Decent prices spotted

Found a couple of well-priced early Schiff era books by this eBay seller. All are in my collection, but maybe another devotee will find this useful.

seller:climbingdiving

On a related subject - how do folks in this group feel about sharing buying tips / links? A few posts indicated that people don’t like sharing their favorite bookstores, but perhaps online world doesn’t need to be as secretive..

Thanks! Those look great. I don’t really have any good tips as a novice collector but of course I’d always be grateful for any that people were willing to share.

>1 lecinprogress:

All for it, given it doesn’t overwhelm the forum and is judicious (as I felt this tip to be!).

In case someone here is not aware of them, these bookstores are worth checking out: Oak Knoll, Colophon Book Shop, Kelmscott Bookshop, Heritage Book Shop, and Carol Grossman's shop, Four Rivers Books. Her website is under re-construction, but her contact information is available at that URL. She's the author of the LEC history recently published and she specializes in private press and LEC, naturally.

There are many others to be found out there. DuckDuckGo is your friend. Surf/search anonymously. The websites for the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America and the Fine Press Book Association can also point you to good booksellers. Happy hunting!

This seller is practically giving away two LECs (Ah, Wilderness and The House of Mirth) - https://www.ebay.com/sch/lonemoonbooks/m.html?item=164511211746&ul_noapp=tru.... The slipcases are a bit beat up but the books themselves, in their glassines, look very nice. I would have grabbed them quickly except that I already own them.

Anna Karenina (1933) in Good condition (potentially ex-public-library): https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30782743565&searchurl=pn%3...

>5 AMindForeverVoyaging: Lonemoonbooks had "A Tour of the Hebrides" that sold for $5 a few weeks later! Do we sense a trend?

Someone just listed The Wind in the Willows LEC for 115 USD on eBay. No slipcase, bad pictures, foxing or spotting on spine… but not a bad price for this title even so?
Edit: Gone.

>8 GusLogan: I decided to give it a chance. The spine doesn't look very bad. I'll may find a skilled person to regilt the title. I've seen very similar looking books go for 600$. The seller accepted my offer of 93$.

Wish I could rebind it like this: https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31070850023&clickid=wALyaQ...

>9 Lukas1990:
Good for you! Hope the text block is surgical theatre clean.

>9 Lukas1990:

Lol, maybe try asking Peter Harrington. Leather onlays are probably way out of most our price ranges, but I wonder if you could get a nice blocked illustration in gilt for cheaper...I assume they hold onto all their blocks or tools or whatever so it's just a matter of restamping.

>10 GusLogan: I've contacted the seller and he assured me the inside of the book is OK. Judging from the photos it really looks OK. I think it's a great deal.

Notre-Dame de Paris 1930 $109

This is a great price on the "French-Style" publication that was so controversial in the first year of The Limited Editions Club. It's two volumes ready to be bound, but I've never seen one that is bound.

This one is missing the original slip-case, which I have and wouldn't say you are missing much. It's in a custom case, where you could leave it or be one of the few to have these bound the way they were intended.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/185236580904?hash=item2b20f5ea28:g:NwQAAOSwlWZhzeIt

Just to clarify I am not affiliated with this seller. I have a copy of this edition and it is truly beautiful.

>13 BionicJim:

Peter Harrington booksellers had a leather bound copy listed at one point. I don't remember if it was one of the copies Macy and LEC rebound for unhappy subscribers or if it was a later custom binding.

>13 BionicJim: That's a decent price and the books are in a pretty good condition. No wonder it's sold!

>13 BionicJim: Thanks for the tip, it's on it's way to me now!

>13 BionicJim:

As BionicJim noted above, the French soft cover bindings were not a hit with many of the LEC faithful. As a result, rebinding was not uncommon and these copies will occasionally hit the secondary market. Frankly, I find the original French-style bindings elegant but they are quite fragile and have not worn well over the years. It is quite rare to find copies in fine or NF condition and most of them have some degree of soiling, rubbing, tearing, etc.

