where books are called rare for a reason
it's not easy to find them randomly in a
barn or a state cell or something like
that in fact you hear about that because
it's so unusual
really it's the dedicated where
booksellers used book dealers
antiquarian dealers those are the people
who you should be hounding if you're
looking for a rare book one wants to
distinguish between rare books and
antiquarian books a rare book isn't
necessarily an old book and an old book
isn't necessarily a rare book you can
have a book from the 18th century and it
may be worth twenty dollars whereas you
can have a book published just a few
years ago and it can be worth tens of
thousands or even more the rare book is
a book that is scarce desirable and has
had an impact in the world scarcity is
rather obvious a few copies survive if
there are many copies out there it's not
necessarily rare I had an impact it was
important when it came out a landmark in
some way and then the sort of
desirability comes with a continuing
influence these are the books that
change the world when they came out and
continue to have an influence today
the main factors you should consider
when buying a rare book are first
edition you are looking for the very
first copy printed the first edition
first printing that type of thing that
is when the book first made an impact on
the world and it has in most cases the
greatest historical significance it's a
historical artifact from that time
so beyond addition you're also looking
at condition the most pristine copies
that you can find ones that have
remained in the state as close as
possible to when they were first
presented and last you're looking for
completeness which is to say if you have
a copy of Lewis and Clark's expedition
the journals from their expedition if
it's complete with the map based on
Clark's own cartography that's a huge
part of the value for our book the first
editions are sought after mostly because
they have the most historic significance
there are exceptions but for the most
part the reason collectors seek that
first editions because they're looking
for that moment of impact when a book is
first having an effect on the world when
readers are first experiencing it and
starting to change their thoughts based
on what they're reading
rare books in terms of investing they
tend to be quite a bit less volatile
than other types of investing they are
conservative slow steady over time
generally the perennial is something
like Shakespeare not going to go out of
style if you are collecting because you
love it you keep it for 10 20 years they
tend to be a pretty smart investment
it can be case by case but for the most
part you don't have to worry about the
volatility you see because most people
come to this for a love rather than
looking to make a quick buck with a
turnaround in three years one thing a
collector should always keep in mind
when buying a rare book is that they are
taking part in a grand tradition of
preserving history and that's a certain
privilege but it's also a certain
responsibility you were the one who is
shepherding this book to the next
generation