forever trapped between its covers because its owner is too scared to handle it.
Hear! Hear! 👏👏
OMG. Siddharta was recommended to me by one of my classmates in College. I read it that Summer and I have never forgotten the effect it had on me. Really glad to see you love it too.
I discovered your chanel today, i liked your view in collecting books, i'm brazilian and i like collecting brazilian/portuguese books and autors, but i have interest in picking some english books, especially the old ones, but i don't think my english is good enough to apreciate them yet. Thanks for the video :D
Hi! I try to collect one of my favourite books in different languages: 100 years of Solitude. I read it about 25 years ago, in portuguese (I'm brazilian). Then i learnt spanish and bought the book in this language. Now, even i can't read another language, I have that book in french, greek and german.
Hello, my husband collects old fishing and sailing books. He has amassed a huge collection including a first edition confessions of a carp fisher by BB. Every book is much loved and reread regularly. The fishing ones are gentle and the sailing ones are adventurous. I don’t really have a particular collection except I love old illustrated books and any book that has a personal message written inside e.g... ‘to Betty on her 21st birthday, love from Aunty Forsythia’. There is no worth in it but I just love thinking about the recipient opening the book and why that book was chosen as a gift.
That's a very special collection! I find I'm most interested in readers who collect books on their outdoor sports. I always get a glimpse into a fascinating world I don't know much about. I love finding books that have personal messages written inside too. It makes me feel a sense of connection - another reader, just like me, had this book and it meant something to them!
What a great video. I’m a photographer and I collect photography books so yes, collect what you love!
I have two different niches when it comes to book collecting: I collect early editions of Faulkner Novels (I recently found a first edition of The Mansion for $75 which was such a good find) and I collect major literary works in their original language. I think the great part about this is that I have two different niches, one is much more difficult, and one is much easier, and I can pretty much add to it whenever I like. My Faulkner collection is much more difficult to add to, but is so much more rewarding when I do find and purchase that First Edition I've been clamoring for, but that doesn't mean my world language collection is less valuable. I've always found my world languages collection keeps me in the hobby, because of the fact that it's easy, and if I am feeling like I want to grow my bookshelf, I can find a piece that I want to order in it's original language, and I get that dopamine hit of adding to my collection without going through all that much effort to get one of those books.
I also think there needs to be a sweet spot for having a collection niche. I think Faulkner lands right in there, where he's popular enough where his early editions are in circulation, but not so popular that they are impossible to find or are way out of my price range. He might edge slightly towards the "too difficult to collect to be worth it" side of things because he did not sell well while he was alive, but I think that's the perfect setup for a collection niche that is difficult but also extremely rewarding.
Early editions of Faulkner novels! What a great idea for a collection. I also love that you collect major works in their original language. I started to do this myself when I really fell in love with a particular work, and after lots of deep reading. I can't read the originals, but having them there is quite motivating, as I'm sure I'll learn some of the languages in the future, but it also feels like you have something a little closer to the author. Anna Karenina, Don Quixote, and Les Misérables are three works that leap to mind for me - I pore over the original languages despite not being able to read them. I completely agree with you on the "sweet spot", and Faulkner sounds like he's right in the middle of it when it comes to book collecting!
My most treasured book, for both sentimental reasons and because it is probably worth something monitarily, is a first American edition of the Jungle Book. Sentimental not because I love Kipling so, but because I inherited it from my uncle. So I'll never get rid of it. I have a tiny antique collection besides, that.
Otherwise, due to spatial reasons I can't really be anything but a magpie and not be overly focused. Though I'd like to acquire some nice Austen's just so I can use my paperbacks for annotating.
I’ve started unknowingly to collect a few books on a subject I love, the circus and the fairs. With this in mind I’m particularly interested in the characters behind the scenes especially dubious ones ie pickpockets and magician, performers who were led into this world from a checkered past. First additions is something I’m going to focus on and I’ve only found a few so far but they have been out of my price range. Whilst learning al the time your inspiration has set me on a trail of fun in book collection, thank you very much. Glen
I've been collecting books for a long long time. And last month I decided to make a log of all the books in my house. It took me about a week to do so. My account at this point is 2763.. not counting the additional 300 on Kindle.
Wow! You have an impressive library right there. It must be satisfying to have them all logged :)
@@BenjaminMcEvoy well it was a job and I'm glad I did it. I can categorize them for when I'm no longer here and where they should be distributed to. But it took me all of my adult life which is several decades. But I love them many of them are very old some are not most classics I don't have a lot of fiction. But they're like children I love them all!
There is nothing like seeing "It" the very first time.. at the library book sale every Monday, at a thrift store in SE Portland, at the great queen of them all, Powell's Bookstore downtown.. or an old bookstore on the coast.. and suddenly, there it is and you realize "it could be mine! You se your hand reaching out, under It's own power, it seems... and then walking out to the parking lot with it... this can only happen once, but it happens enough that it keeps you searching always.. This is the thrill of collecting. It is not meant for everyone, but if you are one of the lucky ones, then you know there is nothing like it, and keep the flame alive! Great videos Benjamin, thanks! AL
The original first edition Stephen King covers were the ones I knew as a teen in the 80s. My sister collected them and each cover I found so fascinating, especially Carrie and The Shining. They were true pieces of art!