Several years ago, I found a copy that had been rebound in full morocco with black leather and gilt spine labels and marbled paper paste downs and endpapers. If you find a copy with a binding in poor condition that remains in fine condition internally, rebinding this wonderful edition is a viable option.

Beautiful. It must be a pleasure to hold such a luxurious volume in hand. I’ve kept mine un-bound because it’s a good conversation piece about the French book trade, but I think I will have to find another example of that system and do something like this with the 1930 Norte-Dame.

A fine copy of The Voice of the City was just listed on Abebooks and Biblio - on Biblio it’s under 80 USD with the member’s discount. It often goes for much more, and perhaps someone here is looking for it. No connection to seller.
Edit: Gone.

There have also been some unusually reasonable copies of Lewis & Clark of late.

Looks like a good deal - both The Illiad and Odyssey for only 180$. Not the best condition though because the spines are a bit sunned.

https://www.biblio.com/book/limited-editions-club-iliad-homer-odyssey/d/14738931...

>20 Lukas1990:
And a bit less than that with a Biblio membership. Nice - not for me (I want this Iliad but prefer the Lawrence translation Odyssey) but I considered it - so thanks! Hope someone else goes for it.

>20 Lukas1990:

Definitely worth it.

You might be interested in this article if you haven't seen it yet:

https://booksandvines.com/2015/06/22/odyssey-and-iliad-by-homer-limited-editions...

Gone! Hope it's someone from our group :)

The best 1929 Munchausen I have ever seen listed on eBay for 165 dollars. No ML, and the spine looks ever so slightly sunned, but it has no visible cracking/flaking and the glassine is there. Debatable whether this price is decent perhaps but I think with the letter the seller could have asked for 200.

>23 Lukas1990:
I went for it in the end - so renewed thanks! - with a view to a rebind at some future time.

>24 GusLogan:
Clearly I was wrong about this being a decent price as the book remains for sale!

Another Erasmus. Very good price.

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31264883391

>26 Lukas1990:

The listing states that copy has been rebacked which would explain the price.

>26 Lukas1990: >27 MobyRichard:
It's gone!

Could you help me understand how rebacking results in a lower price? (I think that's the implication of "very good price.")

>28 maisiedotes: Rebacking means it was repaired. Collectors want an original book which was not repaired or altered. Such a book is the most valuable. Still I think the book I found is a good value. The cover is in pretty good shape - not common for LEC Erasmus.

>28 maisiedotes: >29 Lukas1990: That particular copy was quite well done and it has a bespoke slipcase rather than the original. Personally, that would not be a deal breaker for a book, if the price was within my budget for what would otherwise be beyond my reach.

>28 maisiedotes:

If you look over auction records, it almost always lowers the average value unless the rebind is something very very special or the book is so common that it's not that big a deal finding a copy in the original condition.
Any good bookbinder should advise their customers accordingly. I guess LEC is a gray area. With 1500 copies, they are not hard to find but I wouldn't call 1500 a huge limitation either.

A spine only rebind of a book originally bound in full leather is also very obvious. I've never seen a case where I couldn't tell immediately. Also any major book repair suggests there may be other structural problems that will become apparent later. What do you do for example, if the leather on the front and rear boards begin to rot (a common LEC sheepskin problem)? The quarter rebind is not going to help with that.

Of course any random individual buyer might not care, but it definitely should matter to the seller.

>30 Glacierman: >31 MobyRichard:

Thank you for the explanations. I'm learning!

I just noticed that Capitol Hill Books has been listing a good number of Limited Edition Books. No pictures, but they are a good group to work with getting information. What caught my eye was a listing for the First Volume issued of the Limited Editions Club:

https://www.capitolhillbooks-dc.com/pages/books/13831/jonathan-swift-shane-lesli...

