'Catcher In The Rye' Author J.D. Salinger Dies At 91
'Catcher In The Rye' Author J.D. Salinger Dies At 91
by Neda Ulaby from NPR
The famously reclusive author J.D. Salinger has died at his New Hampshire home, his literary representative said in a statement. He was 91 years old.
Jerome David Salinger retreated to a New Hampshire farmhouse in 1953, a few years after he published the high-school classic The Catcher in the Rye. And there he stayed, for the next 50-plus years, scowling at photographers who dared snap his picture.
'I Refuse to Publish'
Salinger's published works include Nine Stories, a short-story collection, and Franny and Zooey, a novella about one of his favorite fictive subjects, the sensitive Glass family. His last published work was a short story that took up almost the whole New Yorker magazine in 1965 — though rumors have Salinger stashing reams of unpublished fiction in a vault.
Salinger rarely explained himself, though the interview requests never ceased. In 1980, reporter Betty Eppes sent her picture along with her request. She was granted one of the only interviews the author ever gave.
June 22, 1999"He said, 'I refuse to publish,'" she told NPR in 1997. "'There's a marvelous peace in not publishing,' he said. 'There's a stillness. When you publish, the world thinks you owe something. If you don't publish, they don't know what you're doing. You can keep it for yourself.'"
Catastrophe In The Background
Salinger came from a Jewish-Scots-Irish New York family who imported meat. In the 1930s, he worked briefly as a cruise-ship entertainer. Then came World War II.
"He was a writer formed by the 1940s," says Andrew Delbanco, director of American Studies at Columbia University. "He participated in D-Day and in the Battle of the Bulge. There's a sense to my ear in The Catcher in the Rye and stories [of his] that catastrophe lies in the background of everything he feels and writes."
One of his most popular stories, "For Esme — With Love and Squalor," deals with a soldier on leave who finds solace in a conversation with a 13-year-old English girl. Many of Salinger's shell-shocked heroes click best with children, an allegation that was thrown the author's way as well.
Salinger "celebrates their innocence and beauty in a way that to our sensibility is almost unnerving," says Delbanco. Another favorite, "A Perfect Day for Bananafish," is about a troubled honeymooner who plays with a little girl in the ocean before killing himself. The protagonist of "Bananafish" is Seymour Glass, the Glass sibling featured most often in Salinger's stories about that peculiar family. Published stories about the Glasses had already established Salinger as a minor literary star by the time he published The Catcher in the Rye in 1951.
'Holden's Indignation ... Struck A Nerve'
The Catcher in the Rye, starring the disaffected adolescent Holden Caulfield, was an instant success, though it puzzled some reviewers. Long before it became a staple in American high schools — and ever since — screenwriters, novelists and actors begged for the rights to adapt it. Salinger seemed appalled by the attention and withdrew to New Hampshire shortly after its publication. He steadfastly refused to sell the rights to anything he ever wrote.
But the book's popularity soared out of sight as counterculture became mainstream culture in the 1960s, according to Delbanco.
"Holden's indignation, his sense of the world, really struck a nerve," he explains. "Everybody carries with them the impulse to say no. [It's] the dissident impulse that is powerful in American culture and literature."
Delbanco traces that impulse from America's first immigrants through Emerson and Thoreau to the Beat writers who were Salinger's contemporaries. He says Salinger empathized with young people as outsiders, and romanticized their straightforward, "non-phoney" impulses.
The title of the book comes from the protagonist's dream to keep everyone from growing up — to preserve the childhood grace Salinger idolized and resist falling headlong into adulthood:
I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in a big field of rye and all. ... Thousands of kids, and nobody big at all, nobody big but me. And I'm standing on the edge of this crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to come and catch them. If they start to fall ... and don't look where they're going. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all.
The Catcher in the Rye inspired censors, assassins and innumerable ordinary readers, who found in Salinger's hopeful yet disillusioned heroes an uncompromising kindred spirit.
Thoughts On J.D. Salinger
"Salinger transformed the short story in America. He gave it a kind of internal music it hadn’t had. And it’s possible to make the case that no writer sounded more original."
Sam Tanenhaus, editor of The New York Times Book Review, on Talk of the Nation
UCLA Launches California Rare Book School
UCLA’s Graduate School of Education & Information Studies on July 31 launched the
California Rare Book School, a continuing-education program that provides training for students
and professionals in the field of rare books and manuscripts.
The school, housed in the UCLA Department of Information Studies, offers five
intensive, hands-on weeklong courses on the history of books and printing, rare book
librarianship, and related subjects, including descriptive bibliography, illustration, cataloging and
the history of the book in the American West.
In some courses, students will have the opportunity to take field trips to some of the Los
Angeles area’s important special collections, such as those housed at the Getty Center; the
Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens; and the Southwest Museum of the
American Indian.
“We are honored to house the new California Rare Book School at the Department of
Information Studies at UCLA,” said Beverly P. Lynch, UCLA professor of information studies
and founding director of the new school. “This development comes at a time of renewed interest
in special collections, coupled with a growing need for training in the field of rare books and
manuscripts.”
