r/BookCollecting

Image 1 — Classics Library (Latin and Greek)
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▲ 484 r/BookCollecting+2 crossposts

Classics Library (Latin and Greek)

Hello there. Here's my library of Latin and Greek Classics, which I've put together over the last 20-odd years.

The photos are of the following:

 

  1. Wideshot of the Library.

  2. Wideshot of the Latin Room.

  3. Desk and mantelpiece (mostly 17^(th)-19^(th)-century editions of Latin and Greek)

  4. Rotating bookcase (Latin texts), guarded by Cali.

  5. Latin commentaries (chronological by author)

  6. Left half of left wall of Library (top to bottom: Pauly Wissowa, Valpy’s Delphin Latin Classics, Greek and Latin Loebs, I Tatti, Oxford Classical Texts and Teubners, Greek literature)

  7. Modern compositions in Latin and Greek

  8. Editions of, and commentaries on, Lucretius.

  9. Lectures and booklets on Classical subjects.

  10. Some Very Short Introductions (OUP).

  11. Books on Latin and Greek prose and verse composition.

  12. Books on the history of Classical scholarship.

  13. Books on Greek and Latin language, textual criticism and manuscripts.

  14. Desk in Latin Room.

  15. Latin Room from door.

  16. Left wall of Library (before top shelf was required)

  17. Library from entrance.

  18. Latin Room panorama.

  19. Cali browsing shelves.

u/CI2I5 — 21 hours ago
▲ 86 r/BookCollecting+1 crossposts

Is this a 1st edition cookbook?

I am newer to the book collecting community, I searched online but can’t tell if it’s 1st edition. Sorry for the silly question & thanks for looking!

u/chickenlickin420 — 1 day ago

What edition of Vonnegut's Slapstick is this?

Can anyone tell me what edition this hardcover copy of Slapstick by Kurt Vonnegut is? Picked it up for $9.99 today. It appears to be a true First Edition, Third Printing. However, there's no pr*ce on the dust jacket — which generally means it's a Book Club Edition, no? But it also does *not* say Book Club Edition anywhere on the jacket. Any help appreciated!

u/brandon_friedman — 24 hours ago

Couple recent additions

Logan’s Run is a lightly marked library copy, since I’ve never seen a copy i figured what the hell. I’m a huge Derleth fan not by the usual route but as a fan of Steve and Sims mystery/adventure series F/F copy signed.

u/Future-Efficiency-95 — 23 hours ago

Tai-Pan typo on first page?

About to reread Tai-Pan and can’t work out if it’s a typo ‘contined’ on the very first page, or an old word?

Seems crazy that a typo on the first page wouldn’t be picked up.

u/ahhwhoosh — 1 day ago
▲ 18 r/BookCollecting+1 crossposts

Unique ASOIAF Book Set?

Hey all, I have this set of books at home and I've always liked the art of them as it's very different to traditional asoiaf covers. But does anyone know where this set came from? I can only find a handful of them being sold online but no info on when they were released or if it was some sort of limited run. Thanks for any help!

u/buecher_8 — 1 day ago

Question for collectors. Which book did you start your collection with, and how many books are in your collection now?

I started my collection with a children's book "How Khryusha Spent the Winter". It was the one my mom used to read to me when I was little. Then one day, it just went missing. I don't even know where it went. That book wasn't rare at all, just a simple paperback from the 90s. But I wanted it back. So I searched for it everywhere, on marketplaces and at flea markets and eventually, I found it. That's when something clicked. I realized I absolutely loved the process, the hunt, the rush of satisfaction when I finally tracked down what I was looking for. It's a pretty simple story, I know. But funny enough, I didn't become a collector of children's books. I became a collector of emotions. Now my collection holds thousands of books, and thousands of emotions and stories behind them. 📚😊❤️

reddit.com
u/StanzaRareBooks — 1 day ago
▲ 95 r/BookCollecting+1 crossposts

Auction News: Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) sold for $25,600 at Freeman's | Hindman on May 14. Presale high estimate was $8,000. This book is from the Library of Stephen J. Farber. Reported by Rare Book Hub.

