Autographed Books by Allen and Patricia Ahearn
Thanks to Allen and Patricia Ahearn for their permission to post this article from their site at Quill and Brush Their site is very informative and an excellent resource for book collectors.
Author's autographs in a book may be considered in various categories, including signed limited editions, signed trade editions, and association copies. We've discussed limited editions elsewhere on the site.
Signed trade editions are copies of the regular trade first edition signed by the author, with or without an inscription. These signed books will usually sell for at least twice as much as an unsigned copy, but the real determinant of price will be the value of the author's signature. Some authors are very generous in signing their books; as a result, their signatures may be worth only $10 or $15, representing the price difference between a signed and an unsigned copy of a first edition, or the price of a signed later printing. On the other hand, some authors very rarely sign a book and their signatures alone may be worth $50 or more; again, this would establish a price. Further, some authors are very free with their signatures but very rarely inscribe copies of their books, and therefore inscribed copies, even if the recipient is unknown, will command a premium.
Value of Signed vs. Inscribed Books
We are often asked about the value of a first edition that is inscribed by the author to another person versus the value of the same book just signed by the author. We understand that if the original recipient of the book is not well known, or of general interest, some collectors prefer the author's signature without the inscription. From our point of view we would always prefer an inscribed copy and think it is worth more than a copy that is just signed by the author. However, we understand that if the author is young and the collector hopes one day to meet the author at a signing, or perhaps send some of his books to get the author to sign, the collector will not want to buy a copy of the book inscribed to some unknown person. From our point of view, we know that after the death of an author, inscribed copies are always worth more than copies that are just signed, Also, from our point of view, the inscription allows us to have more of the author's handwriting to examine to assure ourselves and our customers that it is a genuine author's autograph.
Association copies are books that include a signed inscription from the author to another famous personality or someone important within the framework of the particular author's life and work. These will be valued more highly than the normal signed first edition, depending on the importance of the recipient involved.
New York Antiquarian Book Fair This Week!
This is the Big One folks. The hum-dinger of fairs. Attend it if you can - Regret it if you can't. Of course the Los Angeles Fair and a few in Europe would claim the prize as Best Fair so this is just a personal observation. It is great fun!
When
April 9 - 11, 2010
Friday noon - 8pm
Saturday noon - 7pm
Sunday noon - 5pm
Where
The Park Avenue Armory
643 Park Avenue, at 67th Street,, New York City
www.armoryonpark.org
Schedule
Friday, April 9, 2010 4:30pm
The New York Antiquarian Book Fair, sponsored by the ABAA, is pleased to present Nicholas Basbanes, for an exclusive book signing of Mr. Basbanes just published new work, About the Author: Inside the Creative Process. This book is the first availability of this book and the first time it is being offered for sale. Proceeds from the book will support the ABAA library fund.
Saturday, April 10, 2010 1pm in booth A15
The New York Antiquarian Book Fair, sponsored by the ABAA, is pleased to present, Stuart Lutz, for an exclusive book signing of his just published work, The Last Leaf: Voices of History's last-known Survivors. Lutz has recorded survivors' oral histories from many famous historical events. Some stories included are from the final three Civil War widows, the final pitcher to surrender a home run to Babe Ruth and the last surviving employees of Thomas Edison, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Harry Houdini.
Sunday, April 11 noon - 3pm
Discovery Day
Early Printed Books Auction Coming Up
Swann Galleries will hold an important auction of early printed books on April 12, 2010. They are located here: SWANN GALLERIES, INC., 104 East 25th Street, New York, New York 10010 Tel. 212-254-4710, Fax. 212-979-1017.
EARLY PRINTED BOOKS Features a private collection of Baskerville imprints comprising nearly two-thirds of the 18th-century Birmingham printer's output, as well as a diverse selection of emblem, fable, and other illustrated books. Some books go back as far as the 16th century and anticipated sale prices appear quite reasonable. You don't really know what books will sell for until they sell, obviously.
This sale is an excellent way for collectors to add very rare books to their collections. If you contact Swann early and set up an account, you may place bids in advance via telephone, fax, mail, or e-mail, and their staff will bid on your behalf. You can also make advance arrangements to bid by telephone during the auction.
