Show I I HOW OLD BOOKS I IARE ARE APPRAISED Not Necessarily Valuable Just Jus Because They Are Old i i j. j DEALER TELLS SECRET SECRETS Modern do tic Editions 1 lame Fare ut it ft Second Hand Shops ShO Ih Profit olit t tIn In Volumes A young oung old ohl man who might 1 b JH In a si catalogue as bound toun Ir Ii In parchment foxed rare Iare and nl curious told some som of f the secrets cr ts of oC the thu secant cO Il hand h book hook trade ratio In a n. downtown caf the other ti d day says latys the New York Tri Fri burro bune He lie lie buys huys for fUl leis his c employer volumes a year traveling ta al all through h the metropolitan district amInto am ant Into several e a adjacent states He lIe ha carte blanche to do business with own owners owners ers r in values value ranging from rain 50 C no O u tc and boasts that he has hus nevet neve ne CI made mule a mistake t kt I h have ve little to do with books only books only buy em anti and set SN tin th price said the fire young old JIll man sipping the flintier amber l' l liquid In hi his mug muS' Y You u must know them all No No man ratan can know everything wa a the reply I am ant a specialist In url curl English literature pretty prett fair fait of oil Americana anti and backward on Russian Hus lan fiction There is always alwa's something to learn and a n bibliophile Is always ay learning How flow did dl you Jou begin the business As a 0 private collector then a librarian li librarian li- li anti and finally a. a a professional buyer I gradually acquired severa several se modern languages n l and the time lure l of ul bindings and editions The great gleat secret see sec C- C ret rd however is to tu know how to tint find out what you yuu dont don't can carry In ht your head heat We Ve 1 e have u in our OUI shop a library of oC three thousand volumes tie tiled solely to catalogues ant and l biographies If a hook book Isn't listed tc there thele Its It's one out of a mil mil- lion Ilon So you rou look monk up tip the lc pedigree of 01 un any my book hook Yes the editions and all III the detail lie are set down In tJ the case cae of ur a I rarity the he record tells of or successive s purchasers el ers ts t's ani anti and the prices paid maid for th the last century Sometimes in a library I 1 once come u cross across t a a work olle with the title but hut auctioneer has pages ages missing U Ute fire c pencilled a n number on th the inside cover er that hat serves to tp Identify It It A book that has has been heen out ul of the market for fol fifty years rears Is suddenly s discovered cre In ht the attic of an Hit old country house thc they turn ur n up tip In n all sorts of or queer places ma may have Increased the tho value 01 um 01 again decreased It Iron JIow do you ou estimate the value Security Chief Virtue Not on d a literary ha base basis basis' IJ you OU mn may maye lIl e sure suro of that thaI Authors A aril ami artists artiste dge by hy thu tiro contents the bibliophile and scarcity A c n r tire the edition temp little privately printed tomo l Jf t tile lie rJ C settlers setters hI 0 on nn II Long Longland I ong Eta land nil nia muy be he wurth 10 while a n. T reent rent re- re Shak Shakespeare published at c ent nt nl mote IAl hat tat price will not fetch ret h third one a am tuck nuch If U you yell over ever want to sell hook books books' runt on an the the- theold old mild rU ragged ll queer tl little net nes rather than on n sonic some skin calf set sett Cl Clot ot l t a standard author Yet mere age I does oes II not l gl give value it We C Ret get letters letter rom Toni people who offer us 15 ancient almanacs al- al and Bibles printed in IGOU 1600 for fOI goods good loping hopIng to get gel fancy es gpo lot not worth cartage When hen I appraise t 1 book luuk I look up the thc prices formerly ll for It It consider tho tiro present demand lemand and deduct so ranch much for fot wear After Ater all nil tire the science involved J you oh night might Ct drill call H it luck lucky What ism is the tho n lI average So price you ray nay I For FOl common common lots lot 25 2 or 01 30 cents a n. volume i Tins Tills Includes cloth novels and So history biography poetry ant forth Corth I never 11 make intake ah nh offer The customer must mush mUs sa say what he wants for ho the lot lie He often n says that he doesn't Know lutOW nosy the value alue and would like me to tu ell tell him him- himIn In Lt the first place that would woul mean 11 menu can giving him the line benefit Instead r ll of ofray ny ray employer of years year's of study and we found that when we made malic urIel's people would hold oft off 01 anti and aliI try tryo bid Jill elsewhere Th They to o o get gt a u larger lr cr mould say a So and So o offers offer 1250 The rIll other her dealer replied Ill give Ive Because ca 1 e he would leave have saved the trou- trou Ie Te nn and expense of oC appraisal So we wel It et l the customer r state slate his price lice Sonic Some time lines iines it Is' Is l excessive and regain again Im I'm shamed to tu tt take lake kl all advantage va II tage of inee nce and add something to the modest When Im I'm dealing with rich cople cuple u who Iro know and care nothing bout their hooks books I ha have havu no nu t ions but hut