From the auction catalog notes:

Stoker, Bram (1847-1912). Dracula. Westminster: Archibald Constable & Company, 1897. 8vo. (Minor spotting to preliminary leaves.) Original yellow cloth lettered in red (rubbing to extremities, darkening to spine with some leaning, spotting to text block edges, hinges touched up).

Provenance: Helena Scott (ownership inscription dated July 1897); A.C. Dunn (ownership inscription); Davies & Son (booksellers' ticket).

"The world's most influential and enduring supernatural novel of vampirism, starring the most celebrated and evocative character in macabre literature" (Dalby).

FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE without the publisher's advertisements at the end as seen in the earliest presentation and review copies issued in May and June 1897, with the last page of text numbered 390 followed by an integral blank leaf. Prior to beginning work on Dracula, Bram Stoker compiled over a hundred pages of notes relating to vampiric folklore, the earliest of which is dated 8 May 1890 and comprises a short outline of what would become the novel's first chapter.

The story took a further two years to flesh out before Stoker began serious work on it during his summer holidays in Cruden Bay, Scotland, from 1893 to 1896.

Though well-reviewed, Dracula was not an immediate success and earned its author next to nothing in royalties, despite never having gone out of print. It has since become a cornerstone of the modern horror fiction genre and is considered the template for most future depictions of the vampire in popular fiction.

It's binding, widely regarded as the most celebrated and instantly recognizable book bindings of the Victorian era, exemplifies "the use of a significant cover in the form of a lurid yellow cloth binding with lettering in red.

To modern readers, this livery, created by an anonymous designer, is merely bold and eye-catching. For the original audience, however, it was freighted with symbolism and association. The livid red anticipates the emphasis on blood and bloodiness, but more important is the use of the colour yellow...it projected the notion of depravity by linking the text to The Yellow Book, the celebrated periodical published by John Lane in the 1890s as the organ of the Decadents. In its association... yellow...'became the colour of the hour' and was 'associated with all that was bizarre and queer in art and life, with all that was outrageously modern'" (Cooke, Simon. "Visualising Dracula." In: The Book Collector, Summer 2021, pp.234-237). Barron, Horror 3-186; Bleiler, Supernatural 1546; Dalby, 10(a); Wolff 6581. 

u/Hammer_Price — 2 days ago

My little stack of New Directions Paperbooks

Honestly I haven't read a ton of these although I do plan to. Just love the covers and can't pass them up when I see them.

u/Plerophoria — 2 days ago

More auction news: Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 (1953) sold for $42,500 at Heritage on May 13. High presale estimate was $7,200. Reported by Rare Book Hub.

From the auction catalog notes:

Ray Bradbury. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine Books, Inc., [1953]. 8vo. Publisher's red boards, spine and front board lettered in yellow (Currey's binding D); original pictorial dust jacket. FIRST EDITION. PRESENTATION COPY, INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR TO DAVID ARONOVITZ WITH A DRAWING DEPICTING FIRE FLAMES on the front free endpaper: "David – this unburnable book – signed by Montag's father / Ray Bradbury / Feb. 6, 1989."

Winner of the 1954 Retrospective Hugo Award for Best Novel, presented in 2004.

Condition: Slightest touch of edgewear, and to spine ends and corners. Dust jacket unclipped (priced "$2.50"); small stain to front panel; light scuffing at folds; very mild edgewear; an uncommonly fine example of this dust jacket, usually prone to fading.

References: Aronovitz, Ballantine Books, pp. 24-25; Currey, pp. 55-56.

Provenance: David Aronovitz (presentation inscription). From the collection of David Aronovitz.

u/Hammer_Price — 2 days ago

The Count of Monte Cristo Uninown Edition.