I'm with you there, Jeremy. I adore these first edition covers. I've been taking note of who designed each one. They really are like pieces of art - and so iconic!
@@BenjaminMcEvoy I once set a Firestarter jacket on fire in the microwave, I already had a copy I purchased when new, but I found a nice looking copy at a thrift store to use for trade credit and when I gave it a 30 second zap in the microwave to get rid of any possible vermin, the metallic paint on the jacket burned, pretty cool as it looked like it was meant to be that way. I made some good trades by taking volumes on vacation with me to areas where the book would have local interest. Traded an early 1900s edition on Florida's flora and fauna for a first of Rosemary's Baby, I loved Ira Levin books too.
Wow I am trying to collect Stephen King too and this sounds so cool🤩
We all love your stories and excitement sending love from a new Zealand book collector
Thank you so much, my friend. I appreciate you watching over in beautiful New Zealand 🇳🇿🙏
I just very recently picked up a 1911 copy of Anna Karenina, and a 1914 copy of Crime and Punishment, both published by William Heinemann Ltd. I'm definitely not planning on investing in many 100+ year old books, but these two novels are masterpieces. The only other novel I plan to purchase of that age is The Brothers Karamazov, my other favourite novel. Aren't books just a wonderful, wonderful thing. Truly love your channel mate.
Where do you buy your books?
@@gutenbird I found Anna Karenina on eBay, and crime and punishment on Amazon. But my other older books are mostly Op shops/thrift shops, Ive found a 1970 copy of War and Peace and a 1946 copy The Magic Mountain both at op shops as examples ☺️
I collect Bible translations. I currently have close to 50 English translations and about a dozen foreign language Bibles
Very cool. Are you personally a believer in the Bible's message?
@@TheThinkInstitute absolutely. The King James Bible is my most treasured possession
Hi Benjamin, I’m a high school history teacher here in the US and collect older Southern fiction and books about the Old South/ Civil War/ Antebellum period. No one cares about it but I love it. I have some very old editions of Gone with the Wind, some great old Uncle Remus editions and others too. I think this type of collection is controversial but as a historian, I’m dedicated to giving all books a good home.
I’m a lover of books - first as a reader and for the last 15 years as a collector. I’ve learned so much, made my share of mistakes and learned to collect what I love, and to be patient. I have also learned from other collectors and dealers about the business and their love of the book trade. I collect history, philosophical and economics related titles with a focus on liberty and the American experiment. First editions are mostly out of my budget but it’s amazing what settling for secondary 1st editions as well as 2nd and 3rd editions of important works will do for one’s library. I collect because I love books, love to look and admire them and to imagine previous owners and their own relationships with my books
If the Lincoln in the Bardo is a Canadian first edition it’s unlikely to increase in value that much as the collectible first dictions are the US edition (true first) and the UK edition (Booker winner). Follow the flag etc
I have the US one, but still cannot imagine selling it even if it does increase in value!
WWII Books. I own 282 of those. Collected for reading. I'm affascinated about the war, the operation, the soldiers, the commanders, the weapons everythings! In this period i buy a lot of books of all the battle on the seas. On Pacific, Atrlantic and Mediterranean sea.
I bought Lincoln in the Bardo at a used bookstore after hearing about it in your videos and I just saw that it's a first edition too, so cool!
Congratulations :) What a great find!
I did too. It was a great recommendation. When I finished it I immediately began reading it again at page1. This guy would make a great book salesman wouldn't he? ~LOL~
Again Yassine is here , the Moroccan one, though it's middle night now, m watching carefully your videos, your pronunciation and your strong arguments and opinions ❤️✨
much love
Wise words, valuable thoughts, and considerations. Thank you for helping me return to this amazing journey of book collecting.
Thank you so much, my friend :) I really appreciate that!
Ben, great topic, well explored. I have a large personal library, with a number of what I call sub-collections ( Bob Dylan, England Test cricket, field guides to animals and plants, chess, Doctor Doolittle, evolution, etc. some of these topics can be obscure to the uninitiated - Robert Crumb, Philip Guston, Australian explorers, Hillsborough Disaster, Beethoven, etc. And of course particular authors are explored in depth - William Faulkner, Harlan Ellison, DH Lawrence, Harold Bloom, Patrick White, etc ). That rule about “collect what you love” is the most important rule, I think. To collect for investment purposes seems alien to my sensibilities. And reading great literature from a screen is not for me. I need a physical paper copy - it connects me with every other reader of my chosen physical text, with the tactility and texture of paper, and my own childhood, when devouring whole libraries seemed routine.
Thank you for your thoughts, Ben. And happy hunting!