With less than an hour to go for some listings, here are a set of 6 LEC full leather poem American Poets series from the same seller (newsletter not mentioned):

The Poems of William Cullen Bryant, 1947: https://www.ebay.com/itm/204060409654
The Poems of John Greenleaf Whittier, 1945: https://www.ebay.com/itm/225102561216
The Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, 1943: https://www.ebay.com/itm/204060417568
The Poems of Emily Dickinson, 1952: https://www.ebay.com/itm/225102622200
The Poems of Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1945: https://www.ebay.com/itm/225102630141
The Poems of Longfellow, 1944: https://www.ebay.com/itm/225102637872

(No connection with seller)

A copy of Dead Souls (Chihikov’s Journey) was just listed on Abebooks for 95 USD. The solander is faded but the books look perfect in glassine (never seen it before on these) and I seem to remember this is one of those LEC productions of which fewer than 1 500 were made because of the war. It’s a lovely set to my mind. No affiliation to the seller of course, and may also be listed on Biblio, I didn’t look.

>35 GusLogan: Thank you! Much appreciated. It was listed on Biblio too.

This has been near the top of the wish-list for a while so very pleased to finally acquire it.

>36 GardenOfForkingPaths:
Delighted to have been of assistance!

I’d say 75 USD minus 10 % member’s discount is a good price for the 1950 Don Quixote with the ML even if it has some paint stains. That’s on Biblio - also on Abebooks and eBay. No affiliation.

Gooood looking Erasmus. And the price is decent. No affiliation.

https://www.johnwindle.com/pages/books/124836/desiderius-carter-erasmus-harry-he...

>39 Lukas1990:
Nice.

>39 Lukas1990: One of the nicest copies I've seen. The leather spine is notoriously fragile and subject to deterioration - it was actually scrap sheepskin leather pieces mixed with a copious amount of sawdust. A product of the war years' shortages.

>39 Lukas1990: Dang. Sold already. I didn't get the chance to see it.

>42 Glacierman: It's still on Biblio though - https://www.biblio.com/book/moriae-encomium-praise-folly-erasmus-desiderius/d/14...

>43 Lukas1990: Danke, Mein Herr.

I do not know if this a decent price but I spotted this and thought some of you may be interested:

https://getmansvirtual.com/cartophilians-rodriguez-archives-llc/the-limited-edit...

>45 literatefool: That prospectus has Updike written all over it! Easily recognizable as his work. Worth obtaining for that fact alone, insofar as I am concerned.

Horace in seeming fine condition at a very reasonable price:

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/204106389667

No relation to seller apart from being a satisfied customer. I bought a different LEC from the same seller; the book condition upon arrival was very fine, the price was good, and the packing skills were excellent.

The same seller has a few other good LEC values (Plato and Ecclesiastes at least).

>47 abysswalker: That's a nice copy! Unfortunately shipping to Lithuania is more than the price of the book.

>47 abysswalker: Lol,.I actually bought that Horace. I didn't see it posted here, I just happened across it and found it a fair price.

On the Nature of Things in really good condition for a really good price.

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31328009983

The Song of Roland, LEC 1938; sans slipcase or ephemera for a BIN price of €18 and also 'Make Offer' enabled. I would have added it to my fledgling LEC collection but the seller will not ship my destination.

Two compelling reviews here:
https://booksandvines.com/2013/11/10/the-song-of-roland-limited-editions-club-19...
https://georgemacyimagery.wordpress.com/2019/05/26/heritage-press-the-song-of-ro...

The listing is more than a year old. 'Livre ancien' indeed!
https://www.ebay.fr/itm/373783807474

>51 mr.philistine: I've seen this one long ago. The seller has never replied to my numerous requests.

Aesop's Fables. Starting bid - 100$. No affiliation.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/125625516019

Well maybe it’s not a decent price but this seemed the best place to mention this listing:

https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31362524509

VG is obv not the bar most of us aim to clear…

Edit: No affiliation, for sure!

>54 GusLogan: Heck, if I could afford that pile, I'd drive down there and pick 'em up!

Same, haha!

At roughly $80-$100 per book on average, the price is a good deal for the seller, not for a purchaser.

