How To Care For 'Rare' Books?

[JunkMonkey]

I'm going to get things thrown at me here but I hate the whole 'wrap it in plastic and preserve it forever' thing. It's a book. Read it! I love books. I really really love books. I have thousands of them stacked in piles, boxes, shelves. I no longer have any idea what I own. As I sit here at the computer there is a cupboard behind me with several hundred Penguin paperbacks from the 1930s through to the 1970s in it. I can't get into the cupboard because there's a pile of 1960s American SF paperbacks in the way.

Rafellin has it right.

Basics: dry and dark. Only handle with clean, dry hands.

A lot of my paperbacks are sorted in cardboard fruit boxes like this; which are not only very cheap - if you lift them from Lidls as you do the shopping - but they stack pretty well too.

However you handle a book - unless you actually throw it against the wall or jump up and down on it* - it is going to outlive you. Just look at any on-line booksellers and marvel at the vast numbers of 1940s, 50s, 60s mass market pulp paperbacks and magazines that are available and still pretty cheap. These things were made to have a shelf life of months, printed on the cheapest paper available and they're still here 60 years later. Be careful with books but don't get too antsy. The important thing is not the book themselves but the words they contain.

Books were only one type of receptacle where we stored a lot of things we were afraid we might forget. There is nothing magical in them at all. The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us.

Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451​

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*A very liberating experience - I can recommend doing it at least once. So is ripping a book in two. I was once on holiday and my partner had nothing to read. I had a huge book of short stories; I tore the thing down the middle and handed over the front half. We swapped halves a few days later.

 

[Michael Colton]

However you handle a book - unless you actually throw it against the wall or jump up and down on it* - it is going to outlive you. Just look at any on-line booksellers and marvel at the vast numbers of 1940s, 50s, 60s mass market pulp paperbacks and magazines that are available and still pretty cheap. These things were made to have a shelf life of months, printed on the cheapest paper available and they're still here 60 years later. Be careful with books but don't get too antsy. The important thing is not the book themselves but the words they contain.

That is why I have additional copies of the books in question for general reading. For the vast majority of my books, I also store them on shelves or in stacks. Most of my books are random used copies for general reading.

It is the few that I want to retain their current condition and value as exactly as possible that I am asking about.

P.S., I could never rip a book in half. Even books that I think have been by and large detrimental to the world, I could not do it.

 

[JunkMonkey]

P.S., I could never rip a book in half. Even books that I think have been by and large detrimental to the world, I could not do it.

 

[Michael Colton]

I am afraid I do not get that reference.

 

[The Judge]

She's a character from a sitcom set on a fictional Irish island (she's a housekeeper to three Catholic priests) and her catchphrase was "Ah, go on" with the "Go on" then repeated ad nauseam until she'd browbeaten whoever she was talking to into doing something. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craggy_Island (In that episode she wasn't talking [?allowed to talk?] and on each of those sheets of paper she had another "Go On" which she revealed one at a time.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craggy_Island

 

[steelyglint]

If you've just paid a couple of hundred for a signed first or limited edition, what is the point in immediately reducing the collectable value of it by reading it and risking dirty thumb marks, creases or bumps if you accidentally drop it?

Buy a paperback copy to read.

That's how all collectors (sensible ones) do it.

I have limited editions that were issued in 'The Holy Shrinkwrap'. I would never dream of removing it because that will reduce its collectable value. The shrinkwrap itself has no value, but as part of the package it adds to the value of the book. It is, at the very least, proof that the book is an unread pristine item.

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[steelyglint]

I would expect that from libraries. They are attempting to keep a book in a useable condition for as long as possible, not in a distinctly 'good' condition.

That's true. But they're always complaining that they never have enough funds to buy new books. They could have sold the K.S. Robinson item and bought 10 new hardcovers with the proceeds.

Instead they decided to wipe out any value the book had, so library users had just that one book where they could have had 10 to choose from.


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[Jo Zebedee]

I have collectible books and reading books, but I take down my collectible books, let my kids handle them and what not. They know to be careful with them, that they're special. But they're also living books, part of the family. They're not there, really, to accrue value (though I've sold the odd one when times were tough) but because .i, genuinely, love them. And because Mr Springs has an eye (and opportunity) and often gets them pretty cheap. But I could never see me collecting them to keep them out of sight, out of light, in a box unless I hoped to make money from them. To me, that's not a love of the book, but of its value.

