Even simple pages that have no printing on them, called blanks, are critical to the value of the book. Leave no page behind!Ĭompleteness in a book is critical. These “issue points” can be found in online references to bibliographical information gathered on each book. Other copies with a few mistakes are usually worth between $500-1,000. If you have all of them (or many of them) in your copy, it can be worth over $10,000. Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has over seven documented (and corrected) mistakes during the printing process. Those first sheets now form an “issue point” that collectors use to determine how early in the printing process the sheet was printed. Thrifty printers will not throw out a batch of sheets simply because there was a mistake on the page. When certain books are evaluated, the number of “mistakes” in the printing process will elevate their value. And it will make your book more valuable!

The New York edition is the “first American edition” and worth $250. The London edition is the “true” first and worth around $1,400. George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-four was published in 1949 in both London and New York. Whichever hits the shops first is the “true” first edition while the other becomes the “first American edition” or “first English edition.” The value of a “true” first is typically always greater. Many titles were published virtually simultaneously in two places, for example, London, and New York. The location of publication is an often overlooked but important detail in a list of information about a collection of books. However, his Travels with Charley, first edition with dust jacket, is worth around $100. A first edition of John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath in good condition is worth around $2,500. Additionally, some books by famous authors are better than others. Who wrote that?Ī book is more likely to appeal to collectors, and therefore be worth more, if you have actually heard of the book or its author. If you have one on a good book, treasure it and be sure to protect it with a plastic sleeve. This huge difference in value is largely due to the fact that more than 90% of dust jackets are destroyed, either deliberately or due to their ephemeral and fragile nature. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night with dust jacket is around $6,000. If there is one single thing that is a make or break for book value, it would be the dust jacket. Dust jackets, dust jackets, and more dust jackets! Scott (1896-1940), Tender is the Night, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1934, first edition with dust jacket, sold for: $8,295 1.

Vanities by Gail Z. Martin