Almost perfect copy of Erasmus. And you can make an offer. No affiliation.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/204181421184

>58 Lukas1990: That copy is on Abe for even less.

>59 AMindForeverVoyaging: It looks like the seller removed the listing on eBay, someone must have taken your advice and picked it up on Abe!

Oak Knoll Books has a 30% off sale on Limited Editions Club titles through the end of January. I just got an email from them.

>61 Bernarrd:
Thank you! I have just ordered Uncle Remus from them, thanks to your lead.

Thanks! Just bought The Iceman Cometh

>62 booksforreading:
As transpired, my copy of Uncle Remus that has just arrived from Oak Knoll Books was a personal copy of Marc Connelly who wrote the Foreword.
There is an M. C. instead of the number in the colophon, and a small but significant correction in the foreword by pen (signed M. C.)
Apparently, LEC omitted a few words during printing: in the sentence on the bottom of page VIII, the part "...who in the forties alone found a devoted public..." should read "...who in ONE YEAR IN the forties alone..."

>64 booksforreading: I get a kick out of obtaining personal copies of LEC books. I have a few, and the one I enjoy the most was a copy of Popol Vuh that had belonged to the artist who presented it to a friend and included a pencil drawing, signed, along with the brief presentation inscription. It makes a nice companion to the regular LEC edition and is also in a non-standard binding done by the printer, Plantin Press.

>65 Glacierman:
Your Popol Vuh copy is truly one of a kind.
It always makes me a little sad when families of artists, friends, and writers do not find any sentimental value in such books and get rid of them.

>61 Bernarrd: So many missing the letter. shame

Great deal on the Little flowers - someone buy it to stop me…

https://www.ebay.com/itm/204219891728?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-...

Edit: Sold! Probably not my doing…

Not the best photo quality but the spine looks really clean.

EDIT: the book is also on Ebay and you can make an offer. Looks like an even more decent deal.

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31422506731

It’s not an amazing deal, but there’s a Jekyll & Hyde on Biblio for 125 in Fine condition (often the spine is worn at the heel and crown) which with a Biblio discount if you’ve got it seems like a fair price. Put some Klucel-G on it if you buy it!

400 volumes for 33k

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31362524509

Unless there's a Ulysses lurking in there I'd say it's something less than a spotted decent price :)

>71 Lukas1990:
It’s up at >54 GusLogan: ; )

I’m hopeful they’ll sell piecemeal at some point..:

A fine copy of The Sonnets to Orpheus signed by Balthus for 833$. Some 400$ cheaper than the second cheapest copy available on the market. Wish it had more than two woodcuts...

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31347978922

>74 Lukas1990:

That sold quick. I totally forget this book even existed until I read your post.

>75 MobyRichard: That's not even a decent price, it's a bargain! Still a bit too expensive for my budget. Hopefully, a fellow Sid Shiff devotee got it haha.

Christo Snyman of Rare Collections is holding a 30% off sale & has a number of good values available. I picked up a few myself:

https://www.rarecollections.co.za/searchResults.php?category_id=206&action=b...

>77 ChrisG1:
His shipping is pretty good as well, at least from where I’m sitting (Europe).

>78 GusLogan: He's great to work with & as transparent as you can find regarding condition issues. The photos of the books are just stunning!

>77 ChrisG1:
Thanks. Picked up four books from him.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Stowe 1938 US137
Daphnis and Chloe 1934 US$67
The Chronicles of Jean Froissart US$56
Volpone US$60
:Postage to Australia US$57 for four books.

Thank you for the kind words and support everyone, it is much appreciated.

FYI for those wondering about Carol Grossman and my project on the new checklist. We currently waiting for approval (hopefully) to include links to scan copies of the ML, if that happens we should launch soon

May be a decent price, depending on how you value the Shiff letter. Based on the description, not the finest copy around, but not a disaster.

https://www.capitolhillbooks-dc.com/pages/books/25587/franz-kafka-willa-and-edwi...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/124842754188

This collection was mentioned in a different thread when it was listed at $14,000 two years ago. Other posters said it's worth about half of that.
I received an offer from the seller for $6,000 after adding it to my watchlist.

