I have a copy that I picked up last November new for $17.95; haven’t gotten around to reading it yet. I hadn’t realized that it had gotten so valuable already.
A first edition of The Straight Dope for $5!
When I went through library school in the 1980s, there still were one or two standard reference works called cyclopedias in their titles. They were old then, but still kept around because they had some value not duplicated by anything else (just like Webster’s Unabridged II) which is also kept around for similar reasons.
The new printing was supposed to be out last week but it got pushed back a little bit. Amazon is currently claiming it will be available on the 16th.
Adding to the thread I recently saw a copy of Shakespeare’s first folio. It wasn’t for sale, though.
Actually, apparently it hasn’t. I had a brainwave today and emailed the publisher–they told me that the Amazon thing was a glitch, there are still plenty of copies available, and they’ll take care of fixing it. He also offered to send me a copy directly if I Paypalled him the funds, which I immediately did.
I feel sorry for anybody who paid $100 for the book…
Well, an old family heirloom is a copy of the constitution in book form, which was given to one of our ancestors (well, technically, he was a great[sup]+[/sup] uncle—he had no descendants), which he’d actually signed the inside cover of.
Well, about ten years ago, during a family trip to Washington D.C., we brought the book along to see if we could learn more about it. We actually did, at one of the quieter offices of the Library of Congress, where one of the staffers there recognized the book, told us a bit about it, and cheerfully offered to show us their own copy.
Which he brought out, not even in a case or anything. Just a little brown book, pretty much identical to our copy. And this one had the signature of it’s owner on the inside cover, too.
George Washington’s. :eek: 
So much for my dream of holding on to it for a few more years and then selling it for mucho bucks…
Not that I would, anyway…I’m a big Sherlock Holmes fan myself, which is why I bought it in the first place.
Somewhere (in a box in the garage) I have a copy of “Billion Dollar Baby”, a paperback which is currently listed on Amazon for $99-220. I sure wish I could find that puppy.
I have a first edition of “The Hunt for Red October” by Tom Clancy… Signed…
and endorsed to his Mom and Dad.
Too bad he became a Hack.
When I first started reading Pterry’s books, I scoured used books stores for copies, because I was active duty and poor. Two years ago during his signing of Thud in Denver, I got my first edition copies of The Light Fantastic and Colour of Magic signed. He looked at them and said “Well, those will bring a pretty penny on ebay!”, and I said, “Oh, no Mr. Pratchett. I don’t SELL books.” He laughed and said “Good Man!”
I also have a few of Mark Rydens first art books, H.G. Wells science text books, and a compilation of The Strand magazine with the first ever story of Sherlock Holmes included.
I have had to sell one book. A copy of Larry Clarkes Tulsa, signed with a photo enclosed, for rent money in the late nineties. Sigh.
I saw a copy of the hardbound edition of the first volume* in a local comic book store last week. It’s out.
*Evidently they’re not reprinting it as a single volume, but as a series of volumes.
I own several fairly rare books, one of which is Origin of Species, Second Edition by a moderately well known author named Darwin.
I also have a signed first edition of Ringworld and I see that I am not the only one here who has this. I actually had the opportunity to get to know Larry Niven during one of the Atlanta Cons back in the day. He was a very nice guy who handled the fame very well.
My father-in-law has a first edition of the Journal of Lewis & Clarks voyage (with the fold-out map!) He was going to sell it a few years ago during the bicentennial hoopla, but decided to hold on to it.
I have a bookdealer friend who has set me up with a lot of LDS & Masonic materials. On my own, the best I’ve found was Charles Taze Russell’s individual volumes of Studies In The Scriptures, the individual volumes of the JW Bible- the New World Translation, a biography of Dwight L. Moody by his son, the Msgr. Ronald Knox Bible, J. Paterson-Smyth’s 1910 The Gospel of the HereAfter, and an AUTOGRAPHED copy of Billy Graham’s Peace With God (I think first edition). The latter was in the JUNK BOOK pile of a used Christian book store for FIFTY CENTS.
If this is correct - i.e., it is a true first and it is autographed from Clancy to his parents - you could have a very valuable book. HfRO was his first book and printed by, like, the Naval Press or something - a publisher of more tech manuals vs. novels. IIRC, there a few key points you have to confirm to be sure it is a true first, but I have seen them go for over $1,000 but I have not checked the market lately.
Now - an association copy can also be a big deal, based on the desirability of the author and the work, their likelihood to sign and their relationship. Hyper-modern genre authors like Clancy typically sign a LOT of books, so simple autographs can add little value (unless Clancy is known for never signing - I have no clue). But a solid association copy can double the value of the book or more…
…worth checking out.
I got it from the family (since at the time I was a HUGE Clancy Fan), and said I’d never sell it. On the other hand, I’ve kept an eye on the market for curiosity/insurance sake and not seen the price on this move much in the past 10 - 15 years.
As an aside, I am amazed at how many authors I thought had staying power have petered out in terms of book value. I really can’t think of a book issued since 1990, other than maybe certain Harry Potter editions, that in 25 years will really hold or even increase value.
As an example, can I interest you in a complete collection of Anne Rice signed Firsts? :smack:
Umm, no. 
I danced around Interview for a while when I could get a copy for cheap and flip it but have never really liked her work…
…like I said, hyper-moderns are tough to stay on top of. You mentioned 25 years - that is usually when you need to start looking at books - 25 years after they came out. Investing big $ much before then is a risky proposition at best - you simply don’t know if they will make the cut as a piece of writing or as a collectible…and it isn’t easy even after the books are 25 years old, either, but you have a bit of a better sense of what is going on…
You have to have read “None Dare Call it Conspiracy” I suspect, to know of this book. It was written by Col. Edwin House, the man who pulled Woodrow Wilson’s strings as part of the CFR conspiracy. The book was called “Philip Dru: Administrator.” I got a copy of it at a garage sale for 10 cents. Hanged if I know why I threw it away.
Best wishes,
handsomeharry
I have two of the red binding Hardy Boys. 1927 is the only year they were published. They went to a black binding after that.
Currently a 1st edition red Tower Treasure is $80. About what I paid 7 years ago. With the dust jacket it could sell for several hundred bucks. I’ve never seen the dust jacket myself.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Hardy-Boys-The-Tower-Treasure-1st-edition-Red-Dixon_W0QQitemZ120537938850QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAntiquarian_Collectible?hash=item1c109efba2
The Hardy Boy books have been heavily revised over the years. I buy older editions that have the original story.
My father was a friend of Kingley Amis at Cambidge Univertsity. He owns a copy of Amis’ first published work *Bright November * (a collection of poems) and it’s a signed first edition, with a personal message to my Dad. I understand that only 150 copies were printed. I actually looked at it yesterday.
As it happens, my father has asked me to find out it’s value. Any suggestions how I can get it valued properly? It isn’t in great condition, no dust jacket and a worn spine.