I have a lot of antique books dating from the 1800s to the early 1900s that my grandmother gave me because she didnt want them. Unfortunately a lot of them are in poor/very poor shape with bindings falling apart and pages coming loose. I have no idea what to do with them all. I have owned them for probably 6 years and they have just sat in a box. A lot of them have notes written inside about the rarity of them and how much the person paid for the book. I feel bad throwing them out since they are so cool and unique but i genuinely do not know what to do with them. Can anyone give me some insight on what to do? The photos are almost all of the books except for maybe 3 or 4. A few are in different languages.

Apparently surviving copies are extremely rare. It's the only copy that has ever been listed on ebay. Other than missing the jacket, it's near mint.

I would read it, but I'm a dude and it's not really my style ;)

Aug 17 1776 Edinburgh Courant - probably the first Scottish announcement of American independence

Is anyone knowledgeable about Blanchard and Lea? I guess they might have been the publishers of the first MAJOR American encyclopedia (wouldn’t be this set). But I can’t find much information regarding this set. It’s a bit odd to post an encyclopedia here (I imagine that “rare encyclopedia” may be an oxymoron) but I can’t seem to find anything by the publishers close to this year online to compare my set to.

Edit: there’s clearly 14 volumes (the last being supplemental however), I just fat thumbed the 4. Apologies

I have a small collection of Arkham House and Mycroft and Moran books I would like to sell. I originally went by the values that Leon Nielsen had in his book. Then I looked on eBay and Abe Books to see what others were asking. Quite a range of pricing. So I would like some guidance as to what I should think about pricing these books. I know somebody who really wants a particular book would pay more but I don't want to put a really low price on them just to clear them off my shelves.

Hello! I am a tall-ship sailor and rigger, and I work on sailmaking. I've been looking for this rare book ever since I started. They only printed it once! It would mean the world to me.

I bought it a while back and I know it is a bible but not much else. Is it valuable? Is it rare? What should I do with it?

Would love to hear more from someone with better knowledge

I know it was owned by a Swedish Nobleman hundred of years ago

I found these on the street in the rain with furniture and garbage. Are they anything? I asked Claude and will put its full response in comments but the tl;dr is 16th-17th century Latin Catholic choir book pages, likely from Spain or Italy. I don’t really care about the value. I care more about whether they’re worth saving. They look wet so I’m afraid to open and damage them.

I’ve recently purchased a copy of “**Collection of British Authors VOL VIII The works of Lord Byron VOL 1 | 1842”** and found this emblem stamped in the corner. It’s been re-bound and annotated a bunch. I’m trying to trace down its history to see if it’s anything worthy of noting once I pop it for sale.

Thank you

Picked this up on a recent trip. I like to collect old science related texts and this is by far the oldest I own. Does this look like the original cover? Any more info past google would be great!

I found it for two dollars at a local used bookstore in Brazil.

Hi first time poster. My Grandfather brought this book back from Europe after world war 2. I have no idea what language it is or what the book is about or if it has any value. Can someone help me out??

Lot 145 excerpts from catalog notes:

HEMINGWAY, Ernest (1899-1961). "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber." [Key West, finished April 1936].104 pages (including three inserted pages), 270 x 210mm, in pencil on rectos only (first few leaves with some creasing/stains and a few mended tears; ... A working first draft with very extensive revisions by Hemingway of one of his longest and finest stories.

“Wearing down seven number-two pencils is a good day’s work" (Hemingway Paris Review interview)Hemingway seems to have made a start on "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" in fall 1934, but it wasn't until spring 1936 that the safari tale—which had been developed along with "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" (his only other story set in Africa)–began reaching its final form.

After rejecting a number of titles—the tentative "A Comedy with Animals" has been erased at the head of the first page, but is discernable—Hemingway gave the story its present title.

It is his longest story both in terms of manuscript length ("Big Two-Hearted River" is next) and printed text (edging out "The Undefeated" by some three pages).

"The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" was first published in Cosmopolitan (September 1936) and was then collected in The Fifth Column and the First Forty-nine Stories (1938), where it is the opening story. It has since become one of his most celebrated and reprinted stories.

Provenance: Jane Mason, by descent to: Antony Mason, Christie's New York, 19 May 2000, lot 302.

For photos and additional notes see: https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/fine-printed-books-manuscripts-science/the-short-happy-life-francis-macomber-145/325208?ldp_breadcrumb=back

It was wrapped in paper inside a ziploc bag, stuck in the corner beneath some road atlases.

I have found at least 10 other editions of this cookbook but cannot find this exact one. I have found many metal signs and posters with this exact cover art but not the actual book. Does anyone have any input on what year it was published?

