OT Question for RF
oly
covers) out at the flea market today. My guess is that they were
vintage 1946-1955. When I got around to reading the H.B. in the late
1960s, the covers were illustrated in color.
I've never followed these things. Is there any thing in that vintage
of H.B. that one should look for? The seller wanted $2.50 each,
probably could have bought the lot for less than that per copy.
oly
RWF
"oly" <oly...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:5a6e410e-21ac-4c8a...@e25g2000vbe.googlegroups.com...
Tan covered books without dust jackets are practically worthless.
oly
> "oly" <oly2...@aol.com> wrote in message
Very good to know, I don't think any had DJs but I will look if he has
them next month.
oly
Mr. Jaggers
As a bibliophile, I share the phobia about antiquarian books that lack dj.
But why is this? Numismatists have their cleaning issues, but why do book
collectors often pay more for a dj than for the book itself? There's gotta
be some deep, philosophical, psychological cause. 'Splain that one, if you
can.
James
oly
> RWF wrote:
> > "oly" <oly2...@aol.com> wrote in message
I had a similar thought about the dust jacket making or breaking the
book - there is very little in the DJ that makes it at all valuable.
Seems a lot like the emphasis on "MIB" for toys and such.
oly
Mr. Jaggers
Could it all stem from the hardwired, particularly male, trait to desire
"virgin" goods, whether it be a mate, a coin, a book, or any other kind of
"toy"? Removing and throwing away (gasp!) the dust jacket is sort of like a
deflowering, is it not? I was thinking more, but realize I better stop
right there.
James
oly
>
> - Show quoted text -
I really think that the lack of the dust jacket (or a box, or
certificates of authenticity) is a way to politely tell a potential
seller that their stuff is very common.
I don't get deep into this psychology stuff, being reasonably warped
myself.
oly
RWF
"Mr. Jaggers" <lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com> wrote in message
news:gnaci...@enews5.newsguy.com...
Why do people pay thru the nose for DJs?
In the realm of juvenile book collecting, finding books with decent DJs
is not so simple given their initial target audience.
The attrition rate among juvenile book djs is truly appalling.
As in coin collecting, condition is everything (well almost everything).
Furthermore the DJ is critical in dating the publication year of the
book (they were reprinted for years on end).
Witness the Hardy Boys: they've been in print continuously since 1927.
Nancy Drew likewise since 1930.
Early first editions with DJs are extremely valuable, going into the mid
to upper 4 figure range.
OTOH common 1950's editions with decent DJs are lucky to sell at all on
eBay.
Why do people collect juvenile series books? In part it may be an effort
to recapture pleasant moments from youth.
Mr. Jaggers
Or efface bad moments from youth.
Yeah, that all makes sense, but I would think that a lot of people my (our?)
age would view 1950s editions with dj as highly desirable. Very few of us
could have afforded to put a complete set together back then, and only now
do we have the ability to do so (maybe), for a variety of reasons.
A friend of mine has the complete series of Tom Swift books, and he's in
ecstasy about it. I have no idea what vintage, or the dj situation, but I'd
guess there are more guys around like him.
Would I be correct in guessing that those early editions under dj normally
sell for more than any "price guides" might indicate?
James
Bruce Remick
"RWF" <R...@200902.invalid> wrote in message
news:gnagn5$6pl$1...@news.motzarella.org...
>
> "Mr. Jaggers" <lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com> wrote in message
> news:gnaci...@enews5.newsguy.com...
>> RWF wrote:
>>> "oly" <oly...@aol.com> wrote in message
>>> news:5a6e410e-21ac-4c8a...@e25g2000vbe.googlegroups.com...
>>>> There was a fellow who had scads of Hardy Boys (in tan-colored hard
>>>> covers) out at the flea market today. My guess is that they were
>>>> vintage 1946-1955. When I got around to reading the H.B. in the late
>>>> 1960s, the covers were illustrated in color.
>>>>
>>>> I've never followed these things. Is there any thing in that vintage
>>>> of H.B. that one should look for? The seller wanted $2.50 each,
>>>> probably could have bought the lot for less than that per copy.
>>>
>>> Tan covered books without dust jackets are practically worthless.
>>
>> As a bibliophile, I share the phobia about antiquarian books that lack
>> dj. But why is this? Numismatists have their cleaning issues, but why do
>> book collectors often pay more for a dj than for the book itself? There's
>> gotta be some deep, philosophical, psychological cause. 'Splain that one,
>> if you can.
>
> Why do people pay thru the nose for DJs?
Probably they're mostly purists who insist on their edition being as issued.
Like registry set collectors. I can understand when I see penny bubble gum
card wrappers from the 1940's and 1950's selling for hundreds of dollars.
If I had saved all the discarded wrappers from the cards I bought in the
1940's alone, I could finance Ira on a coin buying spree today. I remember
the owner of the little store where we bought our cards yelling at us not to
throw all those wrappers on the ground outside his store.
Mr. Jaggers
The fact that we showed such disdain for them then contributes to their
rarity today. Why we care today about Bazooka Joe and Pud cartoons printed
on wax paper is another issue entirely.
James
RWF
"Mr. Jaggers" <lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com> wrote in message
The accepted price guides for Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew are fairly
accurate.
1950s DJ editions are fairly common - the 50's was the golden age of
series books in terms of production ergo there are more copies extant.
Mr. Jaggers
Still, I bet you don't just slap a nice set together by going to the monthly
flea market. It'd sure impress the socks off me, all lined up on a
bookshelf, even if they had no market value at all. Sort of like a circ set
of Lincolns from 1941 forward.
James
som...@some.domain
papers?
note.boy
"Mr. Jaggers" <lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com> wrote in message
I have two Tom Swift books and a few others from the 1960's, I love the dust
jacket illustrations and would not buy a book without a DJ. Billy
Mr. Jaggers
DJs are like frosting on the cake, and I, for one, love frosting.
James
RWF
news:xLjml.4889$Dz4....@newsfe20.ams2...
> I have two Tom Swift books and a few others from the 1960's, I love
> the dust jacket illustrations and would not buy a book without a DJ.
> Billy
The artwork of the Tom Swift Jr. series is great, as is the full color
cover art of the original Tom Swift series.
BTW: The Swift Jr. cover art is also on the "picture cover" books that
followed the DJ editions in 1962.