Book Collecting

By Alex Bergman

I cannot live without books.

-Thomas Jefferson

Old dusty volumes lining a shelf have a certain aura. There is a certain smell only an ancient dusty tome possesses, a specific sound of crackling pages being pulled apart. There is a tactile pleasure which an old book possesses that cannot be replicated by 1000 flickering screens. Bibliophiley, or book collecting, is the hobby for a person who enjoys the pleasures of the printed word.

Book Collecting is a very accessible hobby, which, at its simplest, requires just quarters and a little time. However, as your investment of time and money increases, the possibilities expand exponentially. First editions, rare books, signed volumes, books by a specific author, and very old books are all areas of interest to the collector.

If you were to step back a few hundred years, all books were collectors’ items - luxuries well beyond the means of the common man. Their high cost was due to their being manu scriptus, meaning “written by hand” on vellum, a type of animal skin. Universities, museums or churches own the majority of these manuscripts that survived to the modern era, and those in private hands command high prices, sometimes thousands of dollars for a single page.

However, Gutenburg’s invention of the printing press in 1450 made owning a book possible, at least for members of the middle class. The Gutenburg Bibles are items of considerable interest. One of these Bibles was sold in 1987 for approx. $5,000,000. However, not all works from the early days of print are so exclusively priced, but are rather expensive - often a couple of hundred dollars. If you are interested in books printed before 1800, specialist booksellers are your best bet, although occasionally books of this age show up at estate sales.

As you approach the modern age your job as a collector gets easier. Interest in this area mainly revolves around first editions, rare copies, and signed volumes. First edition refers to the first run of the first printing of any book. Usually if a book is first edition, it will say so on the title page. First edition copies of rare or unusual books can be quite expensive, but lesser known books are more affordable.

Rare books, obviously, are books that for one reason or another are hard to acquire. This could mean a limited edition, or a second edition of a book published long ago. There are many qualities making a book rare, and without specific knowledge it is difficult to tell. Only research and a broad knowledge base will let you know that what you are buying is expensive, rare and “collectible.”

Finally, an author’s signature is the perfect storm, as they are often first editions combined with an authors autograph. If it is a rare book to begin with, an author’s autograph will take the price to another level. More recent books, whether they are signed or not, are more reasonably priced - sometimes little more than their price new.

But all of these are pretty exclusive, and require commitments of time, effort, energy, and money. An easier way to get into the hobby is to go to garage sales, used book shops, flea markets, and library sales, where you can often buy a hardcover book for as little as a quarter. You never know, you might find a first edition in the rough.

Alex Bergman is an advanced collector, and a staff writer for Manion’s International Auction House. He is currently studying Anthropology and History at the College of William and Mary.