Classes are limited to 15 students, and anyone can apply to enroll in the school. This
year’s attendees include curators, rare-book librarians, academics, antiquarian booksellers, book
conservators and binders, book collectors, and students. The California Rare Book School is the
only continuing-education program currently operating in the western United States that offers
specific rare book and manuscript education and training.
One of 11 professional schools at UCLA, the Graduate School of Education &
Information Studies consists of two academic departments: the department of education and the
department of information studies. The Graduate School of Education was founded in 1939, and
the School of Library Service was founded in 1958. The two schools merged in 1994.
2-2-2 Rare Book School at UCLA
For additional information about the California Rare Book School, including course
descriptions, faculty profiles and application instructions, please visit www.calrbs.org, or contact
the administrator at calrbs@gseis.ucla.edu.
National Book Critics Circle finalists announced
By Carolyn Kellog - The Los Angeles Times - January 23, 2010
The National Book Critics Circle announced the finalists for its 2009 awards in New York today. Author Elizabeth Strout, a 2008 finalist, announced the finalists at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe. This year's recipient of the Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award is prolific author Joyce Carol Oates.
Fiction Finalists:
Bonnie Jo Campbell, "American Salvage" (Wayne State University Press)
Marlon James, "The Book of Night Women" (Riverhead)
Michelle Huneven, "Blame" (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Hilary Mantel, "Wolf Hall" (Holt)
Jayne Anne Phillips, "Lark and Termite" (Knopf)
Nonfiction Finalists:
Wendy Doniger, "The Hindus: An Alternative History" (Penguin Press)
Greg Grandin, "Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City" (Metropolitan Books)
Richard Holmes, "The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science" (Pantheon)
Tracy Kidder, "Strength in What Remains" (Random House)
William T. Vollmann, "Imperial" (Viking)
Biography Finalists:
Blake Bailey, "Cheever: A Life" (Knopf)
Brad Gooch, "Flannery: A Life of Flannery O'Connor" (Little, Brown)
Benjamin Moser, "Why This World: A Biography of Clarice Lispector" (Oxford University Press)
Stanislao G. Pugliese, "Bitter Spring: A Life of Ignazio Silone" (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Martha A. Sandweiss, "Passing Strange: A Gilded Age Tale of Love and Deception Across the Color Line" (Penguin Press)
Autobiography Finalists:
Diana Athill, "Somewhere Towards the End" (Norton)
Debra Gwartney, "Live Through This: A Mother's Memoir of Runaway Daughters and Reclaimed Love" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Mary Karr, "Lit" (Harper)
Kati Marton, "Enemies of the People: My Family's Journey to America" (Simon & Schuster)
Edmund White, "City Boy" (Bloomsbury)
Criticism Finalists:
Eula Biss, "Notes From No Man's Land: American Essays" (Graywolf Press)
Stephen Burt, "Close Calls with Nonsense: Reading New Poetry" (Graywolf Press)
Morris Dickstein, "Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of the Great Depression" (Norton)
David Hajdu, "Heroes and Villains: Essays on Music, Movies, Comics, and Culture" (Da Capo Press)
Greg Milner, "Perfecting Sound Forever: An Aural History of Recorded Music" (Faber)
Poetry Finalists:
Rae Armantrout, "Versed" (Wesleyan)
Louise Glück, "A Village Life" (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
D.A. Powell, "Chronic" (Graywolf Press)
Eleanor Ross Taylor, "Captive Voices: New and Selected Poems, 1960-2008" (Louisiana State University Press)
Rachel Zucker, "Museum of Accidents" (Wave Books)
Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing: Joan Acocella
Finalists: Michael Antman, William Deresiewicz, Donna Seaman, Wendy Smith
The awards will be announced in March.
[Top]Book Collector and Collection Evicted
Turning away an old Lief: Irving Leif's landlord is evicting him AND his rare book collection
Monday, January 18, 2010
By RON ZEITLINGER, The Jersey News
DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR
In terms of rare books, Irving Leif says he's a millionaire. In terms of real dollars, the soon-to-be-evicted Jersey City man is more like a 14-dollar-aire.
"I have $14 to my name. That's it," said Leif, who is scheduled to be evicted on Wednesday from his $1,892-a-month apartment in Downtown Jersey City. "I don't even have a phone."
What Leif has is what he calls a million-dollar collection of more than 3,000 rare books, manuscripts and letters.
Among the rare items are "two of three known copies of first-edition Horatio Alger books in original 1890s dust jackets, signed copies of some of Jack Kerouac's books, the most complete set of the Mother Earth pamphlets published by Emma Goldman and 338 unpublished literary letters written by the renowned American poet Larry Eigner," Leif said.
What he needs is a place to put them when he's forced out. He fears that his landlord will toss out a collection that took 40 years to amass.