Swann Gallery describes the auction in this way: An unusually large group of Baskerville imprints features a superb copy of the 1763 Holy Bible ($4,000 to $6,000) and less common titles such as Richard Gardiner's 1762 Account of the Expedition to the West Indies ($800 to $1,200) and the 1765 Vocabulary, or Pocket Dictionary, attributed to Baskerville himself ($800 to $1,200).
Among the many emblem, fable, and miscellaneous illustrated books in the sale are Andrea Alciati, Omnia . . . Emblemata, Lyon, 1566 ($1,500 to $2,000); Cesare Ripa, Iconologia, Amsterdam, 1644 ($800 to $1,200); Christoffel van Sichem, Bibels Tresoor, Amsterdam, 1646 ($800 to $1,200); and Het Groot Tafereel der Dwaasheid, [Amsterdam?], 1720, a satire on the European stock market meltdown that year.
Notable items in a section of travel literature are John Hawkesworth, A New Voyage Round the World . . . Performed by Captain James Cook, New York, 1774, first American edition, with a frontispiece by Paul Revere ($8,000 to $12,000); Sir Alexander Mackenzie, Voyages from Montreal . . . through the Continent of North America, to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans, London, 1801 ($2,500 to $3,500); and Vincenzo Maurizi, History of Seyd Said, Sultan of Muscat, London, 1819, the first European book on Oman ($2,500 to $3,500).
Other sale highlights include, St. Augustine, De civitate Dei, Venice, 1489/90 ($4,000 to $6,000); St. Thomas Aquinas, Commentum in octo libros Physicorum Aristotelis, Venice, 1492 ($6,000 to $9,000); Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of the English Language, London, 1755 ($8,000 to $12,000); Uri Tsvi Rubinstein, Limudei . . . ha-sehok ha-nikra shakhshpil, Lemberg, 1809, an early Hebrew chess manual ($2,000 to $3,000); and a bound volume containing 3 pamphlets on electrodynamics by André-Marie Ampère, one of them inscribed and signed, Paris, 1822-26 ($5,000 to $7,000).
As you can see by the summary of a portion of the auction items, this is going to be a wonderful and important auction. You can visit the auction site by going to Swann Galleries An auction catalog can be found HERE There is also a 3D catalog that I found quite interesting (though it takes a while to load). You can find it HERE
[Top]A Few Good Books - A Few Good Buys
I have selected some books that are signed, limited edition - and which also happen to be attractively priced. I will list a few of them here. You can go to Amazon, yourself and search for signed, limited edition - then wade through all but I have attempted to save you some time and maybe let you know what is out there that may be special. "Special" is subjective, of course - these books being ones I would enjoy for my personal book collection, generally. Most have only one book available so if you see something you like, do not wait - just suggesting... If you click on the links I provide here I will receive a small (very small) commission. Thank You - I keep trying to pay the light bill :-}
[Top]Leaf From Gutenberg Bible On Auction Block
As part of the March 18 sale of the library of Roger Wagner, a very rare leaf from am original Gutenberg Bible is up for sale by Pacific Book Auctions. Low estimate is $40,000.00 and High estimate is $50,000.00. The auction catalog describes it in this way:
Printed leaf, Folio 148 from Volume I, being 2 Samuel, Chapter 3 (with parts of Chapters 2 and 4). With 2 hand-executed initials in red, one on either side. 14½x11¾, set in custom-made burgundy cloth chemise and folding box.
Original leaf from the most famous book in the annals of western civilization, the 42-line Bible of Johannes Gutenberg, acknowledged as the first book printed with moveable type. A tremendous project, the culmination of years of effort and the toil of many workmen, the printing of the Bible marked a turning point in the social, political, economic and religious life of Europe. The dissemination of information which resulted from the advent of the printing press, both religious and secular, demolished many of the boundaries which had for so long held Europe stratified, and set loose the full vigour of the renaissance. Of the production itself, Printing and the Mind of Man (1) states "Standards were set in quality of paper and blackness of ink, in design and professional skill, which the printers of later generations have found difficult to maintain; it is only in legibility of type that they have been able to improve on this, the first and in many ways the greatest of all printed books." Original leaves from the Bibles printed by Gutenberg are justly prized, and are a cornerstone of any library concerned with the evolution of the printed book.
Condition:
Lightly foxed, a little rough along one edge where originally bound, a few tiny chips and slight stains at lower edge, very good condition