Steely, we picked up a first edition of Seamus Heaney's first book from the library sale for a quid. We took a hit on value because of its dust cover and stamp, but still did pretty well out of it.

 

[Michael Colton]

That's true. But they're always complaining that they never have enough funds to buy new books. They could have sold the K.S. Robinson item and bought 10 new hardcovers with the proceeds.

Instead they decided to wipe out any value the book had, so library users had just that one book where they could have had 10 to choose from.

Oh, yes that is true. I have found university libraries to be much better with this sort of thing. If the university is large enough or well-funded enough, it will often have someone on staff to manage their rare or near-rare books.

Also, I did discover once a rather unfortunate downside to a library not knowing what it had. I checked out a book and proceeded to lose it when I had some of my things stolen. The library must have looked up its worth after the fact, because I was charged an unbelievably high price for the cost of the book. In retrospect, I should have looked up its worth myself to make sure I was not being taken advantage of - but I felt so bad for losing their book that I just paid it.

 

[steelyglint]

Just a note on the thread title:

A 'unique' book means there is only one copy anywhere.

A 'Rare' book means there may be as many as 10 or so in the world. Not usually so many, though.

An 'Uncommon' book means there are probably hundreds of copies, but finding one can be difficult.

A 'Collectable' book means there could be a great many of them, but not quite as many as there are collectors wanting to own it.

'Rare' is a term that is inappropriately used in the vast majority of cases. Look on eBay and you'll find 'rare' books being offered, even though literally millions of copies exist. I've seen a paperback of 'The Da Vinci Code' described as 'rare', when 'common as muck' is far more appropriate a description.

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[J-Sun]

However you handle a book - unless you actually throw it against the wall or jump up and down on it* - it is going to outlive you.

*A very liberating experience - I can recommend doing it at least once. So is ripping a book in two. I was once on holiday and my partner had nothing to read. I had a huge book of short stories; I tore the thing down the middle and handed over the front half. We swapped halves a few days later.

Damn. Now we can't be friends. (kidding)

I'm somewhere in the middle - I try to make sure that when I've finished reading a book, it looks as unread as reasonably possible. No writing (that's what computers and separate pads of paper are for), no dogearing (that's what bookmarks are for), NO creasing of spines, etc. Then I store them on shelves, though this does lead to the "text-block drag" problem - ironically, though obviously, just for the expensive hardcovers. And the room is cool and dry and dark (except for daily searchlights of sun sneaking through the cracks in the blinds which are slowly irradiating whatever few happen to be in the way. The place where I really fall down (and one of the many reasons I hate trade papers) is that I shelve everything according to my hyper-complex organizational standards and not at all by size, so a trade paper between two mass-markets usually develops gull wings. But this doesn't affect readability or spine integrity. So I don't understand ruthless abusers of books but I also don't understand fastidious collectors, either.

For instance (to heave back to the topic), am I correct in assuming that a torn or chipped dust jacket is obviously worth less than a good one but more than one that has been taped so as not to tear further (knowing that said tape can get yellow and brittle over the decades) or that was covered in protective wrap so as to never get (otherwise) damaged in the first place? And similarly with whatever damage - that no repair or abstruse and expensive professional methods are the only two ways to go? That no preventive measures are better than any preventive measures? I understand sawing down a book as in the story of the librarian would be a Bad Thing but the idea of "untouched original or nothing" doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Many books are made pretty shoddily and, in these days of trying to coerce everyone on to ebooks, they're getting even shoddier. There's nothing special about the original state of being beyond initial structural integrity to me.

Anyway - am I correct about this and, either way, are there other counter-intuitive or non-obvious "value protection" protocols?

Hm - and if the OP doesn't mind, can the topic be broadened to care for any sorts of books? For instance, if you are going to throw "collectible value" out the window but don't want to be gratuitously stupid about it, what are the best (and cheapest!... and easiest) ways to strengthen and preserve books in physical, rather than monetary, terms?

