Modern First Editions
Modern first editions is an area of book collecting which has a character all
of its own: you have the usual satisfaction of owning a book which, as the first
edition, has been scrutinised and influenced by the author. This brings you as close
as possible to the author's intentions for their work, which perhaps can inform
the reading of it.
This copy of James Farrell's rare 1965 second work sold for £300.
The fact of your book's recent publication means that much biographical information
may be available about the author for you to understand their world better. They
may still be alive and you have seen them interviewed or even heard them read from
their works. Some modern works will have had enormous social or cultural influence.
Early works by important authors probably attract the most attention in this field,
really from the end of the 19th century onwards. There are hundreds of authors that
might appeal to the collector from Agatha Christie to John Fowles, from TE Lawrence
to Enid Blyton.
Condition and originality of condition are terribly important in this field. Most
20th century books were originally published with 'dust jackets', often printed
with pictures and further information about the book, price, etc. They were never
really intended to be kept and in most cases weren't. However, now their presence
or absence can make a phenomenal difference to the value of a book: for instance,
a first of JRR Tolkein's The Hobbit with all its 'issue points' (ie: misprints,
etc) can fetch £3,000 without its dust jacket. With the jacket, you're looking at
more like £20,000.
You do have to be careful as facsimiles are common.
Specialists
 | Roger Collicott
Rare Book Expert
|