"I don't care if I live in the street, as long as that collection is saved," said the 62-year-old, who lost his job as chief information officer for the New York Department of Banking in 2007 when Eliot Spitzer took over as governor.
Leif said he had been surviving on a family trust fund, but his family lost "$175,000 to $250,000" in the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme scandal. He owes $14,000 in back rent, and agrees that he should be tossed.
"I have no issue with being evicted," Leif said. "It's their right to kick me out. I owe them a lot of money. I don't care about the furniture, I don't care about any of it," he said.
"I only care about the books and the collection. Packed up, it's about 100 boxes. I don't have the money to store it. I don't have anyone who has the room to take it."
Ed Cortese, senior vice president of the LeFrak Organization, which owns the John Adams building, 35 River Dr. South, where Leif lives, said in these cases "a landlord contacts a warehouse storage company and stores the content of an apartment. It's up to the tenant to pay those fees. A person's belongings would not just get thrown out."
Cortese wouldn't speculate on what would happen after that.
By law, a landlord can dispose of a tenant's property only if the landlord believes that the tenant is not coming back and has abandoned the items. In addition, the landlord must give the tenant written notice that he intends to dispose of the property. The notice must give the tenant 30 days after delivery of the landlord's written notice, or 33 days after the notice is mailed, whichever comes first, to claim the property.
"It sounds like a historical collection," said Angel Webster of Bauman Rare Books in Manhattan. "He and the management company should work out something that it is not thrown away."
Leif does not want to sell his collection, but grudgingly admits he may have to sell at least a part of it.
[Top]Signed vs. Inscribed by Ken Lopez
Ken Lopez is a former President of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America. He maintains an office in Hadley, Massachusetts and welcome visitors by appointment. They are always interested in buying rare books, manuscripts, or related material in any of their areas of specialty and are happy to hear from anyone offering such items to them. He is also happy to advise active customers on building their collections. Here is a link to Ken's online store. Be sure to check it out! Click Here!
Signed vs Inscribed
One of the questions I've been asked most often in recent years is "Which is better -- having a book just signed by the author or having it inscribed?" In general my answer has been that the more writing by the author in a book, the better. And most especially, I've encouraged collectors when getting their own books signed to have them personally inscribed by the author.
I know I'm bucking the current trend on this issue, but I continue to do so, and I think I'm right. Here's why.
For a long time -- generations, literally -- there was a clearly established hierarchy of values that pertained to books signed by their authors. The best copy was the dedication copy, and usually there was only one of these. Next best were association copies, that is, books inscribed by the author to someone notable or important in the author's life -- a relative, a friend, a mentor, another writer. After that were "presentation copies," which simply meant those books inscribed by the author to someone who was not important to the author, or whose importance was unknown. And finally, at the bottom of the hierarchy, were books that were just signed, with no further inscription, no other writing, etc.
In recent years, for reasons that most people don't know about or are unable to articulate, the last two kinds of signed books have appeared to switch places in the hierarchy, with there being a preference in the marketplace for books that were just signed, rather than having been inscribed. I believe this preference, which flies in the face of longstanding tradition in the book collecting world, has a specific historical origin and that the seeming consensus in the marketplace reflects a backlash against specific practices by certain individuals which, in the fog of time, has come to look like a rational rethinking of the old priorities and a new philosophy toward signed books. The fact that we have mostly forgotten the historical reasons for this preference arising means that, for the most part, it is a preference based more on received wisdom than on careful, thoughtful consideration. And I believe that, as a result of its relatively thin basis in rational consideration, this preference is beginning to lose its hold in the marketplace and the old hierarchy will again, in time, reassert itself -- and probably soon.
The story begins in the late 1970s and goes into the early 1980s. At the time, the hierarchy in signed books was as I listed it above, and as it had been for generations: dedication copy, association copy, presentation copy, signed copy. The logic of such a hierarchy was more or less self-evident. The dedication copy is usually unique or, at most, limited to a couple of copies -- inscribed by the author to the person he or she thought important enough to dedicate the book to, in print. Association copies that clearly involved significant figures in the author's life or in the general cultural life of which the author was a part also have an obvious, self-evident value although not one as unique or specific as the dedication copy. Presentation copies were more ambiguous, but the mere fact that a presentation copy could sometimes, with a little bit of research, luck, or specialized knowledge "become" an association copy argued for their importance, and the closeness of the two in the hierarchy. Signed books were last, and there was even the suggestion of a "taint" to them -- as though perhaps the only justification for a book having been simply autographed was a kind of celebrity worship that somehow was a bit inappropriate to the book world.
Because this preference was so clear and longstanding in the book collecting world, dealers preferred to have presentation copies over just plain signed copies, collectors preferred them, and there was a premium placed on their price in the market place.