 

[Michael Colton]

But I could never see me collecting them to keep them out of sight, out of light, in a box unless I hoped to make money from them. To me, that's not a love of the book, but of its value.

I think this is the hardest part for me to explain to people. Why exactly do I have things that I supposedly love but are locked away and never seen? It is difficult to describe. It makes me feel as if a part of history or culture is right there in my home. I can enjoy that part of culture through the everyday copies I keep on my bookshelf, I do not need to read the collectible one.

And for me personally it is surely not seen as a monetary investment. I am not a bookdealer or something of that sort, I only have a few collectibles that are important to me because of the book itself.

That being said, some day if I am ever particularly well-off financially I would probably jump headfirst into the broader world of rare books.

 

[Michael Colton]

Just a note on the thread title:

A 'unique' book means there is only one copy anywhere.

A 'Rare' book means there may be as many as 10 or so in the world. Not usually so many, though.

An 'Uncommon' book means there are probably hundreds of copies, but finding one can be difficult.

A 'Collectable' book means there could be a great many of them, but not quite as many as there are collectors wanting to own it.

'Rare' is a term that is inappropriately used in the vast majority of cases. Look on eBay and you'll find 'rare' books being offered, even though literally millions of copies exist. I've seen a paperback of 'The Da Vinci Code' described as 'rare', when 'common as muck' is far more appropriate a description.

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Too much time has gone by for me to edit the title now, but it should say 'Collectible' then - or possibly 'Uncommon' if condition is taken into account and not just the title. More good information!

 

[steelyglint]

I have collectible books and reading books, but I take down my collectible books, let my kids handle them and what not. They know to be careful with them, that they're special. But they're also living books, part of the family. They're not there, really, to accrue value (though I've sold the odd one when times were tough) but because .i, genuinely, love them. And because Mr Springs has an eye (and opportunity) and often gets them pretty cheap. But I could never see me collecting them to keep them out of sight, out of light, in a box unless I hoped to make money from them. To me, that's not a love of the book, but of its value.

Steely, we picked up a first edition of Seamus Heaney's first book from the library sale for a quid. We took a hit on value because of its dust cover and stamp, but still did pretty well out of it.

Yes, ex-library have to be very scarce to hold anything like the non-ex-library market price. They're often bought just for the dust wrapper. A wrapperless copy of a 1920s P.G. Wodehouse or Agatha Christie first might be worth £2,000 - but with the original wrapper you'd be looking at £20,000 or more.

That 'love of the value' rather than of the book is accurate in many cases. But such books are usually bought as investments, which makes the value the most important and 'loveable' part. I would never get involved in a pension scheme because some banker or other rich criminal will find a way to rob it. My collection is my pension. But my library is for reading. And no burglar ever bothered stealing books, unless it was an illuminated manuscript or similar. I wish, but I don't own any such major artworks.

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[Jo Zebedee]

I think this is the hardest part for me to explain to people. Why exactly do I have things that I supposedly love but are locked away and never seen? It is difficult to describe. It makes me feel as if a part of history or culture is right there in my home. I can enjoy that part of culture through the everyday copies I keep on my bookshelf, I do not need to read the collectible one.

And for me personally it is surely not seen as a monetary investment. I am not a bookdealer or something of that sort, I only have a few collectibles that are important to me because of the book itself.

That being said, some day if I am ever particularly well-off financially I would probably jump headfirst into the broader world of rare books.

I do sort of understand it since I have a bookcase full of collectible (some uncommon, many limited editions) books - it's just I like them where I can see them and, occasionally, give them a happy hug.

Steelyeye - some of my collection is for the pension. Mostly Irish collectibles. Heck, I'll need something.

 

[Michael Colton]

I do sort of understand it since I have a bookcase full of collectible (some uncommon, many limited editions) books - it's just I like them where I can see them and, occasionally, give them a happy hug.

Steelyeye - some of my collection is for the pension. Mostly Irish collectibles. Heck, I'll need something.

And in the case of these particular books, there is a bit of an emotional investment as well. I know what edition was the one I had when I first read it and I always wondered what the earlier editions looked like. Then I started to find the different cover art interesting, as well as the international publication pattern of the particular books. Then I think, if someone had the foresight to ask the author to sign only his name and not add an inscription, why should I not take as much care of it as that person apparently did before it arrived to me?