Thank you :) I'm completely with you on that! Collect what you love. Do what you love. Spend time with people you love. I'm reminded of Ray Bradbury's story of how he tore up his Buck Rogers comic strips as a child because his friends made fun of them. The next day, he realised they weren't his friends, and he was much happier collecting what he loved - and he never looked back! Happy reading, my friend!
Hi Ben, I collect The Folio Society editions. I purchase them at Christmas and for my birthdays. Usually my parents buy me a folio society edition for Christmas and birthday as gifts as some are expensive. Sometimes, I buy some in the sale. I love buying them as gifts for my mum. I've bought some of my mum's favourite novels in a folio society edition. To Kill A Mocking Bird wasn't easy to find in a folio but I found one and was very happy with it. Mostly I have classics such as Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Frankenstein, Rebecca, Dracula, etc, etc in folio society editions but more recently I've bought Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies in these editions. The Mirror and The Light comes out in folio society this Christmas. My collection tells people I'm a romantic, likes some gothic style literature and enjoys historical fiction as well.
What a great video. I’m definitely going to test the waters of book collecting. I’m lucky enough to have happened upon a few notable first editions: Richard Wright’s “Native Son,” Betty Smith’s “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” and my father n law gifted me Henry Adam’s “The Education of Henry Adams.” I also have a couple volumes from the Little Leather Library, little green pocket editions that were sold in drug stores in the ‘20s. From what I understand they are fairly attainable and inexpensive, so I think I’ll start there.
Thanks for sharing - just started collecting vintage scifi and have 2 book hauls and also just started a channel too on my finds and what the hobby is about! New sub today and love the tips
I collect several obscure authors who's novels were made into 1950's swashbuckler B-roll movies. Rafael Sabatini (Captain Blood and The Sea Hawk, with Errol Flynn), P.C. Wren (Beau Geste, with Gary Cooper). They are relatively easy to find in first editions, and are fantastic reads. I also have a collection of L.L. Baum's Oz books - not the first editions, but the "white book" Reilly reprints, because that's what I read as a child. Speaking of childhood memories, my grade school library had a section of Scribner's Illustrated Classics. In reproducing that shelf in my own library, I've found myself accidentally collecting books based on the illustrator - mostly N.C. Wyeth, but also Dulac, Rackham, and Pyle.
Like you, I collect Everyman’s Library editions, which I treasure. It’s so fun to find them in second hand bookstores. I started about 3 years ago and have amassed around 120. I love the EL Pocket Poets, too. Oh, and Agatha Christie. I collect the black faux leather Bantam books when I see them second hand.
Wow! 120 amassed over the course of 3 years is really great going. This is one of the reasons why I love secondhand bookstores. You almost always find these Everyman editions among the stacks. Agatha Christie is a really nice one to collect too. She's on my little list of authors I'd love to collect in the future.
I collect the Romantic poets- I have a few beautiful old copies collected from secondhand bookstores in Vancouver. Most are editions from the '30s and '40s and often have inscriptions in them from people who gifted them to a friend or lover. I also have all twelve volumes of Byron's journals. Next up for me is finding that Fabbri Chapman Hall edition of 'Bleak House' which is my Dicken's 'entry' book and still my favourite of all. I saw your collection of those volumes and fell in love with the look of them.
great video! I started book collecting about a year ago and I should have watched this video first lol. I was kind of all over the place in the beginning but have since become more focused on what type of editions I am more interested in.
This video has inspired me to go hunting for first editions of Nietzsche (in both English and German) on the Internet. Needless to say, they are ridiculously expensive. The cheapest I found is a £65 first English edition of Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Still, I can see that hunting for these treasures could be really fun.
That edition is a treasure! Happily surprised you picked it and went back for it! 💕
Very interesting and useful video, thanks! I have only recently started considering myself a book collector, although I have been collecting (specific, selected) books for over 15 years and I have a library of over 1200 books, but it's only recently that I have started paying attention to things like the specific edition, the translation, where possible (for me to read it) buying them in the original language, etc. and I guess doing that kind of research and paying that kind of attention is what I felt was missing for me to call myself a book collector. I've been super excited recently because I found a thrift store, more of a flea market really, in my area that is ENORMOUS, probably some 15k sqm, that doesn't pay any attention to the books they receive but they empty cellars and attics so they get a lot of old books, beautiful (some first) editions for 1-2€ each or so. I found some absolute gems there and some things that I'd been looking for for a while.
Recently found your channel and I love it, thanks for sharing your enthusiasm and love of literature and life. I was one of those people who found Siddhartha at the right time in my life, and was never the same. Started me on a long journey of discovery and eventually peace, and I’m a bit jealous of your copy! 😆 cheers, keep up the good work! Sending love from Boston MA U.S.
Thank you so much! I'm so happy to have you here reading along with me :) Siddharta's definitely a special one - it's one of those works that I think about on practically a daily basis. Happy reading over in the great city of Boston, my friend!
@@BenjaminMcEvoy wher r u from???;;;;;;;
I try to collect at least one signed book of all the alive Autors i enjoy.
And one specific book in the language of the Country i visit, i am not far with it unfortenatley.
