The rare book trade may seem to be a bygone fad from a bygone era, characterized by dusty tomes and petty old men, in the digital age. However, electronic books have actually made readers aware of the fact that a printed book is more than simply the written words; it is also a physical representation of history. Because of the internet, knowledge about this obscure topic is now publicly accessible, and book collecting is becoming more and more popular. Additionally, dealers are dealing with a larger range of material, and these new viewpoints are energizing a hitherto quiet and exclusive sector. The commerce has evolved more in the past 20 years than it has in the previous 200 because of these advancements. While keeping that in mind, let’s take a look at the reasons on why you should buy antique books from authentic dealers instead of purchasing from the internet.
A book that is old doesn’t have to be rare.
In the world of book collecting, supply and demand rule. When a book is difficult to locate and in great demand, it is said to be “rare.” It doesn’t meet the criteria if neither the supply side nor the demand side is excessive. In other words, just because no one wants a book from 1850, it’s not necessarily “rare.” And no, just because a book is “ancient,” doesn’t make it appealing. The term “ancient” in the context of rare books is relative: a book from 1850 isn’t actually that old when compared to the 500 years of written history we handle. Only books produced in the 1400s, from the first years of printed books in the West, are ancient enough to be highly prized just for their age.
You can get a true feel of the rare books
Yes, our line of work is referred to as the “rare book trade,” but only because it is simpler to pronounce. In reality, we deal with archives, etchings, scrolls, manuscripts, and even sometimes ventriloquist dummies from traveling female preachers. Is text present? Or is there any relationship between the thing and books? That’s plenty for us.
You can check and see if the dust jackets are present
One important requirement for book collecting is “completeness,” which refers to the concept that a book should still have all the components it originally came with. Rare Book Store Shapero says this often refers to the dust cover in contemporary novels. Depending on the condition of the original dust jacket, the cost of a first edition might change dramatically. The Great Gatsby is an extreme case: Currently, a first edition costs between $400 and $600 without the jacket. The cost rises to around $100,000 in an acceptable original dust jacket that hasn’t been repaired.
You can make sure that all pages are there
This is particularly true of books that were published during the “handpress” era, or before 1800. You are more likely to find missing pages the farther back in print history you look. Unacceptable sections of prohibited literature are taken out. Beautiful engravings are removed so they may be framed and hung on walls. A book’s blank front or back pages are often absent as well: Historically, owners would cut off the blank pages for usage since paper was a costly commodity. Dealers must carefully review each page of a book to ensure that nothing has been damaged. We even have a unique way of counting that is depending on how the printer structured the book. We also detest interruptions when counting through a 500-page book.
You can see how affordable it is
Shakespeare’s First Folio, valued at $6 million, and Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, valued at $150,000 each, are the books that get the most attention. But often those who aren’t purchasing the costliest books are those who are building the most intriguing collections—the ones that wind up being housed at some esteemed institution. With much excitement, Duke University purchased the Lisa Baskin collection in 2015, which features images of women at work during the last five centuries. Because Baskin spent the majority of the 40 years, she spent collecting buying books that weren’t in high demand, she was able to build this impressive collection at a fraction of the price one would anticipate. A lady entomologist from the 18th century who published her own drawings of her scientific observations. Oh, please. However, similar works were dismissed in the 1980s with a shrug.
In an effort to show that outstanding collections don’t have to be pricey books kept behind glass, my firm sponsored a book collecting award for women 30 and younger this year. Our first winner is a romance book collector.
You can get the smell of antique books
Each of us has handled a treasured old book and inhaled its sweet-smelling pages. It is comfortable. It’s serene. It makes us think of hidden gardens, tea parties, and rainy days. And it doesn’t apply to the majority of rare books. The chemical lignin, which was added to the papermaking process in the 1840s when wood pulp was added, is responsible for that specific odor in low-quality paper. A book with a smell, during the most of the printed book’s history—more than 500 years—means that mildew, dirt, or any other undesirable things have been rubbed into the pages over time. A bad smell is a warning sign that something is amiss. Our goal is to keep our books odor-free. It’s like saying, “Your books are disgusting!” when someone walks into our store and comments on the stench.
You can see how the rare books are handled
This is most likely the most common fallacy about rare books. I constantly get yelled at for it by random folks. In fact, it has long been known that wearing gloves reduces your tactile awareness. This implies that when wearing them, you are considerably more likely to damage the book—for example, by dropping it—or rip a page. Conservationists merely advise using clean, dry hands before touching them. The exceptions have helped to sustain this myth: Gloves are necessary for a very tiny proportion of materials, such as photographic film and metal bindings. But curators of rare books from organizations like the British Library and the Harvard Library system have made it quite apparent that white gloves have no place in a rare book room.
Final words
Now you know the benefits of purchasing rare books from an authentic store. While keeping that in mind, find the right authentic rare book dealer, and you will end up with purchasing the right ones without a hassle.
