What to Look For When Collecting Books

I grew up in a family of bibliophiles. For the last 30 years, I have worked alongside my parents at their bookbindery for both long and short stretches of time—Smith-Shattuck Bookbinding in Princeton, NJ. I also grew up collecting books. My parent's home was full of rare books and signed modern first editions. Books are in our blood.

So when clients started asking me about their book collections—how to preserve them and what to donate—it seemed like a natural extension of my existing archiving business.  We now offer services to evaluate, catalog, preserve and organize book collections. We also professionally photograph books for our clients for proof of insurance and auctions.

This year, we have been fortunate to have already worked on two large, interesting collections of books with many rare and signed first editions. I've shared a few of my favorites in this post.  

If you are a book lover wondering how to get started in collecting, or the owner of many books you are trying to cull, here's what to look for when collecting books.

1. Condition, condition, condition! This is especially important on books from 1900 onwards. Collectors and dealers demand to see books in the best condition possible, along with the original dust jacket and slipcase (if issued with a slipcase). Even the smallest tear or water stain on a dust jacket or cover will bring down the value. Discoloration due to the sun, or "sunning," will also affect value. Sunning looks like this (this spine originally was lavender):

First Edition of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire from 1947, with damage
on the spine from the sun. Estimated retail/replacement value: $800.

2. A healthy spine. Look under the dust jacket of your book. If the spine of your book is creased from reading, it will bring down the value. If the lettering is rubbed off in spots, take some value off for that as well (or even several hundred dollars in some cases). If the corners and spine are "bumped" the value goes down. You can see bumps on the top and bottom of the spine here (and isn't that a gorgeous cover?):  

First edition of Lost Face by Jack London from 1910 with a "bumped" spine.
Estimated retail/replacement value: $125.

3. Skip the Book Club editions. Look on the back of your book for a small square or circle near the lower right corner of the spine. This indicates a "Book Club Edition" of your book. As a general rule, you can bring this book to the beach and spill soda on it without any worries. This is not a collectible edition of your book, and it will have very little value. 

4. First Edition. Everyone wants a first edition, but how do you know for certain if your book is a true first edition? Although this information is often stated on the copyright page of most books, this is not always the case (see below). You may see a set of letters beginning with A or a string or numbers beginning with the number 1. Sometimes it is denoted with the abbreviation "FE." Of course, if you see the words "Second Edition," it's a good bet it isn't a first. When in doubt, this question can pretty much always be answered by experts or some online research. 

For example, here's the copyright page of the "sunned" copy of A Streetcar Named Desire that I showed above. Although this is a first edition, there is no real indicator in the book. 

The copyright page from a first edition of A Streetcar Named Desire, but not stated as a first.

5. Encyclopedia Frown. Encyclopedias, travel books, text books and ex-library copies do not hold value. Feel free to donate it to a local thrift shop or use them to make a collage!

6. Rather Be Fishing? What do you do if you have a great book collection but no time or interest in sorting through it on your own? Call Cyndi Shattuck Archiving. We are happy to come and help you value and preserve your collection.

This article by Liz Holderman at Worth Point also has some great information: How To Know If Granny's Old Books Are Worth Anything

A signed, limited edition of Gabriel Garcia Marquez' Love In the Time of Cholera from 1988,
still in the original shrink-wrap. Estimated retail/replacement value: $4,000.

A near-fine copy of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood from 1965.
Estimated retail/replacement value: $125.

A very good copy of Twice Told Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne from 1837, along with a custom made
chemise and slipcase. Estimated retail/replacement value: $4,500.

A signed limited edition of William Faulkner's A Fable from 1954, with a slipcase.
Estimated retail/replacement value: $1,000.