That's so cool! :)
BMc. I collected Penguin classics for years . Kind of like Ginesh in Naipaul's, 'The Mystic Maseur' .
I am a poor man's collector, except for my art books, i love paperbacks . Anyhow , back to the Penguin's. Until the last couple decades Penguins weren't printed on acid free paper . Many of them are yellowing , deteriorating. Should I trade them in so someone could get a good last read out of them? Some are oddities worth keeping? Maybe ?
Any thoughts?
I collect books from my personal canon in Folio Society editions. Even though they aren’t the rarest books I own, that particular shelf always brings a smile to my face. Their edition of Anna Karenina illustrated by Angela Barrett is one of my favorites - and pairs perfectly with the HCLBC lectures. 😊
Absolutely stunning editions, wish I had the money for them and in particular the limited edition ones! I’ll pick one up eventually I’m sure.
@@kieranhooton9665 Keep an eye on the second-hand market. Patience pays off and can score you some really special finds. I’ve found all of mine that way, and it makes for a fun search.
@@davidcosta4949 and they often exist in very good condition, even unread, second hand, as I am sure you have found too.
Thank you ... your tips are very helpful. I recently started re-reading and collecting books on Elvis Presley and it's fun .... patience is very important ... I'm mostly just an avid reader but I realized I want to continue reading and collecting related books and publications about him. When I was younger some of the books & magazines were easier to find but I didn't have money back then.
I'm collecting classics but only in clothbound editions, whether old or new. I also collect anything in written form on Superman. 😊
That is seriously so cool!! I love that :)
Great video.
Tons of awesome information.
Cheers!!!
It started with buying vintage books I like here and there.
Your video is encouraging me to organise my buys a bit more. I am glad I found your channel.
One of my personal favorite is the 80s French edition of Stephen King 'It' in paperback, it's the edition I first read the novel in. The cover illustration is absolutely horrific and I love it🤣🤣🤣
I understand why you fell for that temptation - Siddhartha is a Great Novel.
Absolutely :) it’s been lovely rereading it again with this edition!
Thank you for your video. It was exactly what I was looking for. Your advice was everything I needed to hear to reassure me that I am on the right path. Buying what I love and if it's not valuable to someone else at least I will enjoy owning it.
Excellent introduction Benjamin. I have a ridiculously large library related to my studies in the shifting winds of culture. I have some special areas of interest. While music is a serious area of interest I find that as a 'special area', it's too vague, amorphous and popular. I do have a few specialities though, I have been studying puppet history since the early aughts. And by puppets I do not mean Muppets™ nor insipidly cute children's fare, I mean puppets as art. Consequently I have several hundred books related to puppetry by now. Puppetry compared to music is obviously much more niche. And as a result the books (and DVDs) I've accumulated are much harder to find. And become quite valuable in fairly short time. Not that that has anything to do with my collecting. I am purely here for the information and inspiration.
I also collect books along side of puppetry as well; books on masks, masques, commedia dell'arte, automata, puppet animation. And I also have within my interest a very pinpointed interest of European puppetry. And then even more interest in Czech Puppetry. So on a recent trip to Prague, besides actually watching a few serious puppet shows, I also came back with several gorgeous puppet related books.
These books tend to sell slowly, disappear, then seriously appreciate. One Czech book in English was $70 a few years ago, then was being remaindered on Amazon for a mere $8, then rebounded to over $100 in the course of three years. (I bought an extra copy at the slashed price as a gift for a local puppeteer here in Tbilisi Georgia.) So indeed pick something you are truly fascinated with. There is a book on AbeBooks that I am seriously considering as I write. It's about $100. I have spent up to $250 on a book. But I have never regretted it. Thanks for the advice.
There is one regret though, something I didn't buy. The two volume set on European puppet history by Henryk Jurkowski, whom I interviewed before his death. The books were $200 for the pair. Now they are $800 each. Alas...
Hi Ben x
Hope you’re well and happy?
This was a well timed, and super informative video as I’ve just started turning my thoughts towards collecting. I’ve spent the last year or so fine tuning my home library so I can, ‘shop my shelves’ and now I’m looking for a new focus. I love old books and the thought that others owned them before me.
I’m unsure where to go with this but, without realising it, I already have a focus on Dickinson, Dickens and the Brontë Sisters. I primarily have contemporary edition’s of their works but many biographical texts, letters and non-fiction books on the authors. I suppose the next step is to look for older, rarer editions but I suspect that anything to do with the Brontë’s or Emily Dickinson is probably going to be impossible to find or cost prohibitive. I might be in with a chance with Dickens. I would love some of his All the Year Round periodicals so maybe that would be a starting point.
Blackwells rare books might also be worth a browse next time I’m in Oxford x x
Take the best of care.
