Book collecting

[FlyingDonut]

A little bit. I have a bunch of signed William Gibson 1st Editions,a bunch of Neil Stephenson signed 1st editions and then a smattering of other stuff.

 

Nerd.

 

(I do too. Prize collection is a first edition, signed copy of Neuromancer).

 

Nerd? Who me?

 

Neuromancer is the one book I don't have

 

We saw him give a reading once in DC, he signed his book for us there. He SLAMMED DC for "Sebastian O" - which he referred to as "My Comic Book." Mrs. Donut reminds me that Gibson is very tall and thin and fashionable.

[tth2]

I believe BangZoom's thread in the Golden Age section shows a giant selection of extremely high grade first edition Arkham books, as well as some Tarzan books.

Do you know if they`re original dust jackets? One thing I`ve realized from doing a bit of research is that there are lots of married, and sometimes outright replica, dust jackets which obviously look awesome.

[scottish]

Subterranean Press is a publishing house which creates signed limited editions of works by a wide range of authors in the mystery, horror, suspense and related genres. I have done business with them before (books by Dan Simmons and John Scalzi), and I think their products and service are excellent.

 

http://www.subterraneanpress.com/

 

Ironically, one of the items featured on their home page right now is the limited edition hardcover of the Locke & Key: Head Games comic miniseries:

 

http://www.subterraneanpress.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=hill05&Category_Code=PRE&Product_Count=14

 

Note that these are not the versions of the books which you can buy at your local bookseller or at Amazon or Barnes & Noble or Borders; the cover art (and, in some cases, interior art) has been specially commissioned by Subterranean, and the uber-expensive, uber-limited "lettered" editions have something really special, like a traycase or, for the Locke & Key book, an original sketch by Gabriel Rodriguez.

 

Explore their site; you'll enjoy it.

 

Excellent topic! I collect limited edition Fantasy works. Subterraneanpress is my main source for the titles I look for. Mainly George RR Martin, Jack Vance and a view others. I mostly stick to fantasy, but I do have some Stephen King as well and a smattering of science fiction.

 

I really like the limited editions not only because they're signed by the author (and usually the other contributors (artist, etc), but because of the ultra high quality and care that goes into making them.

 

I've never found a book collector's board - let us know if you come across one!

[Scrooge]

I believe BangZoom's thread in the Golden Age section shows a giant selection of extremely high grade first edition Arkham books, as well as some Tarzan books.

Do you know if they`re original dust jackets? One thing I`ve realized from doing a bit of research is that there are lots of married, and sometimes outright replica, dust jackets which obviously look awesome.

 

IIRC he mentioned they were original after someone inquired exactly along your lines (thumbs u

[Scrooge]

In case you forgot, here's BZ's pic -

[Reno McCoy]

You know, I used to buy books pretty frequently from Subterranean Press, but after awhile, I felt like their books, while gorgeous, are just a money making gimmick. Limited edition versions of the same books you'll find from other publishers...there's just something that makes it feel like a manufactured collectible instead of a book.

 

 

[Scrooge]

... and since you were talking about the Arkham House books ... here's BZ's pic -

[Theagenes]

In case you forgot, here's BZ's pic -

 

Yep he said these were original. If you collect ERB then you know how mind-blowing that statement is when looking at this picture.

[rob_react]

 

Excellent topic! I collect limited edition Fantasy works. Subterraneanpress is my main source for the titles I look for. Mainly George RR Martin

 

I have a 1st edition of Game of Thrones I really want to get signed. He made an appearance at a convention in Boston last year and I missed it, being out of town. One of these days.

[Reno McCoy]

In case you forgot, here's BZ's pic -

 

Yep he said these were original. If you collect ERB then you know how mind-blowing that statement is when looking at this picture.

 

Love that picture. Every time I see it I want to spend all of my money on books or quit collecting all together knowing I'll never have such a cool collection, both at the same time.

[Theagenes]

 

Love that picture. Every time I see it I want to spend all of my money on books or quit collecting all together knowing I'll never have such a cool collection, both at the same time.

 

Yes, but even if you had the money, assembling a collection in this kind of condition would be nearly impossible today, except for the later ones. Look at that Princess of Mars - amazing!

[MisterX]

Are some of those ERB covers by J. St. John? Wow!

[october]

Thanks a lot for the help everyone! I haven't even scratched the surface on the links posted, so I have a lot of reading ahead of me.

 

Tim: I will check out the Heritage auctions. Good call.

 

Gary: Next time I am in Chicago...

 

Lots of good want list ideas in this thread. Agatha Christie and Ralph Steadman are definitely going to be added.

[Theagenes]

Are some of those ERB covers by J. St. John? Wow!

 

Many of them. Those ERB dustjackets are what he was first known for.

[TupennyConan]

... and since you were talking about the Arkham House books ... here's BZ's pic -

 

 

[letsgrumble]

Great discussion. I used to be a big-time collector of modern firsts and art books. I have about 2,000 books, but am looking to pare down my collection (accumulation) significantly.

 

Being a comic collector as well, I've always compared the basic "rules of the game" for book collecting and comic collecting.

 

We all know that condition is king in comic collecting: a comic's value is contingent upon its condition, sometimes more than scarcity or demand. I find that with book collectors, condition is important but not to the same degree. A tear in a dust jacket or ripped interior pages does not diminish the value of a book as it would a comic (while, obviously, excessive water damage or a sun-bleached dust jacket would).

 

With respect to restoration, when a book has had minor repair work done to preserve or improve the overall shape of a book (esp. jacket tears), the book is still desirable. It's no biggie!!!

 

And there are not as many hang-ups if an author's signature is inscribed inside the book. The author signs the book - great! A signature or the validation of one generally does not make or break the value of a book like it would other collectables. Concerns over forgery may apply when you're laying out some coin for a signed, first edition of a Stevenson or Melville novel,

 

Come to think of it, I would have a lot of green labels and a few PLODs in my book collection, but I'm perfectly happy with them.

[143ksk]

I collect some modern stuff like first editions of Robert Crais, Dennis Lehane, Robert B. Parker and Ross MacDonald. Also some older books such as Shirley Jackson and Robinson Jeffers.

[rob_react]

Dennis Lehane

 

 

You've just put a future hole in my wallet. I started working my way through his books last year and love them. He's a great writer, clearly, and he writes authentically about people and places that I know well (we're near the same age and both grew up in Boston.) Very cool.

[143ksk]

Dennis Lehane

 

 

You've just put a future hole in my wallet. I started working my way through his books last year and love them. He's a great writer, clearly, and he writes authentically about people and places that I know well (we're near the same age and both grew up in Boston.) Very cool.

 

I don't think any of them are all that expensive unless they've gone up a lot recently. Great books (thumbs u

[rob_react]

Dennis Lehane

 

 

You've just put a future hole in my wallet. I started working my way through his books last year and love them. He's a great writer, clearly, and he writes authentically about people and places that I know well (we're near the same age and both grew up in Boston.) Very cool.

 

I don't think any of them are all that expensive unless they've gone up a lot recently. Great books (thumbs u

 

Even better. I like small holes in my wallet when compared to large ones...