Rare Book Stores

Why Buy From Rare Book Stores

The 1928 first edition of Tales of Fresh-Water Fishing by Zane Grey is a thoughtful present for an uncle who takes paperback westerns on fishing trips, and if your fondest childhood book is Goodnight Moon, you could collect everything by Margaret Wise Brown, including the first edition of Little Fur Family bound in real fur. Incunabula, Latin for “things in the cradle,” is a word used for books printed before 1501. They can be purchased at rare book stores also.

Defining Rare Books

Book dealers don’t always agree on what a rare book is. Webster’s New Millennium Dictionary of English defines a rare book as “any book that is hard to find due to its early printing date, limited issue, special character of an edition or binding, or its historical interest.”

• A book could be rare because it is physically desirable. Some books are beautifully bound in leather or have decorative covers and marbled endpapers. The interior illustrations might be noteworthy too.

• Books written by historical figures like Ulysses S. Grant and authors of great merit such as James Joyce or Herman Melville are sought after.

• Rare books can be limited editions as well as early books by authors before they became well known. Only two copies of Twilight by Robert Frost were ever printed.

• Books signed by certain authors are valuable.

• Condition is important, especially with modern first edition novels printed since the early 1900s. Dust jackets for these books can account for at least 75 percent of their prices. Books often damaged like children’s books can be hard to find in nice condition too.

How To Locate Rare Book Stores

Rare book stores can be found all over the country through the telephone directory. The ABAA, the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America, has contact information about its members. You can also search online with Google or go to book databases like ABEBooks.com, Bookfinder.com or Tomfolio.com that search the stock of thousands of book dealers in order to find rare book stores. Book fairs often have booths representing rare book stores as well.

Service To Expect

Rare book stores have bookcases filled with breathtaking leather-bound volumes. This should not deter you from asking the manager questions about the book you’re interested in purchasing, such as what is noteworthy about the book and condition faults. For example, if the book has a dust jacket with tiny stains on the underside, you should be able to take a look at this problem. Likewise, customers must treat books gently. If you pull the book off the shelf by the spine top, the cloth or leather cover could tear. Also, you shouldn’t open a book all the way because this might cause damage. When in doubt, take the book to the front desk to examine it or ask the manager for handling instructions.

Terminology

It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with book terminology in order to converse knowledgeably at rare book stores. The IOBA, The Independent Online Booksellers Association, has a comprehensive glossary. For more information, the book ABC for Book Collectors by John Carter is excellent.

Parts of a book to know include the boards, hinge, gutter, free endpaper and fore-edge, while some descriptive terms are shaken, all edges gilt, full leather and half leather, uncut versus unopened, wraps and folio.

First edition means the first printing of a first edition, while the difference between edition and printing should be understood. Points are important because you can tell the first printing by the points. For instance, a word might have been misspelled in the first printing before the plates were corrected.

Book Collecting

The manager of a rare book store can help focus your collecting interests and suggest books to purchase. There are many types of book collectors. Some only buy first editions by a single author like William Faulkner while others try to obtain every book from a specific publisher, such as Arkham House. A collector could be interested in books about specific topics, such as radio tubes, steam engines or those with fore-edge paintings.

Website Links

• ABAA, The Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America
• IOBA, Independent Online Booksellers Association
• Brodart Library Supplies - archival supplies
• Steve Trussel's Page - much about books

Reference Books

Books about rare books, book collecting and book conservation can be found in the antiques and collecting section of new book stores, while guidebooks in the travel section often mention rare book stores in various cities.

• Carter, John. ABC for Book Collectors. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2004

• McBride, Bill. A Pocket Guide to the Identification of First Editions. Hartford, CT: McBride Publisher, 2001

• Zempel, Edward N. And Linda A. Verkler (editors). First Editions: A Guide to Identification. Peoria, IL: The Spoon River Press, 2001