Hugs, Sharon x x
Hi Sharon :) It's so lovely to hear from you. I hope you're keeping well! If someone had asked me to guess what authors you would focus on collecting, I wouldn't have hesitated to say Emily Dickinson, Charles Dickens, and the Brontë Sisters. Biographies are a great way to build up an author-specific collection. I've realised I've been inadvertently building a Dickens biography collection myself. I would say that you may be in more luck with Dickens, as despite the fact that his All the Year Round periodicals are often valued highly, it's definitely not impossible to come across a stray one here and there. I'll bet it's possible to find a few bargains in this area! If British pubs are keeping these on their shelves without knowing their value, anything is possible... Blackwells' rare books section is great too. I visited recently and made a video on the store, which will go out soon, but I was too shy to ask someone to get the key to open the cabinets. There was a Shakespeare & Co edition of Ulysses, and I just knew there was no way that I was going to be leaving with that.... Happy reading, and stay well :) 😊📚
I would like to begin collecting vintage cookbooks. Books about knitting as I do knit. Or works written by my favorite authors. Thanks for the tips!
I've always had lots of books, but my book collecting fervor was ignited a few years ago when I found 10 first editions by the philosopher Mortimer J. Adler all inscribed to the same priest, whom I presume was a friend of his, in an antique mall. I was a fan of Adler's work and the set was reasonably priced so I picked it up.
Since then I've been building a collection of my favorite fiction authors -- Michael Chabon, Don Delillo, Jonathan Lethem, Rachel Kushner, Thomas Pynchon, Tom Robbins, and others -- in hardcover 1st/1sts, a number of which are signed. I'd say I too often rely on Abe Books (through whom I just purchased a copy of "Book-Collecting as a Hobby") but I love going to rare book shops in the cities I visit to peruse their offerings. The highlights of my collection are a copy of Lethem's Chronic City inscribed to his "friend and master," Thomas Berger, and a 1st/1st of Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49. In terms of strategy I'm looking to build complete sets of 1st/1sts of some of these authors and am very close with Delillo, with a reportedly fine copy of White Noise arriving today. Many of his later works are very reasonably priced.
I'm hoping to attend my first rare book show in Philadelphia next week and am excited by what I might find there!
I also recommend "Autobiography of a Yogi" Paramahansa Yogananda, one of the great spiritual books of all time.
This was a cool video! I been accumulating books for awhile, but only recently have I considered seriously collecting after realizing it's not nearly as expensive as I imagined it would be. As an artist, I always really loved book illustrations and I am considering maybe trying to collect all the Caldicott Award and Honor books. I think the reason I got into book collecting though was the Oz Books. I always wanted to read the series, but the versions they have at places like Barnes and Nobel or similar stores never include illustrations which always made me too annoyed to bother buying them. Recently I found some earlier edition Oz books at a used book store and since then I been getting obsessed with books even more than I already was.
Here's some of my Walworth sentiments, Mr. Pip. Invest in portable property. Especially books, that way you can have a friend or two that'll always understand. To collect books is to collect friends.
Great video as usual...Siddhartha is one of my favourite novels... need to reread it someday :)
I have just recently gotten into collecting rare editions of books. Unfortunately, I can barely afford modern editions, let alone first editions. There aren’t very many secondhand bookstores where I live, so I have to rely a lot on the internet. I purchased a copy of Martin Chuzzlewitt that was reported to be from 1868, several years before Charles Dickens died. Although I suspected it was too good to be true, I purchased the book anyway. After doing more research, I discovered that it was printed in the 1930s, but was using a revised text from 1868. Nevertheless, it’s an interesting addition to have. I’m hoping to find more websites that sell rare books.
Hey Ben, what's your opinion on Folio Society?
Hey Collin! I ordered a Folio Society collection of Thomas Hardy books the other day, which I'm looking forward to breaking into. I've got quite a few - Middlemarch in Folio Society, Beowulf, the Greek Tales, and many more. Lovely editions :)
Wonderful! These are great points. I think profit is the worst reason to collect anything. Enjoyment and personal pleasure are my guides. My personal library is carefully curated around me and nobody else. Yes, I have several editions of particular well loved books, and I do not care if they will "make money". Book collecting is just for my own pleasure, and this is truly where the worth of each volume lies. Thank you for this lesson on collecting. Once again, you have given your audience much to think about.
PS. Biographies hold a special place in my collection.
I have a large collection of antique dictionaries. I didn't realize I'd been collecting cheap signet paperback classics until I reorganized my shelves and started pulling out matching editions. I also go for the odd rare book that I want more because I wish to read it than anything else. That's how I landed on a copy of Boar Hog Woman and some rare Thomas Pynchon.
First thing I’ve learned is collect what you love not what you think is rare and you should collect. Don’t like the classics? Don’t waste your money and get something cheap if you want to read it. Love horror like myself? Spec into that and pass on other “mandatory reads” Had this issue when collecting manga and I had to unhaul a lot I just bought because they were popular.
I also collect Stephan King. Been collecting him since around 2013 and have all of his books in at least second printing or higher
I just picked up a 1st edition of The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck. It does not have the dust cover, but I am a big Steinbeck fan , so it is special to me. I also picked up a 1st edition of Hemmingway short story collection. I also pulled a 1st edition of the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
I am happy to say I have all of Peter Straub's novels in paperback form.