1991 Rare Edition The Green Book By Muammar Gaddafi الكتاب الاخضر معمر القذافي

A friend of mine needed helping clearing out his flat and asked me for help selling some of his stuff.

Whilst I posted every other piece on Vinted this one caught my attention, and not wanting to accidentally sell something rare for a couple quid I decided to turn to Reddit to get some help.

Hoping to get to know how much I should/could be selling this for and how to go about doing it if the book has any major value.

In the UK for Context :)

I picked up a second edition of Florence Nightingale’s Notes on Hospitals (1859) earlier this year and have been sitting with it for months, because there’s a chance the annotations are rather more interesting than ordinary marginalia.

Notes on Hospitals is much less famous than Notes on Nursing, but arguably more important in the history of hospital design. It grew out of Nightingale’s experience of the appalling mortality of the Crimean War and her subsequent campaign to stop hospitals themselves killing the people sent there to recover.

The popular image of Nightingale as simply “the lady with the lamp” undersells her. She was an extraordinarily determined political operator, and this book was part of her campaign to force hospital planners to take ventilation, sanitation, ward layout, light and spacing seriously.

What has kept me coming back to this copy is the annotation.
There are extensive manuscript notes and little plans throughout it which look very much as though somebody was actively working through the practical problems of designing a hospital. My suspicion is that the annotator was an architect, although a senior doctor or hospital administrator remains possible.

The timing makes it interesting. This second edition appeared in 1859, just as Britain entered a major period of hospital construction and redesign. Nightingale’s principles rapidly became influential; David Bryce’s later Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh, for example, was built around the pavilion system she advocated and was submitted to her for detailed approval.

So one possibility is that this belonged to somebody working on an actual hospital project — perhaps even preparing a competition design. Equally, it could be the working copy of someone whose scheme was never built, which makes identification considerably harder.

Admittedly very niche, but if anyone here knows nineteenth-century hospital architecture, architectural handwriting, or has seen similar working annotations in copies of Nightingale, I’d be very interested in any thoughts.

Catalog notes for lot 45282 of the Heritage Rare Book Signature Auction Oct. 14

FIRST EDITION of one of the most influential detective novels ever written. in rare unclipped first issue dust jacket, with the summary printed on the front flap instead of the blurbs as seen in later printings.

Dashiell Hammett. The Maltese Falcon. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1930. 8vo. Publisher's light gray cloth, upper cover ruled in black with falcon device stamped in blue-gray at center, rear cover with publisher's Borzoi device stamped in black, spine stamped in black and blue-gray to a geometric design, top edge stained blue.

Original pictorial dust jacket. Housed in a custom quarter morocco clamshell case. The Maltese Falcon was first serialized in Black Mask beginning in September 1929, and introduced the world to legendary detective Sam Spade.

"There had been hard–boiled heroes, as they were called, before [Sam Spade]. But into these stereotypes Hammett put a charge that made Spade a folk hero for his times, and perhaps still for ours" (Crime and Mystery: The 100 Best Books).

It was first adapted as a pre-Code production, directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Ricardo Cortez and Bebe Daniels, and was almost immediately prevented from re-release due to content.

But the adaptation best known is the classic 1941 film adaptation directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor, which was a major critical and commercial success and is widely regarded as one of the greatest films of all time.

According to online auction records Heritage was unable to trace any other example of an unclipped first issue jacket offered at auction. The publisher raised the price to $2.50 within the same year of publication, making unclipped true first issue jackets almost unobtainable.

Condition: Spine slightly toned with a few small spots; a few lights spots to covers; very minor light soiling; just over opened at pp.132-133. Dust jacket unclipped (priced "$2.00"); spine panel with some wear at ends with small chipping; joints and flap folds rubbed with some minor losses at ends (one flap fold end with tiny tissue repair); some other light edgewear with a few tiny nicks or short tears; vertical crease on front panel; a little soiling overall; faint stamp ("please handle with thought of next reader") on rear panel and flaps.

A very good copy in an unclipped first state dust wrapper. References: Crime and Mystery: The 100 Best Books, 16; A Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone; Layman A3.1.a. Provenance: Harry Clemmen (signature on front pastedown dated 1930).

Another estate uncovering of a large library I am inventorying.

Venetian physician, three years in Cairo in the 1580s as doctor to the consul. He's the guy credited with introducing coffee to Europe. This is his book on Egyptian medicine, with plates showing cupping, moxibustion, and bloodletting as the Egyptians practiced them. Has Bontius's Medicina Indorum bound in at the back too.