Old and First-Edition Books May be Valuable ....But Not Always

Old and First-Edition Books May be Valuable ....But Not Always

Books are a somewhat complicated genre of collecting, buying and selling. It is one area in which condition is everything. Buyers want books that are in pristine condition. If the book originally had a dust jacket, the price is reduced quite a bit if the dust jacket is missing. Other condition issues to be considered are cosmetics, such as: rounded corners; fraying of the covers along the edges and spine; foxing (browning) of the pages; the smell of the book (looking for mildew); and cleanliness of the book exterior and interior.

The question posed to me for appraisal concerned “The Cat in The Hat” by Dr. Seuss, a.k.a. Theodor Geisel. The 1957 first edition, first printing of this title by Random House Publishing, with the blue and white matte paper-over-board covers and original dust jacket, has sold for as much as $5,000 at auction. The customer presented to me a green cloth-cover book with a colorful pictorial front cover of the “The Cat in the Hat” dated 1957 but printed by Houghton Mifflin Co., and she wanted my assurance that her particular book was a first edition worth $4,000-$5,000. This is not the case.

The value of the green cloth cover book is $50 or less, as there does not seem to be a demand for this particular book. Why is this book not as valuable as the trade book? I really don't have an answer for that, other than the books issued to the schools were most likely distributed in a much larger quantity than the first edition run of the trade books. Many of the school books are probably ex-library books (these are not as desirable) and show greater signs of wear.

Other indicators of a true first edition of “The Cat in the Hat”:

• The inside of the dust jacket, where the price is, will show “200/200”;

• No mention of Beginner’s Book Series on cover;

• Covers are a matte finish instead of the customary glossy;

• The inside of the spine will show one signature instead of two;

• It is a blue cover with white accents.

credits:by Michelle Staley   by worthpoint 

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