I ordered The Harlan Ellison Hornbook from Thriftbooks, for five dollars. Turns out it was signed. Not addressed to anyone, thankfully. Just Harlan's signature.
I have a Dr. Seuss collection. Currently, I'm only missing 5 of his books.
That's a very cool collection!
Love this topic! Living in Greece, the one thing I really miss about the UK is second hand bookshops. And with Brexit, buying books over the internet can be tricky. If I buy a book from the UK for 40 euros, I have to pay an extra 15 euros in customs processing charges when it arrives and 10 euros in loval VAT. So the book now cost me 65 euros. Just thought I share my pain with an audience that would understand! :-)
I feel your pain. I used to live in Japan, and I gave up on buying anything that wasn't domestic. I relied heavily on my Kindle because sometimes you'd end up paying double just to cover the shipping!
@@BenjaminMcEvoy Ah! You do know how I feel!!! By the way, I know you have outgrown Murakami, but if you want to add a couple of hardbacks to your collection for sentimental reasons Norwegian Wood and also Novelist as a Vocation will soon be out and you can pre-order. Sorry to feed the addiction, but if you hang out with junkies that's what you get. :-)
Points of issue are fun to find, Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis, where the G in Gantry on the spine appears as Cantry, found it as an early collector for cheap. Book Club editions are worthless in the U.S., but I think it is different in U.K. Pick up debut novels and hope the writer improves, it happens. Primacy, I love uncorrected proofs and Advance Readers Copies. Love my signed first of Rabbit Run and other Updike books. Good idea to collect books on books when you begin collecting, I have passed those along to a young colleague when he started collecting. Read your books, be disciminating with hyper moderns, those with giant runs are unlikely to increase substantially in value, so you can read those in paperback or the Kindle. Condition also plays a part, I have a first of McMurtry's Terms of Endearment but it was not printed on acid free paper and they did not age well, hope to come across a later limited at a decent price, I agree patience is important, when a writer has their breakthrough book, it lifts their earlier works as well.
I buy the first Harry Potter book in the native language of each country I visit while I’m there. It brings me good memories of that country when I see the book from that country.
I do the same with Jules Verne. Love it
Curators of rare books don't typically wear any gloves to turn the pages, since the gloves cut down on the tactile sensitivity of the fingers and so increase the chances of tearing pages. The best practice is just to have clean, dry hands when touching rare paper or bindings, so there is no transfer of dirt, ink, or oil from fingers to the object. Curators di wear gloves when handling things like metal or glass objects, or photographic negatives, etc. So if you have a very glassy book cover that makes it hard to touch without leaving fingerprints even with clean hands, you might want to use gloves when handling it--or perhaps cover it with mylar.
I have several collecting areas, including detective fiction. One area is printed material produced in the Southern United States during our Civil War. Two of the crowning glories of that collections are a copy of Great Expectations and a part of Les Miserables printed in Mobile, Alabama, during the war--very rare Confederate imprints of classic literature.
I collect Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass editions. I have several that are over 100 years old as well as translated editions (German, Icelandic, Norwegian, & Italian). I try to find editions that have unique or intriguing illustrations too.
That's such a great collection, Elizabeth :) I'd call that the definition of a perfect collection. I'll bet those translated editions are treasures :)
@@BenjaminMcEvoy thank you! I must say besides my first copy I ever bought, my German edition is by far my favorite. (ISBN 978-3-8369-5864-6 if anyone is curious) The point you make about the joy of the hunt is soooo dead on. It's a wonderful feeling!
I've been something of an ardent book collector for decades; but, alas, after my divorce, I left many of my best first editions with my ex-wife. I don't much limit what I will collect, but my present collection (roughly a thousand books so, not large) emphasizes fiction, and particularly modern mystery and detective fiction. In my shallowness, I also collect books merely because some of them are so beautiful -- the Heritage Press and Easton Press hardcover editions, for example. I don't really pay much attention to whether the book in question is, or is not, likely to increase or decrease in value, and this is in any event a difficult determination to make with any accuracy. Many books that appear to be collectible on the basis of "rarity" turn out not to be, and sometimes, books you don't expect to have special value do turn out to become valuable over a relatively short period of time. Thus, for example, a while back I came upon John Le Carre's "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" trilogy in fairly pristine first printings, and for whatever reason these seem now to command some premium prices. But I won't be selling them. I also have the twenty-five volumes of Sue Grafton's "alphabet mysteries," a number of them signed, in first printings (with "A" and "B" only in second printings, alas) but I won't be selling off those either. Also, there is James A. Michener's Easton Press edition of his very fine "Space" in two volumes. These appear to getting somewhat scarce. Just for fun, I've obtained first printings of most of J. J. Marric's "Gideon" series. I've perhaps eighty or so signed books, and my favorite of those has to be David Levitt's two different versions of his fine novel "While England Sleeps," which was the subject of one of the larger literary scandals of the last century. It's odd. If one is an ardent book collector, one comes to love one's books almost as one loves one's children.
