MartH Posted 7 May , 2014 Share Posted 7 May , 2014 A term, I believe, from ye olde game of Whist. Hopefully the player who finds the rarest book gets to keep everybody else's! I thought we were trying to learn about books. Are your books up for grabs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Jacket Collector Posted 8 May , 2014 Share Posted 8 May , 2014 I thought we were trying to learn about books. Are your books up for grabs? Just joking. Yesterday I missed an almost unique war memoir on eBay - My Life in France 1915-1916 by L.E.Spong of the 17 th Middlesex. Can't find a copy in any library or reference book. Meant to buy it but a builder arrived at the crucial moment & it went out of my head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barkalotloudly Posted 8 May , 2014 Share Posted 8 May , 2014 Just joking. Yesterday I missed an almost unique war memoir on eBay - My Life in France 1915-1916 by L.E.Spong of the 17 th Middlesex. Can't find a copy in any library or reference book. Meant to buy it but a builder arrived at the crucial moment & it went out of my head. I am sure I will enjoy this little item Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Jacket Collector Posted 8 May , 2014 Share Posted 8 May , 2014 I am sure I will enjoy this little item Dammit - I might have known! I hope you'll be selling off some of your other rarities to make up for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartH Posted 8 May , 2014 Share Posted 8 May , 2014 Dammit - I might have known! I hope you'll be selling off some of your other rarities to make up for it. Well look at it this way. It went to a good home! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barkalotloudly Posted 8 May , 2014 Share Posted 8 May , 2014 Fingers crossed I am awaiting the arrival of a book I have never heard, of about a field ambulance unit in Gallipoli, Palestine, and France printed sometime in the 1920`s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Jacket Collector Posted 21 May , 2014 Share Posted 21 May , 2014 2 books arrived today from the new Morton/Harper catalogue that I've mentioned elsewhere, both of which are rare in different ways. '126 Heavy Battery R.G.A. 1915-1919' by Sgt. George Porter is a tiny volume privately printed in 1919. It takes the form of a day by day War diary which also contains lots of useful information on actions undertaken, no. of rounds fired & a list of all who served with the Battery. It came with a leaflet for a Battery dinner & a hand-written list of all those who attended (41) so I suspect it was printed to be distributed at the dinner so probably no more than 100 copies. The other is a copy of Brigadier Croft's 'Twenty-Two months under Fire' - a remarkably frank account for a 1917 publication & far better than most contemporary volumes. It's not a hard book to find, there are 3 on ABE, but as far as I can recall it's the only copy I've ever seen in the original jacket (Blackmaria will probably correct me on that). It often seems to be the presence of the jacket that turns the relatively common into the rare. Does that count? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Mc Posted 21 May , 2014 Share Posted 21 May , 2014 A little tenuous perhaps but 'Stories without Women' - By Brian Oswald Donn Byrne, Hearsts International Publishing 1915; it contains two short Great War stories (Biplane No2 and Slaves to the Gun) but rarity value as only 600 sold, of which only 3 examples with dust jacket survive. I have Donn Byrnes library copy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Jacket Collector Posted 21 May , 2014 Share Posted 21 May , 2014 A little tenuous perhaps but 'Stories without Women' - By Brian Oswald Donn Byrne, Hearsts International Publishing 1915; it contains two short Great War stories (Biplane No2 and Slaves to the Gun) but rarity value as only 600 sold, of which only 3 examples with dust jacket survive. I have Donn Byrnes library copy. If you have an image of the jacket it would be nice to have it for the Website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auchonvillerssomme Posted 22 May , 2014 Share Posted 22 May , 2014 There are 2 without dust jackets on ABE for equivalent of £76.47, so that is quite a premium for a dust jacket. I'm not a book collector in your league's but as a general collector of antiques I would be suspicious that a dealer has talked it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Jacket Collector Posted 22 May , 2014 Share Posted 22 May , 2014 There are 2 without dust jackets on ABE for equivalent of £76.47, so that is quite a premium for a dust jacket. I'm not a book collector in your league's but as a general collector of antiques I would be suspicious that a dealer has talked it up. In general I'd expect to pay 2 or 3 times as much for a jacketed pre-2nd War book as for one without the jacket. If that seems crazy bear in mind the amounts collectors of Modern First editions will pay for the outer wrapper. You can pick up a jacketless first of The Great Gatsby for a mere! £2,000 or so but if you want it wrapped up then £120-180,000 might be nearer the mark. Even though Gatsby is mentioned as being in the trenches that'll have to be a permanent gap on the shelves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auchonvillerssomme Posted 22 May , 2014 Share Posted 22 May , 2014 I occasionally see original art designs for book jackets, they sell quite well, and are works of art in their own right, usually WW2 and post WW2, do any original WW1 pieces come up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Jacket Collector Posted 22 May , 2014 Share Posted 22 May , 2014 They do crop up, but very rarely. I have the one for Franz Schauweckers 'The Fiery Way' which is a rather Futurist design of an exploding shell. They usually to cost £300-400 so I tend to avoid them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Jacket Collector Posted 22 May , 2014 Share Posted 22 May , 2014 Back to rare books, today I managed to find one of the rarest ones from Bodley Head's 'On Active Service Series', 'Ward Tales' by E.C. Davies, V.A.D. She worked at No. 40 Voluntary Aid Detachment, London & this a slightly novelised account of her time there. Very pleased to find this after several years of looking. Only need 2 more volumes now to complete the set which as all collectors know is absolutely paramount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Jacket Collector Posted 23 May , 2014 Share Posted 23 May , 2014 I'm starting to think I'm the only person collecting rare WW1 books. Today I did the big London bookfairs. I was hoping