>83 PBB: I reached out to them once on instagram to see if they would sell separately and they said they would but the prices they wanted were still too high compared to what's available.

>83 PBB: I saw an offer of $4500 at one point, which is more reasonable, and was tempted, but the reality of space limitations kept me from acting on it.

>74 Lukas1990: Thank you! I picked up The Sonnets to Orpheus. It’s a beautiful book in perfect condition. And thanks for finding a new, to me, good book seller. I also bought The Man Who Planted Trees from them.

>74 Lukas1990: >86 kdweber: I just looked. Stunning art and paper! Congratulations!

>86 kdweber: The owner of the shop Christo, aka rocklands, is a nice guy who has sent me some rare ML's before. I am sure he will have some good sales in the future too. Glad the beautiful book went to a fellow devotee. The price was exceptional.

>88 Lukas1990: thank you for the kind words and the support from many members here. As a collector myself I love seeing books going to people who enjoy them

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uRIL-afLJtce1Kimq9loBaLMoY7UYNLQ4zrdFzmNs24/...

This is Oak Knoll offer that wasn't sent to their whole mailing list, but they said I could share here after I asked. It's 30% off the listed prices. Great deal on The Flounder at the bottom of the document. Reach out to them at orders@oakknoll.com

>91 PBB: Thanks so much! I actually just emailed another seller on abe about The Flounder but saw your post and emailed Oak Knoll only to buy from them. I'm quite surprised how cheap the volume is considering the materials and signature by Gunter Grass but, hey, I'm all for it. Has this book always been this cheap or after his controversial past came to light his popularity and thus the prices fell?

I see a few listings for it between $150-$200. I managed to get mine about a year ago as part of a bulk order for a bit less than that. There's also quite a few way higher than that, so somewhere between 150 and 200 seems good for that one. He died in 2015 so any impact his questionable past would've had on prices probably happened then or earlier. I wasn't around then to know anything about the market so can't say for sure

One thing I always wonder about The Flounder when I look at pictures is what was the natural/original colour of the eel skin spines and what is the result of sunning? Or perhaps there's just a lot of variation in eel skin leather?

Sometimes there's quite a difference between the books even within the same set, so I've been assuming it's normal variation or something that develops naturally over time?

>94 GardenOfForkingPaths: my copy had uniform gray eel skin, no variation apart from the stitch like pattern. I suspect any fading is from sun or other environmental damage. I sold it ultimately (strange mix of elements I liked and didn't like), but not that long ago.

>95 abysswalker: Interesting, thanks. Which aspects of the books did you like and not like?

>96 GardenOfForkingPaths: I love everything about the bindings of The Flounder, from the somewhat extravagant choice of binding as three separate volumes, to the eel skin backing, to the mild flexibility of the "hard" covers. The paper was also perfect, having a nice texture and pale greenish blue sheen. However, none of the page form factor, layout, and typography choices worked for me. The page was too wide for the amount allocated to text, leading to excessive margins, far beyond even the generous norms of fine press. Worst of all, the paragraphing lacked vertical spacing, indentation, pilcrow, or any other useful delimiting method, making the text visually hard to parse. Finally, the illustrations by the author were fine, and illustration by a Nobel prize winner is a novelty, but ultimately they don't seem that special to me, only satisfactory.

>97 abysswalker: Thank you for the thorough assessment - all good points, well made. It's a set of books I'm interested to see in person, and a novel I have never read. I just found a fine copy for a reasonable price, which is now en route.

The lack of indentation or clear spacing between paragraphs is strange to me too. The LEC Fall of the House of Usher employs the same approach. Although not a big issue for a short story, like you I felt this type of layout to be a negative point for ease of reading.

I'm certainly curious about the reasoning behind it since they are generally such thoughtfully designed books.