Thanks for describing some of your own favorites among your collection. I hope you'll tell us more about it as it continues to grow.
I have read about 125 books that I unequivocally....LOVE. Although largely for different reason and subject matters....SELLECTIVE FEW...but my collection. I AM STILL SEARCHING FOR Eight- 8 books that Ive read....CANNOT FIND or cant remember the author or title...but, CAN remember 100 pgs of material of the 325 pgs. They fall soooo, easily from my lips......it drives me nuts. ILL KEEP LOOKING. GOOD LUCK Starting Your Unique Book Collection
Collecting with your interests in mind: I am always on the lookout for Old beekeeping books. I have a 1935 ABC XYZ of Bee Culture. It's exquisite. (Look up its embossed cover specific for that year.) Trying to figure out how to stop it's erosion. Anyway. I have a host of bee books.
Another fantastic video...thanks I am learning a lot!
Thank you :)
I only a few antique books...my favourite find being a gorgeous leatherbound copy of Keble's "The Christian Year" from the 1800's. I do have a massive collection of 19th century literature, all hardcover, most being from Folio Society, over the past 30 years, but also the Cambridge Editions of the Complete Poetical Works of the famous poets. Also children's classics, most from Folio Society, lots of books on Victorian society and literature, daily life, etc., and art books on English country house decoration and the Pre-Raphaelites. Right now I am collecting the works of Alison Uttley! I am trying to keep my interests concise, but some sci-fi and high fantasy has slipped in!
I have become a collector without realizing. I love hardback spiritual books and mythology; Talmud, Quran, "Iliad and Odyssey", "Gilgamesh", old astrology books, anything by Kahlil Gibran and sages, egyptian books, and grimoires. Would love to get my hands on a handwritten Ethiopian bible translated into English with illustrations. It started years ago when an illiterate man gifted me a hard illustrated copy of "Bhagavad Gita" and told me, "you are going to need this." I lost that book in a move and am calling it back to me. Also, looking to stumble on an old complete copy of the 256 odus with patakis.
I have recently begun collecting dog stories. Old Yeller was my favorite as a child and I have discovered that there are several authors who wrote many stories about dogs and certain publishers that reprinted many under dog stories collections. It has become quite a lot of fun to hunt them down and read them. ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING has a political bent nowadays or is woke for the sake of being woke or politically correct…none of these old books are and I Love It! I’ve also begun collecting canine nonfiction and have run across some really interesting things I didn’t even know about, so that’s been a lot of fun as well.
Great video, Ben! I've been on a book buying hobby for a few years. An update on my Proust Project: I am absolutely loving Proust. It seems I've found an author who I can relate to on a incredibly deep level. Today, I visited my local bookshop and found a 1928 edition of Swann's Way printed by Modern Library and a first edition 1930 print of Anna Karenina Modern Library. Anna had the name of either the previous owner or first owner written in it. There are two other goodies I found; however, I figured the most notable should be mentioned.
Happy Reading!
Thank you, Canton :) I'm thrilled to hear that your Proust Project is going so well. Marcel is a very special writer to me too. I can see quite a bit of myself in him, and would have loved to have met him. Nice one on picking up those Modern Library editions. I love these as much as the Everyman Library editions. And it's always exciting to see something of the previous owner left behind! Happy reading :)
I cannot express how happy i am for recently having the same edition of Jules Verne "A Captain At Fifteen" i read back in high school because the edition is from 1975, and i was more lucky because it is practically in perfect condition and i bought it for 2 dollars 🙏
That is such an incredible discovery! I was recently going through a very old box of books, and I found this brilliant Reader's Digest edition of Jules Verne's 'Around the World in 80 Days', with a really interesting booklet about the author's life tucked inside. I read the thing cover-to-cover right then and there :)
After noticing a decline in children's literature (particularly the accompanying artwork, but also subject matter), I decided to collect all the older fairy tale books I could find, preferably illustrated - as well as other older children's books. I have also collected older magic books and catalogs. Otherwise, my library is eclectic.
It’s funny and you are absolutely, you can just ‘luck’ into a completed ‘collection’ without knowing it. I knew I had American hardbacks of every Harry Potter and got them when they came out. It’s only now that I realize, ‘oh, oh they are first editions and in good shape too.’ I’ll never sell them because they were a seminal part of my childhood, but it’s sure weird how these things work. Also, I don’t know if my parents knew because my copy of Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone was initially in paperback and the one they bought me to complete the full collection of hardbacks, I just realized today (got it like 1+ years ago) is also luckily a US first edition.
Dollar stores can be an unexpected source. My teenage son acquired numerous Hardy Boys first editions, all in great shape and extremely cheap. Unfortunately no Dickens or Hardy !
I read Siddhartha years ago, around the same time I read Isherwood's Iast noveI, "A Meeting by the River." The two seem to come together in my mind.
Gosh! I never knew that 1st editions vary from subsequent editions!!