for some impressive displays of War books but apart from the usual copies of Goodbye to all that & Farewell to Arms there was little of interest. However I did find one mega rare book which I've been searching for longer than I care to remember - a jacketed copy of A.M.Bown's 'Was it Yesterday', a lightly fictionalised account of his service with the 7th London RFA with whom he won an MC. The jacket is a painting of a shell-pocked battlefield - a most striking image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartH Posted 23 May , 2014 Share Posted 23 May , 2014 I collect a certain type of rare books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Jacket Collector Posted 23 May , 2014 Share Posted 23 May , 2014 I collect a certain type of rare books. I was being unduly pessimistic - there are actually 4 of us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khaki Posted 23 May , 2014 Share Posted 23 May , 2014 I couldn't find this book mentioned on the forum, it is, The Fledgling, an aerial gunner in World War 1, by Arch Whitehouse, published by Duell, Sloan and Pearce of New York, first edition 1964. Very good condition with good DJ, no tears minimal shelf rubbing to edge, Handwritten 25 word dedication written and signed by the author, also the author autographed one of the photographs of him within the book. What have I got collecting wise? I have read it and although I am not very knowledgeable about Great War aviation, I found it a good read. khaki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Jacket Collector Posted 24 May , 2014 Share Posted 24 May , 2014 Wasn't aware of The Fledgling, khaki, but I'll certainly get myself a copy. The US edition precedes the UK one but both seem to be widely available for £10-20. Checking the net, Whitehouse's signature seems to double or triple the price but probably more if the inscription is interesting enough. He was quite a prolific author who sold well, even his earliest books turn up fairly often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auchonvillerssomme Posted 24 May , 2014 Share Posted 24 May , 2014 My copy has a rather tattered DJ but considering it was a well used library copy it lasted surprisingly well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken S. Posted 25 May , 2014 Share Posted 25 May , 2014 I managed to pick up a copy of "Mother Country Fatherland. The Story of a British-born German Soldier." by A. G. Martin. If I recall correctly, this was for less that $100 -- the two copies currently listed on abebooks are going for $500 and just under $565. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Jacket Collector Posted 25 May , 2014 Share Posted 25 May , 2014 I managed to pick up a copy of "Mother Country Fatherland. The Story of a British-born German Soldier." by A. G. Martin. If I recall correctly, this was for less that $100 -- the two copies currently listed on abebooks are going for $500 and just under $565. This is a good example of book prices being internet driven. Mother Country, Fatherland isn't particularly scarce, i bought mine in a jacket for £35 a couple of years ago. However when the London dealer put his copy online it was the only one available & despite being jacketless was priced at £325. Clearly far too much as it hasn't sold in 2 years. Unfortunately it now serves as a guide price so when another copy appeared it was priced in reference to that as most dealers check online first when confronted with a book they are not familiar with. The danger is rampant price inflation and the book sites being cluttered up with unsaleable, overpriced books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Maria Posted 27 May , 2014 Share Posted 27 May , 2014 The other is a copy of Brigadier Croft's 'Twenty-Two months under Fire' - a remarkably frank account for a 1917 publication & far better than most contemporary volumes. It's not a hard book to find, there are 3 on ABE, but as far as I can recall it's the only copy I've ever seen in the original jacket (Blackmaria will probably correct me on that). It often seems to be the presence of the jacket that turns the relatively common into the rare. Does that count? I have never seen a copy in it's jacket before, and it just proves how scarce these books are that your copy of 'Was it Yesterday?' was the same one that you had the monochrome image of on your site. I had a similar experience with 'A Subaltern's letters from the Somme' , I had only seen one copy for sale in six years ( in a T.D catalogue) and when I eventually found a copy for sale it turned out to be the same one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken S. Posted 28 May , 2014 Share Posted 28 May , 2014 Thank you for clarifying that. I believe when I purchased the book (no dustjacket), it was the only one listed, so I always assumed it was rare. It would be interesting to know how many were originally printed and how it was received. This is a good example of book prices being internet driven. Mother Country, Fatherland isn't particularly scarce, i bought mine in a jacket for £35 a couple of years ago. However when the London dealer put his copy online it was the only one available & despite being jacketless was priced at £325. Clearly far too much as it hasn't sold in 2 years. Unfortunately it now serves as a guide price so when another copy appeared it was priced in reference to that as most dealers check online first when confronted with a book they are not familiar with. The danger is rampant price inflation and the book sites being cluttered up with unsaleable, overpriced books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Jacket Collector Posted 28 May , 2014 Share Posted 28 May , 2014 Thank you for clarifying that. I believe when I purchased the book (no dustjacket), it was the only one listed, so I always assumed it was rare. It would be interesting to know how many were originally printed and how it was received.Being published by Macmillan in 1936 I would have expected the initial print run to have been somewhere between 1500-3000 copies. Unfortunately by then the boom in War books had long passed its peak so sales were probably fairly low. Interestingly there are some 10 books by other writers advertised on the back of the jacket, mostly not on the War & all unknown to me, but most of which are easily available on ABE. So presumably the Martin was the poorest performer saleswise of the lot. I could only find 1 review of it online, from the Spectator in 1937, but it was a favourable one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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