Books

Yesterday I posted a article about Dean's Rag Books that you can read HERE. I just went and had a look on eBay to see if there were any rag books for sale. There are around 15 currently for sale in the UK with others available from USA including some at VERY high prices, above what I would think they are worth. As with everything in collectbales if the seller's realise those prices then that is their current value, at least to one buyer who we must assume is happy to pay the seller's price.

Just a reminder that the Collectables Handbook is officially published on Monday (1 March 2010). If you click HERE you can get it at the very special price of £11.99, a saving of £8!

There are more than 4,000 items in full colour which helps to make Miller's Collectables Handbook and Price Guide the most comprehensive and informative price guide on the market. Whether you're a dealer, collector or auctioneer, this is the book you need to help you keep track of what is now a truly international market.

From cups and saucers to teddy bears, Scandinavian glass to fountain pens, Miller’s Collectables Handbook and Price Guide reflects the collectables market like no other book on the market.This indispensible reference source not only gives you the prices but explains why one item is worth more than another.

Emyl emailed me to remind me that her publisher had used a quote from me on the back of her latest Sterling Glass detective story. "Emyl Jenkins not only understands the antiques world, she knows how exciting and addictive it can be.  As soon as I started The Big Steal, I couldn’t wait to see what happened.  I knew the journey would be full of twists and discoveries.”

Many of you will have watched Lovejoy on the television and some of you may have read the books on which the series is based. There are not a lot of books with antiques as their theme but I've just stumbled on a review of two by Emyl Jenkins. There's 'Stealing with Syle' (what a geat title!) and 'The Big Steal' and both are reviewed on AL.com, the web site for Alabama. You can read the review HERE.

Emyl Jenkins will be the guest author at the Friends of the Mobile Public Library spring luncheon to be held at noon on March 4 in the Athelstan Club. Tickets are $45 per person. Reservations by check are payable to Friends of the Library; mail to Nan Costello, 3717 Calderwood Drive, Mobile, Ala. 36608. All proceeds benefit the Mobile Public Library. Call 251-342-7575 for more information.

Has anyone read either of these books? I would love to hear from you if you have. Have you any read any novels about antqiues?

With all the talk about e-readers, ipads and other electronica for reading books one thing that seems to have passed a lot of people by is the change it will bring about to book collecting. Clearly a first edition of an e-book is something most of us will not be wanting. Another twist to the tale is the fact that signed editions will not be as prevalent. Will we in future have authors doing virtual signings were they send a buyer an email? Will they tweet their signature?

Book collecting has become even more popular in the last decade or so and I suspect that signed first editions from the last century will increase in value well above the levels of inflation. It is already something of a minefield in that there are different ways for books to be signed. Generally the most desirable of all is 'flatsigned'. It's a term coined by the author Stephen King for a book signed by the author on the title page without there being an inscription to someone. Bookplates signed by the author that are stuck into a book lack that special something for the serious collector. There are examples where a signed copy inscribed to someone of significance, especially if they are involved in the book in some way can be particularly collectable.

A friend of mine told me about a book that he has seen was not signed by the writer but instead contained paintings. It was a 1940s copy of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet which with beautiful paintings of costume designs on many of the pages. The paintings were by the artist and renowned stage designer Oliver Messel. They were his ideas for the costumes for a production of the play directed by his friend Peter Glenville. It’s the paintings that make the book both unique and collectable.