My collection is pretty weird really.... since 1984, as a teenager, I have been collecting books on The Rolling Stones, of all things! I have over 80. I loved the music, not so much their current music, but music from the 60s & 70s. My piece de resistance is Exile by Dominique Tarle. It cost me a pretty penny in 2001 when it came out, but it is very rare, signed by the author, and it has very much increased in value... not that I would ever sell. I have a few other rarities too, combined with vinyl and cds.
I also have a 1st edition East of Eden by Steinbeck... my favourite by him.
PS, I've recently joined your Patreon book club and love it. Thanks for the amazing output, Ben 👏😊 Regards, Ruth.
That is so cool, Ruth! I'm not sure how many people know this, but I'm a huge Rolling Stones fan. Exile on Main St. was the first album I bought, and continues to be my favourite today. A signed first edition of Exile certainly is an incredible gem! What a brilliant collection :) And the first edition of East of Eden is very cool too - also my personal favourite Steinbeck. And thank you so much for your kind words about the club! I'm so happy you're reading with us, Ruth 😊
@@BenjaminMcEvoy That's gas that you are a fan! 🤭😊👏 Exile, the book, is about the making of the album and has photos from the time by the author/photographer.
Looking forward to our bookclub read of Ulysses and getting past page 116! 😁
My dream would be to have a signed first edition of The Waves by Virginia Woolf. She's my favourite writer, and The Waves is my favourite novel of hers, and my favourite book full stop. When I moved from Australia to the UK for a couple of years, it was one of only two books I took with me (and even while there, I bought a very small hardback copy, one that could easily fit in a coat pocket). There are currently 35 books on my Virginia Woolf bookshelf in my library - all her novels, plus short stories, essays, articles, memoir, diaries, letters, books about VW, etc. I would also love to have a signed first edition of Jacob's Room, Virginia Woolf's third novel, because she felt it was the first novel in which she was truly writing in her own voice. It was the first of her novels that was more experimental. In stepping away from the mould she felt she was closer to being in her element, so I would feel a little closer to her with one of those first, signed editions. Also, those works were published by The Hogarth Press, which was set up by her and Leonard, so it's likely that one of those editions would have had Virginia's and Leonard's hands behind setting the type and stitching the binding.
What do you think of special editions, like illustrated versions, or those sold by Folio Society? Maybe as collectibles, or just of enjoyment?
I collect Everyman and Folio Society, and have done so for decades. I have a Keats collection too, much slower to grow, but I include biographies and critiques of Keats. In a sense, I collect Shakespeare in that I collect the annual "Shakespeare Survey", which has all the latest scholarship on Shakespeare. Some volumes are quite expensive, but there is a lot of reading in them by people working in the field and go back to 1948, so almost all of my lifetime. My current project is collecting the new Edinburgh edition of Scott , plus I have a collection of his poems and the first edition biography by his son- in -law in early editions. I know he's not fashionable, but I don't care. In the early 70s an English Lit. academic said I was wasting my time on Dickens, and I said in twenty years your students will be writing Phds on Dickens, and he poo-hooed the idea. Fashion is ephemeral, good, entertaining and thoughtful literature isn't. Patronage is not dead, Unbound publishes books that have been funded by patrons who commit to just buying a copy of the eventual published work. Oh, and I have a completed collection of Terry Pratchett, a fun wonderful, writer, that if you scratch below the fantasy deals with many issues of modern life. He is my comfort read for those grey, wet Devon winter days when the rain blows off the sea and over my house.
Been collecting since childhood and have the complete book of Shakespeare and I collect every penguin classics I come across
Well as reader and book lover it was great to know you and is truly a great experience for me. There are certain books or writers , notably Cormac McCarthy I have read as per your suggestions .
If possible like thins video , do a Vlog for kindle or physical books. I am great advocate for paper books. But honestly , in last three years it kindle which I have read , really everything I read was on kindle. What I did if I like some book after I read , only then I went to purchase physical copy of it, for example Remembrance of things past. It is like a trophy for me . But I read this , almost all the time kindle. Same with victor hugo and others .
What is your take on it ?
I do recommend to have separate kindle device for kindle books , why ? Because it does not do anything else apart from making you read , iPads etc and I get easily distracted. But I think it’s an interesting debate , but your point of view as lover of literature can inform many potential readers regarding positives and minuse of each medium.
Thank you very much for your sharing clip ❤❤❤
I prefer paperback to hardcover, so I don’t know if I’d ever go all in for first editions, as right now I’m just collecting the most easily accessible versions of books I enjoy, mostly genre fiction and classics. If I did go more of a series collecting approach, I’d probably start collecting Gollancz’s SF Masterworks as the covers for those are phenomenal.
But if I had to pick a something where money was no object it would likely be the Subterranean Press editions of the Malazan Book of the Fallen.
You can definitely build a very special collection with paperbacks. There are so many paperback runs that I adore, including Gollancz's SF Masterworks, which you mentioned. The covers are works of art :)
Beware of the ‘Poison ‘ books. I had a copy of a beautiful little book of poetry printed in 1800s of William Cowper’ poetry. The cover a nice shade of green contains arsenic. Found out later of its deadliness.