Thus, one enterprising bookselling firm in the New York area, recognizing this preference, decided to exploit it -- and do so relentlessly. New York is a place where, even before the days of routine author tours upon publication of a new book, there were readings every day, as well as lectures, talks, and seminars with well-known authors that were open to the public. Sometimes there would be several in a single day. The firm I'm referring to was a family business and they would attend these readings and talks en masse -- four or five or sometimes even more family members, each of them carrying a bag full of the author's first editions, and each one asking the author to inscribe the books to them personally. Then, when they issued catalogs, nearly every book was listed as a "signed presentation copy inscribed by the author" -- a most desirable designation, especially for modern first editions, many of which are not inherently rare unless there is something special about a particular copy.
This went on for a few years, and the family grew bolder, branching out its operation so that they could reach more authors than just the ones who showed up at readings in New York. One began to hear stories passed around among writers, each of whom had received identically worded, ingratiating letters from a correspondent claiming to be the author's greatest fan, and sending along a box of books to be inscribed personally and sent back. Then, some writers began noticing that the "fan" would write a follow-up letter some months later, sending along another batch of books to be inscribed -- often including copies of titles the author remembered signing in the earlier batch. Clearly there was something fishy here. Authors began to dislike it, feel manipulated, deceived and exploited. Several began to look askance at booksellers in general, and at signing books at all. Booksellers, of course, recognized it for exactly what it was and after a time books inscribed to these family members began to seem like the products of a fraud, whereas a plain signed book carried no such taint. And collectors began to absorb the preference that booksellers were beginning to show, although for the most part they did not know the reason and did not realize that it was only books that were inscribed to these particular half dozen or so individuals that were "tainted." The perception grew that somehow all inscribed books were tainted or at least less desirable than books that were just signed.
This creates a self-fulfilling prophecy: if collectors feel that books that are inscribed are less valuable than books that are just signed -- for whatever reason -- it will be harder to sell books that are inscribed than books that are signed. And that will "prove" that books that are inscribed are less saleable and less valuable. Etc.
But such a view not only defies long-established historical precedent, it also diminishes and demeans collecting, and collectors today. For not only can a presentation copy to an unknown third party "turn into" an association copy after a little research, but a collector's own copy can become an association copy if the collector stays with it long enough and seriously enough for the collection to become recognizably important. Hemingway's first bibliographer was Louis Cohen, a fan and book collector. A Hemingway book inscribed to Cohen would, at the time, have been a simple presentation copy to a person of no particular consequence. Today it would be viewed as a highly desirable association copy. Similarly, if Carl Peterson had ever managed to get Faulkner to inscribe a book to him, it would now be viewed as a major association copy. And the time-honored practice of identifying books from an important collection -- "the Doheny copy" or "the Bradley Martin copy," for example -- underscores that collectors themselves can become significant figures.
Perhaps most telling in terms of the underlying values behind these questions is that in the cases of long-dead authors like Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Steinbeck, Joyce, it has always been true that a presentation copy has had a higher value in the marketplace than one that was just signed. They are more interesting, they can provoke interesting questions that lead to discovery -- one of the pleasures of collecting -- and "the more writing by the author in the book, the better" has been, and still is, a generally accepted truth in this part of the market. Since we don't know who the next generation of Faulkners and Hemingways might be -- but we do know there will be one -- is there any reason that different criteria should apply to the inscriptions of contemporary authors than to "classic" ones? I don't think so.
When you buy a signed book you are purchasing a signature, but when you buy an inscribed book you are getting a story. We recently bought a collection of Paul Bowles books, all of them inscribed to one person, someone whom we had never heard of. But the story behind the books was fascinating: when Bowles came to the U.S. To be treated for health problems he arranged to stay with a longtime friend, a writer who had been close to Tennessee Williams and Carson McCullers, among others. However, she lived on an upper floor of her apartment complex and Bowles could not navigate the stairways leading to her place: she arranged for him to stay with a friend of hers -- an administrator at a local college and a longtime fan, and collector, of Paul Bowles's writing -- who lived on a lower floor of the same complex. Bowles stayed there while he underwent his treatments, and he inscribed of all her books to her. Had she merely had him sign them, in deference to the current fashion and prevailing "wisdom" in the marketplace, they would have ended up being batch of nondescript signed books. But since she had them inscribed, they are now identifiable as being from a particular time in Bowles's life, and she herself becomes a character, albeit a minor one, in his biography. Anyone purchasing one of these books is recognizing, even participating in, a small but critical moment in the life of a major author, and his or her Bowles collection is the richer for it.
