I do not own a "respectable" book collection. As a dealer in fine books, we have to fight our urges as collectors to stay alive. Sometimes, being sneaky devilsh characters that we are, we will price a book higher than we think we should actually get for it just to enjoy it longer. I can't say I've actually done this, but I've certainly seen it happen. I indulge my collectors fantasies in my patrons book collection for whom I am his "rare book assistant" but have none of my own. I think the most valuable book I actually own is only $75 to $100. I will admit to having a small collection on Balkan history (large by most stores standards) that is quite simply worth more to me than I could actually get for it on the market, but I don't own any great stuff prior to WWII because it's so unusual in English, that I can't rightly afford it. At any rate, the collecting urge and the reading urge are two wholly different beasts. Collectors of any ilk are weird birds, driven by the urge to "possess". Otherwise, wouldn't your local library be the best option? Literacy is big issue with me. I'll loan out my books, never to be seen again (the one on Roman cookery comes to mind) but that is what common trade editions are for. The Great Omar is a good example. The Rubaiyat is common enough, but the binding is a work of art.
I will admit to having a small collection on Balkan history (large by most stores standards) that is quite simply worth more to me than I could actually get for it on the market, but I don't own any great stuff prior to WWII because it's so unusual in English, that I can't rightly afford it.
Really? The market hereabouts is pretty slow in that field.
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Really? The market hereabouts is pretty slow in that field.
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And yeah, anything decent pre-WWII or especially pre-WWI can get spendy as it's kinda rare.
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