>98 GardenOfForkingPaths: "The lack of indentation or clear spacing between paragraphs is strange to me too. "

It is strange, and it seems to be a fad. I have no idea what the philosophy behind it is, but it is awkward. Even a small indentation helps, otherwise, the reader has to depend on the short line at the end of the previous paragraph to clue them in that a new paragraph has begun.

I don't like it.

>99 Glacierman: It does have the feeling of a fad. It certainly makes you appreciate the humble indent!

>98 GardenOfForkingPaths: "The lack of indentation or clear spacing between paragraphs is strange to me too. ... I'm certainly curious about the reasoning behind it since they are generally such thoughtfully designed books."

I believe The Flounder was designed by Ben Shiff. I'm not sure how much experience he had as a book designer at that point.

https://www.biblio.com/book/old-sea-limited-editions-club-hemingway/d/1539332572

I spent a long time watching listings for this one and this is $150 less than any other copy I saw with the letter. Also $150 less than some other listings without the letter.

https://www.vialibri.net/searches?title=The+Old+Man+and+the+Sea&publisher=Li...

For comparison with other listings

>102 PBB: That, indeed, is a decent price. Nice book.

>103 kdweber: It’s gone! Hope someone from this forum got it

A very reasonably-priced Decline and Fall popped up on Abebooks yesterday. Spines pretty good for this title but something wonky with the top of the boards, hard to make out from photos… I would have bought this one over my 100 dollar-set with one spineless volume I think!

>105 GusLogan:

Have at it guys. I'm always a bit wary b/c I buy books to read, not just display, and I feel like if I actually read these books they will just end up like all the other copies eventually.

https://www.abebooks.com/kempers-adventure-loveland-co-u.s.a/83002130/sf

Abebooks seller who was a subscriber that I talked to recently who is looking to sell the 45th through 54th series to one buyer. Says they're very negotiable for someone looking to purchase the whole set. I don't know if it would end up being a decent price like this thread is for, but certainly an interesting opportunity.

Inventory, with some non-LEC books at the bottom. Includes the Bibliography and Monthly Letters of 1929-1933 published during those years but not in a series.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pb1VFKlvNMhiZLCKQ4FkG_LrbjdyEDnfik9zJZDS19k/...

>107 PBB:
Hopefully considering this is the closest I’ll ever come to bankruptcy.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/325683732325 Best offer available. Not bad!

>109 Lukas1990: Yes, someone snagged a great value

>109 Lukas1990: i saw this on eBay on my own but while messaging the seller for more info it sold. Should’ve just jumped on it. Damn. Congrats to whoever got it if they’re on this site!

>109 Lukas1990:
I genuinely wish I’d never seen this post! (Not because I bought the set!)

That was quick! Hope it went to a devotee.

Decent starting bid for a nice condition book (LEC Of The Nature Of Things).

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Of-On-The-Nature-Of-Things-Lucretius-Limited-Editions-C...

Origin of Species + Descent of Man = 170$. Best offer available.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/225637143841

https://www.ebay.com/itm/374774963112?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/374774972219?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-...

Hate having to pass on these myself but $210 for The Dolphin is pretty good. The Dolphin did come with a whole bunch of ephemera and this set only has one piece but I’m not sure how common sets are with all the pieces so I think this is still worth it

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/156287937_rare-lec-poster-ray-bradbury-fahr...

Very rare piece that was offered to early subscribers of the 47th series. My first time seeing a listing for this in my ~2 years of LEC collecting . I'm not sure how many are out there and what counts as a decent price, and sharing here might ruin the decent price aspect but its a rare opportunity!

>116 Lukas1990:
>118 PBB:
Thanks both for your many recent spottings here!