Almost simultaneous with the apparent switch in priorities regarding signed vs. inscribed, there has also been a huge run-up in the prices of fine copies of notable "high spots." Part of this is attributable to the large number of people who have entered this market since the advent of the Internet made more books more widely available than ever before and made price comparison so much easier that the "learning curve" for getting into the market with confidence appeared to be shortened dramatically. Fine copies of first editions of extremely well-known and collectible books like To Kill a Mockingbird and The Catcher in the Rye consequently went from $3000 to $6000 to $12-15000 to as much as $35000 in a couple of blinks of an eye. Close-to-fine copies, including copies in attractive but "restored" dust jackets, followed in their wake. In the meantime, signed copies of collectible but less "obvious" first editions have increased in value at a slower, more steady pace. And the recent preference for signed over inscribed copies has meant that inscribed copies -- including association copies -- have risen in value even more slowly. This is a trend that I believe is likely to be short-lived: while it has always been true that "condition, condition, condition" has been the most critical criterion in determining the collectibility of modern books, what fine condition does is set a particular copy apart from others as part of a much smaller subset of the available copies of that title. Signatures do the same thing; inscriptions even more so; and association copies are truly a tiny subset of the overall number of copies of any given title. Yet at the moment, "fine condition" commands a much higher premium in the first edition world than a fine association, and my guess is that this preference will not only even out over time but will in fact reverse itself, as the rarity of good presentations and good associations becomes increasingly more evident while at the same time the notion of "fine condition" becomes increasingly diluted by the proliferation of restored dust jackets. This moment seems to me to be a particularly good time to collect association copies, and even presentation copies, as both seem to be relatively undervalued compared to merely signed copies or even unsigned copies in fine condition. I wouldn't be surprised to look back in five years on the catalogs we're receiving today and be astonished at how low the prices of good presentation copies and association copies were "in those days." The first edition marketplace has been in flux for several years for a number of reasons. Now it seems to me to be headed in the direction of being a more "mature" and stable market than it has been for a while, and that means, in part, a market that is returning to the longstanding tradition valuing an author's original writing, and the more of it, the better.
[Top]About Rare Book School
The following is a course description from the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia in Charolettsville.
About Rare Book School.
Rare Book School (RBS) is an independent, non-profit and tax-exempt institute supporting the study of the history of books and printing and related subjects, governed by its own board of directors. Founded in 1983, it moved to its present home at the University of Virginia in 1992.
At various times during the year, RBS offers about 30 five-day, non-credit courses on topics concerning old and rare books, manuscripts, and special collections. The majority of courses take place in Charlottesville, but courses are also offered in New York City, Baltimore, and Washington, DC.
The educational and professional prerequisites for RBS courses vary. Some courses are broadly directed toward antiquarian booksellers, book collectors, bookbinders, conservators, teachers, and professional and avocational students of the history of books and printing. Others are primarily intended for archivists and for research and rare book librarians and curators.
Most Rare Book School courses are limited to twelve or fewer students, who make a full-time commitment to any course they attend, from 8:30 or 9 am through 5 pm, Monday - Friday; in Baltimore, Washington, and Charlottesville, most students also attend an informal dinner and orientation on the Sunday evening before their first class on Monday. In addition to the formal daytime classes, there is an optional early evening public lecture (usually on Monday night), and (especially in Charlottesville) other bookish events throughout the week of the RBS session.
Admission to RBS courses is on a rolling basis. The first round of admit decisions for each course is made three months before the course begins. Admission decisions are emailed to successful applicants, and admissions packets (containing an admission letter, a travel guide, and [for Baltimore and Charlottesville] a local map) are put into the US post. Applications received thereafter are processed immediately.
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C-20. Book Collecting
William P. Barlow, Jr. and Terry Belanger
This course is aimed at persons who spend a fairly substantial amount of time, energy, and money on collecting, but who feel rather isolated from the national (and international) antiquarian book communities. Topics include: the rationale of book collecting; developing relations with dealers; buying at auction and via the Internet; evaluating prices; bibliophile and friends' groups; preservation, conservation, and insurance options; tax and other financial implications; what finally to do with your books; and the literature of book collecting.
This course is intended for serious collectors who would like to learn more about the current American rare book scene: about the interlocking professional and social worlds of antiquarian book collecting, the rare book trade, and research librarianship. It is aimed at persons who collect energetically but who currently are not active members of bibliophilic social clubs and who do not participate to any great extent in library friends' organizations. The course will have at least something of a proselytizing bent (the instructors admit to being members of various social and scholarly bibliophilic and bibliographical organizations, as well as a good many library friends' groups; and they are well acquainted with a fair number of book dealers).
Among the questions the course will address: Why do we collect? How can I most effectively use the services provided by dealers, the Internet, auction houses and other agents? How do I know that a price is "right," and what should I do if it isn't? How can I best use bibliographies and other lists in my collecting? What kind of records should I keep? What can I do to preserve books on my own? When professional conservation is required, how do I find it? What should I do about insurance? What are the benefits of professional and bibliophilic organizations and cooperation with libraries and scholars? How should I dispose of my books? What are the tax and collecting implications of sale, gift, and bequest? How can I establish my own program for learning more about books and collecting?
In their personal statement, applicants should describe their book collections and their most active current collecting interests, and state what they would particularly like to see the course cover.
http://www.rarebookschool.org/
[Top]AbeBooks’ Most Expensive Overall Sales of 2009
1. Della Magnificenza ed Architettura de'Romaniand Osservazioni sopra la Lettre de M. Mariette by Giovanni Battista Piranesi - $17,000
Piranesi (1720-1778) is famous for his etchings of ancient Roman ruins and prisons. This work (published in 1765) translates to Roman Antiquities of the Time of the First Republic and the First Emperors and contains etchings of the structures from this period.
2. Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, Through The Looking Glass and And What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll - $14,377
First London editions in two volumes (1866 & 1872). Illustrated by John Tenniel and bound in red morocco with a slipcase.
3. The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King - $14,000
First edition copies of all seven volumes of the series, signed and numbered in a slipcase.
4. YA-WAE PA-HU-CAE E-CAE AE-TA-NAE E-TU-HCE WA-U-N A-H A. Original Hymns in the Ioway Language by William Hamilton & Samuel M. Irvin - $13,500
A rare item of Americana relating to Native Americans printed in 1843. This book was one of the first two titles issued from the Sac Mission Press, limited to 125 copies. It is a lengthy hymn book, with the text written in the dialect used by this tribe from Iowa.
5= Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama - $12,500
The 44th president’s first book, this is a first edition from 1996 signed by Obama.
5= Libellus ysagogicus Abdilasi Id est servi gloriosi dei: qui dicitur Alchabitius ad magisterium iuditiorum astrorum - by Alchabitius - $12,500
Early German publisher Erhard Ratdolt produced this volume in 1485 containing the work of Alchabitius, the 10th century Arabian astrologer.
5= Works of Charles Dickens and Signed Letter - $12,500
A complete set, 22 volumes, of Dickens’ works published by Chapman and Hall. The set included a note from Dickens on his Tavistock House note paper dated Nov. 10, 1859 – “To Peter Cunningham. This set of my library edition, in remembrance of an old engagement between us. Charles Dickens."
8. Imre: A Memorandum by Xavier Mayne - $12,000
One of the first openly gay love stories in America, first edition published 1906. Written by Edward Irenaeus Prime-Stevenson under a pseudonym the book is one of the most important in LGBT literature because it is considered the first novel where homosexuals are portrayed in a positive light. This copy was one of 500 limited first editions, inscribed by Stevenson’s alter-ego "From X.M --/ Florence -- March / 1922."
9= The Origin of Species - by Charles Darwin - $11,000
First American printing, published in 1860, of the book which contained the basis of Darwin's theory of Evolution. Learn more about the evolution of this book.
9= The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger - $11,000
First edition, first printing, from 1951. A fine copy of the true first printing.
9= Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald - $11,000
First edition of this American classic published by Charles Scribner in 1934.
9= The Four Gospels of the Lord Jesus Christ by Eric Gill - $11,000
Printed and published at the Golden Cockerel Press in 1931. Limited to 500 numbered copies with 64 wood-engraved initial letters and illustrations by Gill.
AbeBooks' Most Expensive Sales of Children’s & Young Adult Books
1. Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, Through The Looking Glass and And What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll - $14,377
First London editions in two volumes (1866 & 1872). Illustrated by John Tenniel and bound in red morocco with a slipcase.
2. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll - $9,500
First edition copy from 1866 published by D. Appleton and Co.
3. A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind In the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L’Engle - $7,500
The first British editions of the first three books in L’Engle’s Time Quartet sci-fi/fantasy series, including her Newbery Award winning novel, A Wrinkle in Time. The first two in the series are inscribed and the third flatsigned.
AbeBooks’ Most Expensive Sales of Art Books
1. Cinquante Dessins by Henri Matisse - $7,750
First edition published 1920, limited to 1,000 copies and signed with an original etching by Matisse of a woman’s face, entitled “Mlle. M. M.”
2. Early Italian Engraving by Arthur Hind - $7,500
Published in 1938, this collection (two parts in seven volumes) was limited to 375 copies (part I) and 275 (part II). Volume’s one and five are signed by author.
3. Album Pintoresco Isla de Cuba by Frédéric Miahle - $6,752
First edition printed in Havana in 1848. Illustrated with 30 lithographs from Miahle, the book depicts daily life in Cuba and its capital in the mid-19th century.
AbeBooks’ Most Expensive Sales of Photography Books
1. Sumo by Helmut Newton - $10,867
Limited edition of 10,000 and this copy is signed by the German-born fashion photographer. This massive photography book measures 20 x 28 inches, and is accompanied by an embossed stand, designed by Philippe Starck.
2. Peter Beard: Art Edition - $5,495
Another massive book. Limited edition elephant folio photobook from Tashen published in 2006. Each of the 2,250 copies was signed by Beard.
3. Kitaru Beki Kotoba no Tame ni by Takuma Nakahira - $3,900
First edition published by Fudo-sha in 1970, a complete copy of an iconic title featuring the Provoke Era (a period of social upheaval after World War II) by one of Japan’s most important photographers
AbeBooks’ Most Expensive Sales of Poetry Books
1. Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems by John Keats - $8,500
First edition of Keats’ third and final book published in 1820.