I try to give gl pour poor folk a t rr rate mite HI front Kurt Hun Hooks Is lire tho profit made maele Ull aver aver- igo gf or rare honk bonk Its the rare rare find that counts hats That's what whal makes the lie business lne-H lne ex fX x and yields the revenue Ie Tin The Theother other day we paid a n. quarter quartel for Cor an al anold anold old Elizabethan author and sold 1 it to dealer for This dealer deal deal- er In turn got but Lut he hail had a I customer looking for just that book and w we The Fire fact met that you may have to wait walt two or um three years ears for r n customer arid anti employ such expensive machinery of business goes gocs far to tc Justify the little paid and the much r re rev cel cd The eu customer tomer wants his money in a l hurry A dollar now is worth more to lo him hint than ten next year How Flow do modern dc de editions x ram faro Ba Badly ly A man Is lucky to realize tenth ire of the published price 1 I suppose you u mean tho the works printed printer on an vellum which is thin sheepskin ln with original artists artist's drawings or w water wat ater at- at er 1 colors color's gilt tooled cover JL selling at ati i 1 thousand doll dollars t t rs a ol volume olne ne ll or so There Is Pr I too loo much Rauch buncombe in III that lire Ine of Ju business Sometimes the set setsu sets u re lle e declared to be Le limited to lo a small number when the he publisher secretly issues many more In n a recent ca cast case e suit was brought against a 1 publisher by a man who iho had hatI bought hought an all alle alleged c limited edition anti and found that further copies had hall been printed A thousand dollars ollars a volume may ma maem seem em to be he the th lie water high mark of extravagance yet there are ancient manuscripts In Irl IrlE European E m libraries valued at higher prices An Old Testament papyrus inthe in III inthe the Vatican has been bid for Cor by hy a syndicate of Jews at a rate rale that thal would enal make diamonds cheap A 1 painting oy y Raphael would trot not fetch more inure than one are nc of ur these old Greek Creel manuscripts I Arc there theae all any absolutely worthless worthless worth worth- Il less s books s School Hooks Bools Worthless s Yes scientific c. c legal technical medical and school books At least they are arc worthless except to the junkman junkman junkman junk junk- man who sells ell them to the paper mill milli Tilt Tilt- reason Is that all such hool books s become become be he- come cume out of oC date dale In hr a very ry few fete years We Vu ne never neI I buy them therm Of course COUf'S there Is a possibility of a n call c for even these works They might aught become curiosities ties lles in time like the famous NewL New I L Primer Literature and antI art never neVel go gu out of date Speaking of art the ire superbly illustrated ur ar architecture of Try century ago ugo and u u ul l picture works t a It iro tre still beyond comparison The Tire fine findings s time the wood and steel engrav unCIa engravings ings ing cant can't be Je done today and these books have ha an un In Intrinsic value as wellis well is ms that of age and scarcity searcH ons on's L birds and antI Napoleons Napoleon's art galery galery gallel gal- gal lel ery are arc examples of If costly ence combined with utility Foxs Fox's Boole of Martyrs lart T published hotl In 1563 Is s less beautiful but Jut equally sought flee urtel You must experience strange In- In In fn tho Ito business Strange and pathetic While look- look mm one uH t lot Jot I I discovered some sumo gr that had lain In In a book Luuk or r fifty years lal Tiro rho family thought hat the dead grandfather had hat stowed he the 11 money awu away Once I found a n ticket locket that was highly prized by theman theran the thenan ran nan to lo whom I restored It It HIs Is path- path pathetic tlc tic to see le the struggle tint that people have ave In ht disposing of or their beloved Lelo Whether they the have rend read them or r not long possession on has endeared he the familiar volumes Perhaps In the same hook book was on the shelf pelf or it Il was the lire favorite of a It tlc tie parted relative Up VI in Connecticut I jui letl ml t oi v U jo Iu ui been teen een intending for fo foman many man years to visit ils his brother in Lon London on atH and In hi order to prepare himself lr had hail collected books Looks bout London but hut he tiled died before he tad had read half the lie books hook or 01 ever seen sn he the Thames Another mUll man In Jersey lad his iris house barricaded against pro- pro process prows cess ess sel surfers ser ers who sho wanted to attach allach his lIe He let lel m me In through triple chained doors dOOl'S sold the tho collection to tome tone tono ne no in about five minutes and then the doors open Invited the process servers f to como come In lie He ha had he the money and I had the books I re refill re- re fill call ell also the surprise of oC two old maids pint Jill on Long Idland who were dl pos Ing ng ug of many man first editions of or early American Una Ican writers Having Ha paid a dolar dol- dol lar ar or two apiece when ithen tho they bought LO ho tho copies they Imag that the value ague would be lie somewhat what less tutla today |