r/rarebooks

So i have these old books from about 200 or 300 years ago and they slowly detereorating. My grandfather's dad had them and my grabdfather has then been keeping them safe and preventing them from rotting. Some of these books are in persian and urdu which my phone's translator can translate. One of my other grabdfather is coming to take them but i want to know if i should keep them or not.

From auction catalog notes:

Shakespeare, William (1564-1616). As You Like It. -- The Taming of the Shrew. [Two complete plays extracted from: The First Folio]. [London: Isaac laggard and Ed. Blount, 1623]. Folio (305 x 197 mm). Comprising 46 pages (185-230) on 23 leaves (Q3-V1); opening to All's Well that Ends Well on V1r. Woodcut head- and tail-pieces, opening initials. (Corner tear to R1 partially affecting letters, a few marginal tears repaired, marginal tears to T3-T4 affecting some letters and border, light scattered stains or soiling.) Modern quarter calf, marbled boards.

FIRST PRINTINGS OF TWO COMPLETE PLAYS FROM SHAKESPEARE'S FIRST FOLIO, BOTH PRINTED HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME.

The Taming of the Shrew, one of Shakespeare's most popular comedies, centers on the courtship and marriage of the sharp-tongued Katherina and the determined Petruchio. Set in Padua, the play unfolds alongside a secondary plot involving Katherina’s younger sister Bianca, whose numerous suitors must wait until the elder sister is married. Petruchio agrees to the match and sets about “taming” Katherina through a series of calculated reversals—exaggerated behavior, feigned eccentricity, and deliberate contradictions—until she ultimately conforms to the expectations of marriage.

As You Like It remains one of the most beloved and most performed plays, and includes the famous speech by the melancholy Jacques, "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts...." The play follows the banished heroine Rosalind, who disguises herself as the young man “Ganymede” while fleeing to the Forest of Arden with her cousin Celia. There she encounters Orlando, the object of her affection, along with a variety of exiles, shepherds, and courtly figures whose intertwined romances unfold in the freedom of the countryside.

J. R. R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: comprising The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1954-1955. 3 volumes, 8vo. In-text illustration by Tolkien in Fellowship ("The Doors of Durin"); folding map by the author's son, Christopher Tolkien, tipped-in at rear of each volume.

Publisher's red cloth, spines stamped in gilt, top edges red; original pictorial dust jackets. FIRST EDITIONS, FIRST IMPRESSIONS.

The Fellowship of the Ring, first edition, first impression, with signature mark "4" on p. 49, first state dust jacket;

The Two Towers, first edition, first impression, with signature mark "4" on page 49, first state dust jacket;

The Return of the King, first edition, first impression, p. 49 variant 3 with sagging text and signature mark "4" present, p. 281 variant 2 with the gap in "Men" closed, first state dust jacket.

EACH IN AN UNRESTORED FIRST STATE DUST JACKET. Overall, an attractive set.

References: Hammond & Anderson A5a.i, ii, and iii.

Provenance: From the collection of David Aronovitz.

Someone had made some kind of homemade dust jacket hand stitched from what felt like thin burlap (last picture), and this 3,500+ page beauty was near perfectly preserved inside. Well worth it at $19.99!

From what I’ve been able to find Chinaberry was a children’s book catalog based out of Shakopee, Minnesota. I would guess that this signed edition was offered in their catalog at some point. Not certain if this holds much value but I figured it was at least worth the $4 I got it for.

Descriptive comments from the Heritage catalog notes

J. R. R. Tolkien. The Hobbit, or There and Back Again. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd, [1937]. 8vo. Frontispiece and eight text illustrations by the author, inserted half-tone plate by the author, integral advertisement leaf at end. Publisher's green cloth decoratively stamped in blue, off-white endpapers printed with Thror's map and a map of Wilderland after drawings by the author, top edge stained green; original pictorial dust jacket after drawing by the author, with "Dodgeson" corrected by hand on rear flap.

FIRST EDITION, FIRST IMPRESSION. Only 1,500 copies of the first impression of this, one of the cornerstones of fantasy literature, were printed. It was Tolkien's third published book, preceded only by two academic texts. IN A BRIGHT AND UNRESTORED DUST JACKET hand corrected on the rear flap.

In a letter to poet W. H. Auden in 1955, Tolkien recalls the beginning of this now-essential fantasy tale. He wrote, "All I remember about the start of The Hobbit is sitting correcting School Certificate papers in the everlasting weariness of that annual task forced on impecunious academics with children. On a blank leaf I scrawled: ‘In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.' I did not and do not know why..."

Tolkien's fantasy epic, published nearly seventeen years before his Lord of the Rings trilogy, invites the reader, "if you care for journeys there and back, out of the comfortable Western world, over the edge of the Wild, and home again, and can take an interest in a humble hero (blessed with a little wisdom and a little courage and considerable good luck), here is the record of such a journey and such a traveller..."

Condition: Spine just leaned; pale toning to endleaves. Dust jacket unclipped (priced "7s. 6d. net"); spine toned; light edgewear, a few minor chips at spine panel head and folds. A beautiful example of this fragile dust jacket.

References: Currey, p. 476; Hammond & Anderson A3a; The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Selected and Edited by Humphrey Carpenter, with the Assistance of Christopher Tolkien, letter 163. Provenance: From the collection of David Aronovitz.

Was recently given a copy of 1984 by my aunt who knows I love this book. I know it’s not in great shape but was wondering the best way to store it? And if it has and value? (Not looking to sell)

Found at an estate sale recently and I am trying to figure out how to price it. Have already reached out to Sotheby's and posted it myself on ebay based on comparable books on Abe Books.

Does the clipped jacket make a big difference in value?

Hi! I’m curious about this book that my mother gave to me. It’s a 1st edition from 1913. It doesn’t carry extraordinary value as such, but it’s signed by the author with an inscription.

“To Billy with Reddy’s good wishes and mine. 1921”

I’m trying to find out what value it may hold. I can only find one similar signed book on Abe Books but it’s a later edition. Would anyone here have any advice on this?

Thanks!

I have to fly home and only have a carry-on though. Do I get them and make it work? Or are they more ornamental than anything else?

Hello.
I found this old cook book. I was wondering if this was a rare book? Has anyone ever heard of it? There is a note in it from 1949.

what do you all do when you have half sets?

Hello! I acquired this really cool book and don't have much information on it! My grandparents were downsizing their collection and this is one of the books I was given. Here is a link to all the pictures https://imgur.com/gallery/95Z5ZCr

The dust jacket is a cheap reprint but trying to price this first edition, first impression Lord of the Flies.

Cheapest 1st/1st I can find on ABE or ebay is $5k. Is that remotely realistic? What would you guys expect this to actually sell for?

Thank you!

Found this gem in fine condition at a local used bookstore today! There’s even another one, only slightly worse condition but still good, should I snatch it up?