2. Sonnets et Eaux Fortes by Various - $8,248
A collection of sonnets and etchings published in 1869, 42 original etchings by Manet, Corot, Daubigny, Jean François Millet, Jongkind, Bracquemond, Victor Hugo and others. From a limited edition of 350 copies.
3. Oeuvres by Pierre de Ronsard - $7,435
The complete first volume of the first edition of Ronsard's poetry; bound with an incomplete copy of the second volume and the preliminary matter of the third volume. Ronsard (1524-1585) was known as the Prince of Poets in his native France. Published in Paris in 1560.
AbeBooks’ Most Expensive Sales of Science Fiction & Fantasy Books
1. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein - $9,730
Written in 1966 and set in 2075 where a lunar colony revolts against earth. This copy is a first edition (sixth printing) signed by both the author and his wife, Virginia.
2. The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov - $9,042
Complete set of first editions. Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation published by Gnome Press in 1951, ′52, and ′53 respectively. The second volume is inscribed by Asimov to one of his publishers.
3. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? By Philip K. Dick - $6,500
First edition of this iconic science fiction novel used as the basis for Ridley Scott's Blade Runner movie. Published by Doubleday in 1968.
AbeBooks’ Most Expensive Sales of Religious & Theology Books
1. The Four Gospels of the Lord Jesus Christ by Eric Gill - $11,000
Printed and published at the Golden Cockerel Press in 1931. Limited to 500 numbered copies with 64 wood-engraved initial letters and illustrations by Gill.
2. Wonders of the Invisible World by Cotton Mather - $9,500
This is the second edition printed in London in 1693, this copy also contains a fine engraved bookplate of Samuel Mather (1851-1931), on the front marbled paste-down endpaper as well as a handwritten slip by Thomas J. Holmes, that compares it with the first London edition, giving some omissions, and differences in spelling and punctuation.
3. Liber Psalmorum Hebraice By Benjamin Kennicott - $8,250
Printed in 1809 this first edition copy of the first American Hebrew Psalter is written in Hebrew and Latin, the psalms appearing in Hebrew on each page, with the Latin commentary and notes below.
AbeBooks’ Most Expensive Sales of Science Books
1. Libellus ysagogicus Abdilasi Id est servi gloriosi dei: qui dicitur Alchabitius ad magisterium iuditiorum astrorum - by Alchabitius - $12,500
Early German publisher Erhard Ratdolt produced this volume in 1485 containing the work of Alchabitius, the 10th century Arabian astrologer.
2. On The Origin of Species - by Charles Darwin - $11,000
First American printing, published in 1860, of the book which contained the basis of Darwin's theory of Evolution.
3. Philosophia Magnetica by Niccolo Cabeo - $8,880
First edition published in 1629 describes Cabeo′s work with the Earth′s magnetism and electrical repulsion
AbeBooks’ Most Expensive Sales of Ephemera
1. Photographic portrait of Frédéric Chopin - $6,078
An original print of the only known surviving photograph of the famous composer dating from 1849. This print seems to have been printed at the Goupil & Cie studio, around 1895.
2. The Store by Claes Oldenburg - $5,500
A poster published for Oldenburg′s one-man exhibition: The Store at 107 East Second Street in New York from December 1, 1961 - January 31, 1962. Based on the drawing: The Store, Study for a Poster. Oldenburg is best known for his public art installations including "Free Stamp" in Cleveland, "Dropped Cone" in Cologne, and "The Bottle of Notes" in Middlesbrough.
3. Original pen, ink, and water-color used for the dust wrapper of The Fairy Tales of Perrault by Harry Clarke - $4,500
Clarke’s set of pen, ink and water-color used to create the intricate dust cover for The Fairy Tales of Perrault.
AbeBooks' Most Expensive Sales of Bird Books
1. Ootheca Wolleyana: An Illustrated Catalogue of the Collection of Birds' Eggs, begun by the late John Wolley, Jun., M.A., F.Z.S., and continued with additions, by the editor, Alfred Newton - $5,580
Published in 1907, this was a first edition copy of this ornithology book.
2. Game Birds and Wild-Fowl of Great Britain and Ireland by Archibald Thornburn - $1,830
First edition, deluxe limited issue of 155 copies containing 30 plates in color, showing 58 species.
3. A History of British Birds by F.O. Morris - $1,750
Published in 1857, this six-volume set details the various species of birds in Britain, including 358 full color plates.
AbeBooks' Most Expensive Sales of Flower Books
1. Indigenous Flowers of the Hawaiian Islands by Isabell Sinclair - $5,500
First edition published in 1885, and inscribed by the Sinclair. The Book includes 44 beautiful colour plates dedicated to the flora of the Hawaiian Islands. In the book Sinclair wars of coming threats to the native flora from non native species brought on by fires, animals, and human intervention.
2. Wildflowers of Great Britain by George W. Johnson and Robert Hogg - $3,245
Compiled in 11 volumes containing 924 colored plates and was originally published in 1863. Johnson was a master gardener who penned numerous works on the subject, and founded the Journal of Horticulture, which published this work.
