Collection: The Collectable Books

The Era’s Defined by Serenity Press- Contemporary Era: Books published in the year 2000 or over. Modern Era: Books published between 1911-1999. Romantic Era: Books published between 1805-1910. (Original literary works from the Romantic Era, e.g, Pride and Prejudice, Great Expectations, are amongst the most admired and have continued to be published throughout the modern and contemporary eras)

Vintage & Antique -  It is generally accepted amongst collectors that any item at least 100 years old is antique, while anything less than a century but older than 20 years is vintage.

Monetary or Market Value - Is a Ford Mustang the same as another Ford Mustang? No. And just like that no two copies of a book are the same book. The monetary value of a book relies on a combination of external factors; primarily its origin date, condition, edition, variant, provenance, significance, availability and demand. The monetary value is known as an extrinsic value and is not absolute, it can change over time.

Subjective Value - How you perceive the worth of the book to be as it is relative to your desire. You might be willing to pay a lot more than the object is actually worth simply because you really want it. And vice versa, if you have no desire whatsoever for a particular book, then it has zero value to you.

Rare Books?- Rare (of a thing) means it's uncommon and not found frequently, but it can also be used to describe something as exceptional. In book collecting terminology the term ‘Rare Book’, although designated quite liberally these days, is used to define a book that is both uncommon and exceptional, because otherwise any uncommon book would be described as a rare book. But if the internet has proven anything, it is that books once thought to be rare are actually more common than first thought to be. This term ideally would be used for books prior to the 1800's because the production counts were significantly less than the centuries that followed, and the survival rates are lower.

Scarcity - If something is insufficient relative to the demand, then the item is scarce. To know whether or not an item is sufficient for demand, you must know its supply, and with books this is not so easy. Unless you know the total production count, the variants if any within the production, how many have survived (books get lost and destroyed all the time), how many are in private collections, how many are for sale within brick and motor shops throughout the world, and how many are for sale online, then you cannot know the true supply of a book. To put it in perspective, some publishing houses are not even aware of how many copies of their books were made in total since they don’t always keep track. The best you can do is use sound logic and deductive reasoning with whatever information you can gather.

Demand - The demand for any book is subject to the individual and or generation. The demand for the works of Charles Dickens has always been high and has remained steady for over a hundred years. The Great Gatsby had very poor sales and was not popular until after the death of the author F. Scott Fitzgerald. Famous foreign literature would have never been famous had it not been for their translations. Literary works of women from the 19th Century, which were suppressed or neglected, have had a renaissance in the 20th and 21st century. The variables that can affect demand are near infinite, but one thing is for certain; books with intrinsic value withstand the test of time.

Condition - Some collectors argue that condition is everything! But this is not true, a First Edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in poor condition can still retail for hundreds if not more. It is a significant external factor in terms of the potential market value, there is no questioning that, but that does not take away from the fact that an average condition book still has value and is a Collectable. There’s the abstract and subjective factor too, that whatever was deemed defective today may not be deemed defective tomorrow. Some collectors don’t mind the battle scars of a book as it portrays a story in itself.

Editions - An edition is a particular version of a publication or the form in which a text (especially a printed book) is published.

• First Edition - A term that is both simple and complicated for collectors and bibliographers, and since there is no concise definition, First Edition here at Serenity Press means The Original Publication of a Book. To publish means to make it available to the public, thus private releases are not Firsts, though highly sought after by collectors. First Editions can have different formats or variants too, for example, a clothbound and leather bound released together, or a limited and trade edition simultaneously. If the different formats were published separately, the format that came first is the First Edition. If material was originally published in serialized form (newspapers, magazines, articles) before turning into a book, then the published book form is the First Edition. The term First Edition doesn't necessarily mean there's a second or more edition in existence either.

• First Country Edition - Often books are published in different territories, sometimes by different publishers, and if that is the case, you will see designations like First US Edition or First UK Edition. If it was a simultaneous release, then the designation is necessary. If it was separate, then only the country that came after would be designated, and the original country would simply be called the First Edition.

• Re-Bound First Edition - Although not that common anymore, if a First Edition of a book was privately re-bound (change in binding), then it must be designated as a Re-Bound First Edition.

• Special Editions - This can encompass a wide variety of publications and designations such as; Deluxe, Collector’s, Illustrated, Limited, Fine Press, Fine Bindings, Premium Bindings, and Publisher’s Editions. Many of the classics in literature fall in this category due to both their popularity and laissez faire copyright laws (or lack thereof). These are called a Reprint at times, like when a different publisher licenses original literary works or uses the ones in the public domain to make their own version of a book. Notable reprint publishers include Oxford World Classics, Everyman’s Library, Modern Library or Folio Society. So for example the designation ‘First Modern Library Edition’ means the original publication of that particular publisher's edition.

• Private Editions - Books that were not made for the general public, or were scrapped productions. The scrapped copies of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland from 1865 (about 23 of 50 are known to have survived) is an example. Also worth noting that Self Published works are First Editions and not Private Editions, like The Tale of Peter Rabbit self published by Beatrix Potter.

• Translated Works - Although all translated works are reproductions of the original language, they are considered original literary works in themselves. An original publication of a translated work is therefore technically a First Edition. If something was translated for the first time in English per say, then that book would be a First English Edition.

• Second or Revised Editions- When substantial changes have been made to a book's original content, it becomes a new edition. The value can be found in the contents, be it revised or newly added material and is often called the “Preferred Edition” by authors.

• Abridged or Bridged Editions - May not be explicitly stated by the publisher, but it refers to the reduction of content, usually by editors & translators for books within the public domain. An example is the first English translation of Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea by Lewis Page Mercier that omitted a good portion of the original.

• Book Club Editions -  Similar to a reproduction but they are nearly identical to the first editions, as they are copies printed for book clubs and their members, often with more affordable materials and smaller formats than the original publication.

Provenance, Signage, and Inscriptions - Provenance is the history of a book's ownership as it could have belonged to the author or a notorious public figure. Signage and inscriptions are simple; was it signed by the author with an inscribed note for example? Inscriptions can be general too, like gifted books to family or friends with wishes inscribed. These can be special and sentimental, as strangers often put into words what we sometimes struggle to express ourselves.

Reprint or Reissue - Not to be confused with ‘Reprint Publishers’, A reprint is when a publisher publishes the same book for a second or more time due to demand with little to no changes, like the Harry Potter series. A Reissue is when the publisher of the original book brings it back into the market often with some changes made to the bindings and little to no changes to contents, like a first paperback edition.

Library Copies - More used books are entering the marketplace thanks to library resell programs. Sometimes they are specific library bindings, or copies that have the classic library stamps and labels, and at times unmarked trade editions. But if a particular book is out of print, a library copy will save the day and worth every stamp.

Ephemera - Minor transient documents of everyday life, or any printed material not in book form. They are found within books quite frequently and are neat little surprises.

Marginalia - Often overlooked, but these are specific to the previous owner who has made notes on the side (margins), or underlined certain parts. This gives you a unique insight into the mind of another reader.