Such rabbit trails of thought can take over when it is a book that means quite a bit to you, I think.

 

[steelyglint]

It has to be understood that the three most important things to a collector are:-

1 - Condition.

2 - CONDITION.

3 - CONDITION.

I have a signed first of 'The Silver Pigs' by Lindsey Davis. It has a market value of around £1,000 - but one tiny little bump on one edge could easily reduce that by half. Even a minute tear in the wrapper or a couple of angstroms of fading would be disastrous. That's how picky collectors are.

If it is 'collectable' then the better the condition, the more collectable the item. Not just books, but anything that has collectors. That means just about everything.

The radio DJ Chris Evans paid about £5 million for a beautiful Ferrari 275. No way would he even have bid on a rusting, creaking wreck of the same model. Condition is everything.

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[Michael Colton]

It has to be understood that the three most important things to a collector are:-

1 - Condition.

2 - CONDITION.

3 - CONDITION.

I have a signed first of 'The Silver Pigs' by Lindsey Davis. It has a market value of around £1,000 - but one tiny little bump on one edge could easily reduce that by half. Even a minute tear in the wrapper or a couple of angstroms of fading would be disastrous. That's how picky collectors are.

If it is 'collectable' then the better the condition, the more collectable the item. Not just books, but anything that has collectors. That means just about everything.

The radio DJ Chris Evans paid about £5 million for a beautiful Ferrari 275. No way would he even have bid on a rusting, creaking wreck of the same model. Condition is everything.

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Hence me trying to become more educated about it all. Also, the large difference with collectibles like cars is that, in most cases, restoration is acceptable. The same is true for jewelry. Books on the other hand - I can clean them before protecting them and putting them away, but beyond that there is not a whole lot I can do.

Also, I believe somewhere previously someone asked whether the thread could be expanded to include something else. Oddly polite forums to actually ask the original poster about it, but certainly!

 

[steelyglint]

Not too damp, not too dry.

Serious collectors have controlled environments where they store their books. That is very expensive, but if you're serious you find a way to afford it. Especially if your collection involves what a very knowledgeable chap on BookThink describes as 'dirty old thangs' - meaning pre-printing (14th century and earlier) manuscripts, or things printed by such as Wynkin de Worde in the 15th century. A complete 42 line bible could fetch as much as £20 million or more. Not so long ago a copy of the first book printed on the American continent was sold. 70,000 were printed - only about 12 copies are known to still exist. I think it went for around £14 million. That's 'The Bay Psalm Book' by the way. That one is rightly described as 'rare'.

Keep direct sunlight to a minimum. Not only will it fade covers, it will also dry out paper.

There isn't a whole lot you can do with ultra-modern books (last few decades) as far as conservation is concerned. Most use cheap paper that will tone to various shades of brown no matter what you do - unless you have the previously-mentioned environmental controls.

Don't throw, stamp on, tear in half, read in the bath. All common sense really, but common sense is often oddly uncommon. It is common sense not to eat too much, but the world is fast becoming obese. Crazy, but what can you do?

If it has a dust wrapper, put a protector on it. Remove the wrapper and put somewhere safe if you read the book.

Be careful of the acids you leave behind whenever you touch something. Don't wear gloves or anything - just make sure your hands are clean and not too sweaty when you handle your books.

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[JunkMonkey]

If you've just paid a couple of hundred for a signed first or limited edition, what is the point in immediately reducing the collectable value of it by reading it and risking dirty thumb marks, creases or bumps if you accidentally drop it?

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Then why buy the bugger in the first place? It would be like buying a sandwich and not eating it!

I have limited editions that were issued in 'The Holy Shrinkwrap'. I would never dream of removing it because that will reduce its collectable value. The shrinkwrap itself has no value, but as part of the package it adds to the value of the book. It is, at the very least, proof that the book is an unread pristine item.

Hah! Like Sheen's Mint Condition in Unopened Box ULTRALORD! action figure from the rather stupidly fun kid's show Jimmy Neutron.

When challenged "How do you know it's in there?" He opens the box...