Lindsey Posted 27 May , 2005 Share Posted 27 May , 2005 I have recently seen the book by George Ashurst 'My Bit' about the Lancashire Fusiliers for sale, in a locked cabinet no less!!!! in an Oxfam shop, a paperback edition, not a first edition i might add at the cost of £30. Is this overpriced or not. I obtained a copy from a library sale for 75p. Can anyone enlighten me as to its high price?? Lindsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Godden Posted 27 May , 2005 Share Posted 27 May , 2005 Hi Lindsey, I suspect the answer is that people think anything to do with World War One is instantly going to be worth a small fortune - regardless of what the item is! Cheers, Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsey Posted 27 May , 2005 Author Share Posted 27 May , 2005 If thats the case, sadly I see that as explotation, and from a high profile charity, its unforgivable really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ypres1418 Posted 27 May , 2005 Share Posted 27 May , 2005 Not surprised! Mandy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stebie9173 Posted 27 May , 2005 Share Posted 27 May , 2005 Maybe not so exploitative... The listings on Abebooks here are mainly from UK S/H bookshops.. http://dogbert.abebooks.com/servlet/Search...hurst&y=10&x=39 Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsey Posted 27 May , 2005 Author Share Posted 27 May , 2005 Maybe not so exploitive as i first thought then and perhaps I got a bargain too, at 75p !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Reed Posted 28 May , 2005 Share Posted 28 May , 2005 You got a bargin; but this is a hard book to find. The pbk edition is not as scarce as the hardback. It was printed at a time when interest in WW1 was no-where near what it is now; and I once was told that most of the first edition went unsold and was pulped. So a rare book indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsey Posted 28 May , 2005 Author Share Posted 28 May , 2005 You got a bargin; but this is a hard book to find. The pbk edition is not as scarce as the hardback. It was printed at a time when interest in WW1 was no-where near what it is now; and I once was told that most of the first edition went unsold and was pulped. So a rare book indeed. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks Paul for the info. My copy is a hard back too. How sad that books were pulped as you say. I also got two other books in 'the sale' at Ansdell Library; 'The Wet Flanders Plain' by Henry Williamson, who i know wrote 'Tarka the Otter' and 'The Western Front Illustrated 1914-1918' by John Laffin, both hardbacks as well. I treasure books and wouldn't part with them despite there possible worth!! Thanks once again Lindsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dikke Bertha Posted 30 May , 2005 Share Posted 30 May , 2005 Hello, I think it all depends on the seller's knowledge and speciality. Unless they are professional military booksellers they will not always know the value and might set their prices on the age or binding. I was in an antique furniture shop when I spotted a book on the Franco Prussian War which was among a load of books used to fill furniture shelves. These books had obviously been bought for their binding. The dealer mused for a while and told me that Victorian books were quite rare. We agreed on £5.00 and I came away a happy man. I bought Liaison 1914 for £2.00 in a junk shop and Winston Churchill WW1 two volumes for £3.00 in a poetry book shop. I bought the entire set plus a volume of bound maps of the German General Staff account of the Franco Prussian War in a philosophy book shop. They asked for £20.00 for the lot and were delighted to get rid of them as they had no interest in, nor space for, military books. Never pass a bookshop, it is always worth rooting! Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsey Posted 30 May , 2005 Author Share Posted 30 May , 2005 You are quite right about never passing a book shop without looking!! I cant!!! My youngest daughter groans every time I spot one as she knows i will spend ages rooting around for ww1 books, she says i have enough already, but you can never have enough books!! I have a bookcase in every room in my house, including the bathroom!! Lindsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonraker Posted 31 May , 2005 Share Posted 31 May , 2005 I understand from my partner who loves looking around charity shops for books. otably recent first editions, that some charities access professional expertise when pricing books- and some Oxfam shops are exclusively book stores, so may make a practice of this. And nowadays of course a look at Abebooks or something similar gives a good idea of what to charge. Libraries sell off books at very low prices. Torbay libraries had a massive sell-off about 18 months ago, offering 1000s of books at 50p or a pound or so each, the prices cut by half at midday. My partner and I spent £50 on books we wanted to read, including a couple of mint WWI novels by John Masters that had never been circulated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamos123 Posted 31 May , 2005 Share Posted 31 May , 2005 Hi All I am actually reading this as we speak and a very good read it is. I will be walking part of the Somme this Autumn and his descriptions of the fighting around Beaumont Hamel will be with me then Highly recommended if you can find a copy...I got mine a car boot for 40p T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsey Posted 31 May , 2005 Author Share Posted 31 May , 2005 Yes, im a charity shopoholic too!! You are right in what you say as we have an 'exclusive' Oxfam book shop where i live in Lancaster, and books are certainly pricier than most other charity shops, but saying that I have got a few bargains there too. This book was not in one of those sort of shops, but i think that as charity shops have become 'big business' now most shops will have an expert book sorter, so to speak. You sound as though you had a ball in the local library at Torbay!! Well done!! and I think they are definetly sales to keep an eye on. Lindsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsey Posted 31 May , 2005 Author Share Posted 31 May , 2005 Tamos I too have just walked the places you describe and when I returned home I found this book on my shelves, sat there quietly!! I had only flipped through it when i got it (for 75p!!)and put it down planning on a return read, but didnt. Now I am and am SO glad!! and reading it avidly!! I hope you enjoy your trip as much as I did. Coming back and reading it has made my vision of Beaumont Hamel so different and more personal. Lindsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul guthrie Posted 2 June , 2005 Share Posted 2 June , 2005 This gets my vote for the best ever by a true working class ranker soldier, wonderful! He starts by telling about the boat over at 1st of war, a guy cut his throat, " Some wag put it out he had been to France before!" That's not exact quote since the book is not here but close. I think Paul Reed knew this man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted 2 June , 2005 Share Posted 2 June , 2005 I had a cup of tea and a chat with a Mr Ashurst, ex LF, at his terraced house in Wigan in the 70s. I assume it`s the same man. He didn`t mention a book and the talk was typical WW1 veteran chat except for one thing. He talked at length about the bravery of Jackie Lynn. I must say, I was more interested in the 1LF at the time, so I might have been disappointed to find he was not 1st Bn! Was he a 2LF man? Phil B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Reed Posted 2 June , 2005 Share Posted 2 June , 2005 Yes, I knew him, albeit it briefly. He was 1st Bn only, so not sure if it was the same guy you knew Phil? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted 3 June , 2005 Share Posted 3 June , 2005 My man hadn`t served at Gallipoli. Did George join the !st Bn before or after Gallipoli? Phil B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Reed Posted 3 June , 2005 Share Posted 3 June , 2005 He served at Gallipoli with them, yes. So doesn't look like the same man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Hesketh Posted 7 June , 2005 Share Posted 7 June , 2005 I've got a hardback copy that I picked up for £1 in a second-hand bookshop some years ago. Looks like a got a bargain. A great read too - the account of the sunken road action on 1st July 1916 is truly frightening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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