I was recently willed these copies of parts 1 and 2 of The Count of Monte Cristo. Not looking to part with these but I want to understand what exactly it is I have.

The printing information page just states it was printed by the New York International Book Company but does not give a year. It feels quite old but I am unsure if this is a remind or not. I would love any information this community might have around this particular copy!

u/Derplordsnuffy — 1 day ago

Gregg Press sci-fi books

Normally I like an interesting cover for the older sci-fi that I collect but recently I started to get some of these Gregg Press Science Fiction Series books and I like the simplicity of the green buckram with titles in gold on red background.

u/Hellblazer1138 — 2 days ago

Authentic artist’s signature in 1st ed / 1st print Hunter S Thompson book?

I recently acquired this copy of Hunter S. Thompson’s “Songs of the Doomed: More Notes on the Death of the American Dream / Gonzo Papers Vol. 3” — 1st ed/1st printing (Summit Books 1990). It’s hardcover but has no dust jacket. Spine has wear but pages in great condition and, despite the one area of major spinal flaw, pages seem securely attached.

It appears the book was signed by Ralph Steadman, who worked closely with Thompson as a collaborative artist.

The signature page is interesting because it is on the printed “Note from Ralph Steadman” page, dated 20th July 1990.

My research has not found that the first edition / printing run included a consistent signature, so I think this is unique.

My research has also shown that Steadman’s authentic signatures can be somewhat inconsistent across time and context. This one looks very similar to other authenticated signatures where he incorporates some artist elements that are individual to Steadman’s artistry.

I bought this at a unique retailer that has various vendors who are not present at their stations while shopping. Each vendor rents a small space in this large “open market” kind of setting in rural southeast Ohio.

Let me know what you think!

u/mariodgreeeenwood — 2 days ago

When your dad is moving to New York from Idaho and gives you all the books (bonus points for guessing the last image)

u/Mynameisdead846 — 1 day ago
▲ 173 r/BookCollecting+1 crossposts

Pristine example of 2nd Edition Webster’s Dictionary (1939) from thrift store

Someone had made some kind of homemade dust jacket hand stitched from what felt like thin burlap (last picture), and this 3,500+ page beauty was near perfectly preserved inside. Well worth it at $19.99!

u/matthewpool — 3 days ago

Does anyone have this copy of shogun?

It would be kind of you if u share the pictures of this copy. Also tell me how durable the copy is. How's the binding? Etc

u/PranayaRanjanSingh — 2 days ago
▲ 261 r/BookCollecting+5 crossposts

How much is your collection worth? Secondary market valuations from RareBindings.net

Hello lovely book collectors!

I wanted to share an update on some new features on RareBindings.net, the site I built to help keep track of all the special editions being released these days.

I recently added collection valuations, so you can now see an estimated value for your collection based on secondary sales data from eBay. The estimate shows a min / median / max range by aggregating recent sales data.

If a book does not have secondary sales data yet, you can choose to include the retail price as the basis for the estimate instead. I’ve also added recent sales data directly to book pages, so you can quickly check what similar editions have sold for. That should make it easier to price a book if you’re selling, or check whether you’re getting a fair deal when buying.

The site also supports saved searches and stock alerts, so you can keep an eye on specific books, authors, publishers, stores, or features without manually checking everything all the time.

RareBindings now supports:

- The Broken Binding

- FairyLoot

- Illumicrate

- OwlCrate

- Folio Society

- Subterranean Press

- Suntup Editions

- Grim Oak Press

- LitJoy

- Goldsboro Books

- Dragonsteel Books

- Moonlight Book Box

- The Locked Library

- The Bookish Shop

- Arcane Society

- Lit Escalates

- Waterstones

With more to come! As always, I’m building this as a collector myself, so feedback, bug reports, and store suggestions are very welcome.

Thank you!

u/KyleRowley — 3 days ago