Hi zuzuspetals,
It's not possible to accurately appraise a book without having it in
hand - I suggest taking it to a reputable antiquarian book appraiser
(not a bookseller unless you want him to make you an offer of
purchase) near you.
That said, I think you already have one very good indication of the
present market value online (that is to say, how others are pricing a
copy but not necessarily the price you will fetch). There are two
copies available on Abe, one is in Japan for $3208.45, and the other
is in the States for $3250.00 ($325 each). The higher set of the two
happens to be offered by a member of the International League of
Antiquarian Booksellers and is a good indication of the market value.
The set in Japan is probably over-priced.
Norris, Frank: THE ARGONAUT MANUSCRIPT LIMITED EDITION OF FRANK NORRIS'S WORKS.
Garden City: Doubleday, Doran, 1928. Ten volumes. Parchment over
boards, gilt. Top edges a trace dusty, a couple of minuscule nicks,
otherwise a fine set, in the white dust jackets (spines quite tanned,
as often). One of 245 numbered sets, with a leaf of the original
working autograph manuscript of MCTEAGUE in an envelope laid into the
first volume. The folio leaf is numbered '177', bears over 300 words,
and includes some significant revisions, deletions and insertions.
Each major work is preceded by an introduction by a contemporary,
including Mencken, Dreiser, Cobb, Irwin, and Charles Norris. An
increasingly more uncommon set with the leaf of manuscript present.
BAL 15048 & 9. Price: USD 3,250.00
http://www.ilabdatabase.com/php/detailindex.php3?booknr=68927638&source=bookfinder
"BAL 15048 & 9" means the bookseller has researched his volumes and
found reference to the work in the "Bibliography of American
Literature". Comparing his set to yours, his is near fine with
dustjackets and your set is in a lesser condition, therefore you know
the market value of your set is under $3,250.00.
It's easier to think in terms of one volume rather than all ten.
Starting with a Near Fine book with dustjacket for $325: your book
doesn't have a dustjacket (or you didn't mention any) -$20; your
binding is perhaps in Good condition (the foxing devalues the book
more than the bookplate) -$60; the interior is Very Good Plus (taking
into consideration the book plates) -$20; thereby reducing each volume
by $100. In other words, $2,250 would be a fair price to receive,
$2500 would be a good place to start.
Please keep in mind that many books thought to be valuable are not
necessarily saleable. The used/antiquarian book trade is a bit murky
and as with most things, it's best to try to position yourself fairly
compared to what's available and to describe what you have accurately
rather than trying to score the deal of the century - and don't
forget, you'll have to mail those books when they are sold. When
packaging books for transport, it is impossible to overpack - make
sure the box is made of heavier/stiffer cardboard and is larger than
the books (so the books do not touch the sides). Wrap them up
individually securely (do not let newspaper come in contact with books
as the newsprint could mark the books) and stuff all spaces with
something to keep the books from sliding around (shipping peanuts or
crumpled newspaper is fine). For such a valuable set, investing in
some bubblewrap (several layers of the small-type bubbles is preferred
to one layer of the large-type bubbles) and new shipping container
would be a good idea.
If you are interested in doing more research, I suggest paying a visit
to the Reference Room at your nearest large library and using the
wealth of reference material that they make available there. For
instance, they will have copies of "American Book Prices Current" -
published annually, it contains prices realized. The Reference
Librarian will be able to assist you in showing you all of the Price
Guides that you'll have at your disposal.
American Book Prices Current:
http://www.bookpricescurrent.com/
Your Old Books
"This guide covers some frequently asked questions about rare books
and book values"
http://www.rbms.nd.edu/yob.shtml
>>>>>>>
Additional Links of Interest:
Book Collecting Terms Illustrated:
http://www.mywingsbooks.com/
IOBA Book Terminology:
http://www.ioba.org/terms.html
IOBA Book Condition Definitions:
http://www.ioba.org/desc.html
Selling Used & Rare Books on the Net:
http://www.litterascripta.com/sellers/index.shtml
Following are three websites where you can list just one item for sale:
Bibliophile: completely free:
http://www.bibliophile.net/en/sell-books/sell-books-details-en.htm
Choosebooks: 10% commission: they can process credit cards for you:
http://www.choosebooks.com/info_general_5.jsp
Biblio.com: 15% Commission: they can process credit cards for you:
"A guarantee on your monthly fees. We will bill you for your monthly
fee based on the number of books you list, or 15% of your net sales
through biblio.com - whichever is less. In other words, if you don't
make money, we don't make money."
http://www.biblio.com/sell_books.html
I hope this helps. If you have any questions, please post a
clarification request before closing/rating my answer and I'll be
happy to respond.
Thank you,
hummer
Search Strategy
I searched used books websites and my own bookmarks but was also able
to draw on my own knowledge. |