>119 GusLogan: I try and do a Vialibri search once a day sorted by most recently listed to try and catch deals before anyone else can snatch them up. Maybe once a month I find a great book for 30-50% below market and once every 2-3 months 70% below. For anyone with a long LEC wishlist it’s a worthwhile method I think. I’m also listening to ABAA bookseller interviews on YouTube, and visit their websites and search LEC. That's less fruitful but the interviews are very interesting. Most of them were done by Michael Ginsberg who does a great job, who had a 50+ year career in the Boston area and recently passed. William Reese, Mark Hime, Philip Pirages and the Bromers are some of the better ones.

Fahrenheit 451 in fine condition for 600 USD. I advise asking for photos to confirm the condition, though.

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31549811959

>121 Lukas1990: For anyone interested, to save you a step, I put the photos I received from the seller for this book in my gallery. Not good quality photos unfortunately.

https://www.ebay.com/usr/eric-hilto?_trksid=p2047675.m3561.l2559 this seller has some presentation copies from the 70s. Some in excellent condition, and a bit lower than market price.

The Story of Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost, 1935, HP-exclusive, LE of 1500 and signed but missing signed frontispiece;
more here: https://georgemacyimagery.wordpress.com/2011/09/24/heritage-press-the-story-of-m...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/175799455943
Starting bid of $5.99 and one day to go!

>123 mr.philistine: The photo of the two page title spread shows no frontispiece on this copy. Curious.

>123 mr.philistine: That is weird. As I note in my post: "For Manon Lescaut, Brissaud’s signature is on the title page with an exclusive print that is, to my knowledge, not in the reprints. I looked at a variety of standard printings while browsing and did not see this reprinted at all. Later illustrations were bumped up into its place, and one even had the left side blank...this print is distinctly different from the rest of Brissaud’s watercolors gracing the book — it’s far sharper and more colorful. The effective shading is just wonderful. I suspect that this is a tipped in print of a much higher quality exclusive to this edition."

Clearly it is missing from this copy, which I would expect would give any serious Heritage collector pause...provided they knew. And the seller noticeably did not mention that part of my post in their description, so this is perhaps more a buyer beware situation than a good deal. Unless the exclusive piece of art and Brissaud's signature don't mean anything to you...

>124 Glacierman: >125 WildcatJF: Thanks corrected.

Song of Roland (LEC) in a lovely condition and for a good price. Not sure about the upper corners of the binding though - are they a bit bumped?

https://www.biblio.com/book/song-roland-moncrieff-charles-scott-translator/d/154...

>127 Lukas1990: Gone....in sixty seconds.

>128 Glacierman: Haha, good! Definitely went to a fellow group member. My copy of Song of Roland looks much worse but I am satisfied with it.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/256164731884?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-...

$600 for Le Paysan de Paris
Make offer available too

>130 PBB: Good price. I paid $700 three years ago.

>77 ChrisG1: Another 30% site-wide sale from Rare Collections (Cape Town). They list both LEC and HP titles.

Divine Comedy for 49.99$. Some staining on the spine, but doesn't look bad.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/126049144358

>134 Lukas1990:
(ML but no slipcase.)

>135 GusLogan: Still decent for 49.99$ :)))

There’s a decent copy of Opium Eater on abebooks US for $100.

>136 Lukas1990:
I agree, was just helping slipcase-obsessives save twenty seconds of their lives ; )

https://www.ebay.com/itm/204430491870?hash=item2f9901c0de:g:QjYAAOSwNxBk28~k

This would require some slipcase repair but even with that factored in could be a steal

Did someone here buy the $113 Poems of Emily Dickinson that was on eBay today? In a rough but salvageable slipcase? Someone beat me to it by just a few seconds. Good find if you got it

>139 PBB:
Great buy for someone (gone)!

Wind in The Willows for 160$. Some stamps and wear to the spine (no photos).

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31621035933

https://www.biblio.com/book/revelation-saint-john-divine/d/1514017459
Same seller I bought Our Grandmothers from. $400 less than any others I can find. Seller did give me expedited shipping for free too.

Sonnets to Orpheus for ~870 USD.

https://biblio.co.uk/book/sonnets-orpheus-rilke-rainer-maria-illustrated/d/15641...

