Publishing history of Mockingbird and In Cold Blood

[NoCoolUserName]

@Waterman

Wordman - great post and it begs the question as to what prices would be associated with famous American works from the 19th Century, like any of Twain’s books, etc. Sorry for the hijack but this is fascinating stuff to an obvious neophyte such as myself.

Now ask about “The Wizard of Oz.”

VeryCoolSpouse collects the Oz series and I bought several early editions (not first but with color plates) for gifts a while back. I did some research about the original book and darned near hurt myself.

[WordMan]

@The Punkyova

I suspect it’s neither. Mom had the opportunity to get me this, and I got what there was. My second-hand understanding is that Miss Lee keeps a small stock of hardcover copies on hand, and autographs them as she wishes. When that stack runs out, her publisher sends her another supply, and so on.

I’m not sure about the association value, sadly. It’s inscribed to me, personally. Mom’s friend says Miss Lee will personalize a few, on request, and she gave her my name. So I’m third degree (daughter of a friend of a friend). If it’s worth documenting something that tenuous, how would I do that? A letter from Miss Lee’s friend, perhaps?

Actually, for me the value is mostly that I love the book, and I’m thrilled to have such a personal copy. But now I’m thinking that it ought to be listed separately on my homeowner’s insurance. Assuming that’s true, where would be the best place to find reputable appraisers?

Okay - got it. I misunderstood - I think you are right, that is isn’t an association copy - hey, it’s still a signed copy! If it is not a true first - and if you think it might be, you are welcome to email me and we can talk about it, but the obvious first place to check is on the reverse side of the title page - if it says “Xth printing” then it is clearly not a first - then it is a cool, signed edition and it is probably worth $200 - $600 retail. Note that you couldn’t sell it to a dealer for that much, but that is how much they would sell to another person - such is the world of collecting.

Hope this helps.

[WordMan]

@NoCoolUserName

Now ask about “The Wizard of Oz.”

VeryCoolSpouse collects the Oz series and I bought several early editions (not first but with color plates) for gifts a while back. I did some research about the original book and darned near hurt myself.

Dear Og, yes - the “edition points” on Oz are notoriously complex. I know NOTHING about them other than to be very, very careful when evaluating copies.

For more modern books, Dune and the first U.S. of 100 Years of Solitude are also tough to ID as 1sts.
Sorry for transforming this thread into a First Editions thread - I appreciate everyone’s patience and will stop now.

[NoCoolUserName]

Hey, I can hijack my own darned thread if’n I wanna. I’m still interested in first run numbers, but it looks like we won’t be finding that info, dang it.

Oh, note that there was a pre-first run of In Cold Blood of 500 copies for press, friends, etc. A signed edition of that run is worth more.

[WordMan]

@NoCoolUserName

Hey, I can hijack my own darned thread if’n I wanna. I’m still interested in first run numbers, but it looks like we won’t be finding that info, dang it.

Oh, note that there was a pre-first run of In Cold Blood of 500 copies for press, friends, etc. A signed edition of that run is worth more.

Again - it depends on what you mean by “first run.” As stated in your OP, there were 5,000 copies in the “true” first edition - literally the first print run. It took off in popularity, so MANY more copies were printed that same year, but in later editions. You definitely answered that question yourself. The 5k number is regulary cited in any collecting-oriented discussion of TKaM, such as articles in Firsts magazine.

As for In Cold Blood - yep, you have it right. I have a regular, non-limited, unsigned first, but there was a limited/signed before that. I am pretty sure the non-limited/unsigned first (referred to by collectors as the “first trade edition” since it was the first meant for regular sale) was pretty high for the time, but don’t have the number at my fingertips. The book - mainly the dj - shows wear quite easily, so a 1st trade in Fine condition fetches a nice premium.