3. Flore Des Dames et Demoiselles - $3,000
A romantic look at gardens, each volume is prefaced with a short discussion of a related topic, such as methods in foreign countries, arrangement of flower beds, and orangeries. Printed in six volumes but paginated continuously.
AbeBooks' Most Expensive Sales of Exploration Books
1= Beskrivelse over Eylandet St. Croix I America I Vest-Indien - by Reimert Haagensen - $4,500
Published in 1758 in Copenhagen this first edition is an early, and important, description of St. Croix in the Virgin Islands based on the author′s own observations; discussing economic conditions, slavery, social life, and local customs.
1= The Navigator by Cramer Zadok - $4,500
Seventh edition, published in 1811. It is fully titled; The Navigator: Containing Directions for Navigating the Monongahela, Allegheny, Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers; with an Ample Account of These Much Admired Waters, from the Head of the Former to the Mouth of the Latter, and a Concise Description of Their Towns, Villages, Harbours, Settlements, &c. With Accurate Maps of the Ohio and Mississippi, to which is Added, an Appendix, Containing an Account of Louisiana, and of the Missouri and Columbia Rivers, as Discovered by the Voyage under Captains Lewis and Clarke.
1= Voyages and Travels to India, Ceylon, the Red Sea, Abyssinia, and Egypt 1802-1806 by Viscount George Annesley Valentia - $4,500
First edition published in 1809 in three volumes, it contains a dedication letter to Richard Maquis Wellesley, who was the Governor General of the British possessions and Captain General of the British forces in the East Indies.
AbeBooks’ Most Expensive Sales of Architecture Books
1. Della Magnificenza ed Architettura de'Romaniand Osservazioni sopra la Lettre de M. Mariette by Giovanni Battista Piranesi - $17,000
Piranesi (1720-1778) is famous for his etchings of ancient Roman ruins and prisons. This work (published in 1765) translates to Roman Antiquities of the Time of the First Republic and the First Emperors and contains etchings of the structures from this period.
2. Espana Artistica y Monumental, Vistas y Discripcion De Los Sitios y Monumentos Mas Notables De Espana by Genaro Perez Vila Amil - $7,500
Volume I and III of this set which depict the artistic and monumental sites of Spain. Written by Genaro Perez Villa Amil (1807-1854) who was one of the finest landscape artists in Spanish Romanticism. First editions published in 1842 and 1850 respectively.
3. Frank Lloyd Wright 12 Vol. Monograph by Frank Lloyd Wright et al - $5,850
First edition published in 1984. The complete 12-volume set of the astounding monograph of the Master of American architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright. Volumes 1-8 are monographs of his work; volumes 9-11 are ‘Preliminary Studies’; volume 12 is called Frank Lloyd Wright in His Renderings. The most exhaustive study of Lloyd Wright undertaken.
AbeBooks’ Most Expensive Sales of Vampire Books
1. Dracula by Bram Stoker - $3,000
First edition, early issue, published in 1899 and bound in original red-lettered yellow cloth.
2. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer - $2,000
First edition, first printing, signed by the bestselling author
3. Salem’s Lot by Stephen King - $1,450
Limited edition copy signed by King and illustrator Jerry Uelsmann. This copy was number 171 of 405.
Online Bookbuying for Collectible Books
There are many reasons to consider online bookbuying when shopping for collectible books. If you know where to look, shopping for collectible and signed books online is easy. By purchasing your books online you can save a lot of time and perhaps some money too.
The most obvious reason to buy collectible books online is convenience. Instead of calling dealer after dealer inquiring about a book, you need only perform a search. You can start by searching from your favorite search engine. If the book is available on a site that the search engines like, it might just come right up on the front page. This will save you even more time, since you won’t have to search each site individually.
However, you might still want to go check out other online bookbuying sites. It’s possible that the book could be listed at more than one of them, and if so, you can compare the different copies of the book before deciding which one to buy. The books may vary in condition as well as price, so be sure you read everything carefully and examine the pictures if there are any available. Make sure that you know which edition of the book you are buying because that can make a big difference in how much the book is worth. You can also expect a signed book to sell for more than an unsigned one.
Always take the shipping costs into consideration when deciding which book is the best deal. Some online booksellers pad the shipping costs to make their book prices appear cheaper. You’ll want to consider the total cost with shipping when comparing similar items.
There are many places you can purchase collectible books online. Amazon.com has a marketplace where anyone can sell their used books. Collectible books often show up there. There are also large online booksellers that specialize in collectible and rare books. These sellers include Abe Books, Alibris, Elephant Books and Powell’s.
Of course, there is always eBay. You should be extra careful when buying on eBay or anywhere that you are purchasing from an individual. Many of the folks who sell on eBay really don’t know how to find out whether a book is a first edition or if the signature on a signed book is authentic. Make sure you know what to look for so you don’t end up getting burnt.
Online bookbuying can save you time and money. Just use caution and common sense and you can find some great bargains and have fun doing it.
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