Far Away and Long Ago for 50$, best offer available, looks fine.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/276059983111

A strong Mutiny on the Bounty also has popped up.

Hi!
I'm new to the group but I've been reading through your posts for a while and I'm looking for some thoughts on pricing. I've inherited a Heritage Press collection and I'd like to sell some of them but prices seem to be all over the map so I have no idea how to price them appropriately. For example, I have War of the Words, with slipcase and sandglass. A few sold on Ebay for under $20, but there's one on Abe's for $200. I know condition is a factor, and one of the Ebay sales looked like its condition was just as good as the one on Abe. I also know that, when it comes to collectibles, they're worth exactly what someone is willing to pay for them. I don't want to gouge anybody but I also don't want to give away for $20 something that could bring in $200. I could use the cash (who couldn't 😀)

I would be happy to sell my books to people in this group for a decent price, I just don't know what that price would be.

Thanks!

>146 splicer415: Listed prices don’t always reflect the amount a buyer is willing to pay. What mainly attracts HP collectors is the quality-to-value ratio. Unless this particular title has a recognized merit, as might be known by other members, I wouldn’t bet on such a high price.

>146 splicer415:
Heritage Press books seem to sell for significantly less than the equivalent Limited Editions Club edition. Most go for under US$50, and many for a mere US$20.

>146 splicer415: If you have any Heritage Press exclusives, i.e. titles not published by the LEC, you might be able to do better than $20; contingent on the state and availability of those titles.
See this article for more details: https://georgemacyimagery.wordpress.com/heritage-press-exclusives/

I frequently acquire HP titles for under $10 with Sandglass and slipcase without any defects.

Thank you all for the info. It's clear I need to do a deep dive into the books to figure out what I've got. I looked at a couple and one of them shows the special material copyright with the Limited Edition Club, so it's clearly not an exclusive. Another one doesn't mention LEC in the copyright, so maybe it was a Heritage Press exclusive.

Interesting stuff about Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. I have them both in one volume with the Rockwell illustrations. Alas, no signature.

>150 splicer415: Also New York Heritage are generally worth more and better made than Connecticut Heritage.

On The Nature of Things (LEC) for 100$. Described as near fine. Ask for photos!
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31667139711

I don’t know about decent price, but here’s an LEC - Bounty Mutiny - rarely seen in this condition:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/186115380720

>153 GusLogan: https://www.ebay.com/itm/186115591747
1942 Leaves of Grass
Same seller, much better than normally seen

>154 PBB:
That’s definitely an ”I know what I’ve got” listing!

I picked up their LEC Poems of Edgar Allen Poe in NF+ condition with an offer and was quite pleased to do so.

$1,100 Poems of Robert Frost
https://www.ebay.com/itm/186118894240

https://www.ebay.com/itm/404546112085
I Promessi Sposi for 29.99 USD. It’s a Mardersteig!

>156 PBB:

That is an excellent price for the LEC 2-volume Robert Frost, especially in fine condition. The vast majority of copies have fading of the book spines.

>158 dlphcoracl: https://www.librarything.com/pic/9899467

Or you could get this $3,600 copy that I saw in Bauman Rare Books Vegas in May. They’re also one of the stores I’ve seen list Shiff era books for more than the LEC sells them new

Praise of Folly (LEC) in best condition ever!!! Just look at that medallion! Wow!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/186126393394

Gone in 60 seconds........

Wow, that’s a beautiful book. I own the HP, but now the LEC is officially on my radar if another opportunity ever pops up. The ebay seller has a number of LECs in excellent condition with prices ranging from very reasonable to what I believe to be very high ($995 Monte Cristo).

>161 Glacierman: Literally... And it looks like a best offer was excepted which makes it even a better deal. I would have ordered this copy in a blink of an eye but I already own one.

>162 cartographer144: Looks like the seller is not very knowledgeable. I would recommend getting Virgil's Georgics. The price and condition are great.