I’m feeling really pleased with myself, because Thursday I obtained an entire 40-volume set of the Yale Shakespeare for a measly $25. You know, those little blue jobbies that always have faded spines? Woohoo!
Have you found the exact book you wanted for almost nothing? Searched for years, and finally obtained your dream book? Just happened upon the perfect weird gift? Post your happy used book deals here!
I had seen an extemely uncommon but important and extremely relevant work referred to in a few spots that I desperately needed for my thesis research-- first could find no copy in the US through ILL and then could not find it anywhere during 7 weeks poking around in libraries in Belgium (Dutch language publication on the relic of the Holy Blood in Bruges. . . yeah, I know, fascinating). This one small bookstore in town continued to be closed for the summer, and finally opened one afternoon, the day before I was supposed to leave (they’d been on vacation in Berlin), and there it was-- the thing was like xerox printed and paper-bound with light-faded red constuction-paper covers. Cracks me up.
I love the art of stained glass. At Curious Books, in East Lansing Michigan, I came upon this gem, Stained Glass authored by Lee, Seddons and Stephens, for the bargain price of $10. This was about 15 years ago, but still a good deal. It is an absolutely stunning work, the most comprehensive I have ever seen. The photos are gorgeous, the history and diagrams are extremely detailed, plus there is a section on contemporary work, not always included in such books.
I got a copy, in fine condition, of Larousse Gastronomique , at a library booksale, for $3.50.
genie, yikes, what a find! Ditto for Baker on the Larousse, I’ve wanted that for a good while, but it’s pretty pricey new. Good for y’all!
This book find doesn’t mean much to me Lit wise, but is kinda interesting… I lived in Oxford, MS. at the same time John Grisham was getting popular. In one of my Salvation Army forays, I bought a basic yoga book that Grisham had donated. It has his signature on the blank front page, as an ownership designation. Kinda neat, as ya wouldn’t think of lawyer Grisham as being interested in yoga. A fun find, and totally under the radar as far as signed books go.
Oh, and it cost a shiny quarter dollar.
This may not count, but I picked up a copy of The Outline of History by H. G. Wells, and the exciting thing was that sandwiched in the pages was not only an old, dry four-leaf clover, but a folded piece of paper; on the outside is written “Sketch of Elcipse of Sun January 19, 1925,” and it’s signed; I can’t read the signature. On the inside is a pencil sketch of the eclipse.
I was psyched.
I was at the local used book store one day when I thought of George Orwell’s name. I found their “Classics” section and expected to find old paperbacks of his books, which was fine by me as I was searching for some of his lesser known books like A Clergyman’s Daughter or Coming Up For Air to complete my collection. I found a hardcover of 1984 and almost gasped when I looked at it. Could it be? It was! I left with an American first edition of 1984 by George Orwell for only $26! It’s a Book of the Month club thing, and except for a very small black dot located in the front cover, it would have been worth $200. I didn’t care. I was psyched simply because it’s my favorite book.
Inside was a little slip of paper that talked about the author and it was written while he was still alive. He died less than a year after the book was published.
Eonwe, muy beautiful! That’d be one of those moments you could feel sweet Time whispering how-bout-that! right in yer earbones.
the harvard classics had an old one which had 1) machiavelli’s prince and roper’s “life of sir thomas More” and more’s “utopia” and some other renaissance stuff. really good stuff, translations which really sat well with me. i got it while killing time at some craphole town while on a bus trip from florida in 83. despite my care, it just disappeared. (i know it wasn’t stolen…none of my acquaintances can stand my taste in the arts). recent translations never quite clicked with me, even tho i may have bought one or two of the individual texts. (remember, 83 was pre-amazon, ebay)
about 5 years later, i went to some college sponsored seminar in ft. worth, and during the lunch break i ran into a goodwill or some such store to kill time. while checking the book section, i saw a book with a similar binding!!!
Could it be?!?!?
Was it?!?!??!!
75 cents, plus tax!
I picked up a copy of The Cat Who Walks Through Walls by Robert Heinlein at Half-Priced Books and found out not only was it a first edition (which aren’t all that uncommon), but that it was a first state. On page 300, there’s an incorrect line of text that is corrected in later states (but still first editions), and it still had the errata slip laid in. I paid $2.50 for it, and had a very satisfied look on my face, I’m sure.
I once found an autographed copy of Norman Mailer’s Ancient Evenings for fifty cents. I guess that’s not that exciting, but it’s the best I’ve done at scoring a used book treasure.
I have found quite a few book treasures at rummage sales, and occasionally at Half Price Books, but I think my most astonishing find was a First Edition copy of Stephen Kings “Carrie” at a rummage sale. The book was in the bottom of a box marked $0.25. In the box were a few other second edition Stephen King and some hard cover Hardy Boy’s books. I bought the whole box for 5 bucks. I didn’t see Carrie untill I got it home, and nearly wet my pants. It is in nearly mint condtion, it seems like it was wedged in between the Hardy Boys books protected for years.
I carry a list of books around in case I ever happen to be in a used book store or library or whatever. Used to be a folded paper in my wallet, now it’s an indexed database on my Palm Pilot, but the principle is the same.
During more poverty-driven times (grad school) I bargained with myself that I would only add books to the list when I was not near a source of books, i.e. from conversation or radio interviews etc., and only buy books from the list, and only used (so, no browsing, no cherry-picking). I kept this up after I left my University town for my new job, just to keep my habits in check (although the add-to rule got slackened pretty fast).
Went back there to visit friends one weekend, and the local used b’shop had moved to new, bigger digs. Went from cavelike, musty, and all crazy angles and 2x4 shelving to a more open space with better lights and decorated subject plates (yah, no character anymore 
) and it was MUCH BIGGER. I cleaned off 70% of my list on that visit, filled 4 groc bags and spent a few hundred bucks, but hey, rules are rules :D.
That was 5 years ago and I still have not finished reading THAT pile of books. And since then I have acquired 1 or 2…
-biblio’vark
I found a complete 20 volum edition of Sir Richard Burton’s translation of the Arabian Nighs from the 19th century. Most of the pages were still uncut!
I was walking along the Royal Mile in Edinburgh and I came upon a used children’s book store. There, I came upon a first edition of The Christopher Robin Story Book by A. A. Milne for 40 pounds. My wife loves Winnie-the-Pooh, so that Christmas was a no-brainer.
When I was little, I was going to see Ray Bradbury in a school luncheon. I went to the used bookstore but couldn’t find anything I dind’t already have. My Dad asked the bookstore owner and he came out with a 1st edition of The Illustrated Man which my Dad bought and which I subsequently got signed. One of my favorite memories of my father.
Bad coding. 
I don’t have any personal “finds” to share, but the used bookstores and Goodwill/Salvation Army thrift stores are my usual haunts for finding books. I once stumbled upon what looked to be someone’s entire science fiction & fantasy collection, including many older volumes, albeit in paperback; I bought a few Tolkien books that can sometimes be hard to find and several older TOS Star Trek books, but it was mostly fantasy. Should have bought more!
Recently, I spent about $20 and got a goodly selection of paperbacks (10), so I’m set for the time being. I’ve been looking about for a recent autobiography of Teddy Roosevelt, but will probably have to get that at a (regular) bookstore. I’m also still looking about for missing Stephen King books (LOL I have a fairly wide selection of his works, but some are missing-in-action, so I’m trying to replace them). And I was able to find a copy of “The Handmaids Tale,” the January selection for the SDMB book club, yay! 
I bought an 1852 hard cover edition of Punch in York for 2 pounds- it is full of articles about the Crimean War. One article I really likes was this:
“Disgusting exhibition: A brute in human shape lately undertook, for a trifling wager, to devour (uncooked) 12 cabbages, 18 spring greens, 2 ropes of onions, and 10 artichokes. We understand that the only excuse given for this disgusting performance was, that the fellow was a vegetarian.”
I found a history of the world book from 1901 in a shop that I bought for $1. I do not know or care if it is valuable. I just had to have it. My how things have changed, both as far as the reporting of historical events prior to 1900 and also of course the passage of the greatest century in human history which the author could not concievably have envisioned.
I picked up a copy of “Jane’s Aircraft of the World 1995-1996” in a used bookstore.
It was only the second time I’ve seen a Jane’s book in a used bookstore, so I had to have it. Now that I’ve browsed it, I’m thinking of selling it.
I paid $10. I’m hoping to get considerably more than that, as it’s in exceedingly good condition.