Vin Suprynowicz

So, there you are at the yard sale, confronted by boxes of old books, records, and miscellany. What do you look for?

“Buy what you like,” has long been good advice. Until you learn to grade for condition — and to tell a first edition from a later reissue or even (God forbid) a book club — please don’t go paying more than pocket change on the assumption you can “get rich on e-Bay.”

And of course, even when you learn to do more targeted research (online and even in those dreaded “reference books” — because there are a lot of “learners” online), always remember that an asking price isn’t a realized price. At Cat’s Curiosities we mark our books down every six months or so, and lots of books that start at $100 (even though we think that’s a fair market price) may not sell till they creep down into the $60 range. Everybody wants a bargain.

All that said, here are a few of our recent finds & postings that may indicate there are still some treasures out there:

(Note: We also offer a lot of $25 books. See http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?sortby=0&vci=51238921

Buddy Holly
Price: US$ 60.00
(REDUCED TO $50.00)

Item Description: Coral Records, 1964. Hardcover. Condition: As New. Jacket Condition: Very Good. 4to – over 9¾ – 12″ tall. Not a book but a 12-inch vinyl “Long Play” record, CRL 57210. Vinyl is mint; Jacket with its original gloss and inner sleeve are both very-good-plus but with small ink check-marks beside song titles to rear of jacket and a small hole drilled through at upper right, presumably a “cut-out.” Black label with color bars; catalogs $100. Bookseller Inventory # 003165

Unintended Consequences
Ross, John
Published by Accurate Press, St. Louis, Missouri (1995)
ISBN 10: 1888118040 ISBN 13: 9781888118049
New Hardcover
Price: US$ 257.50
(REDUCED TO $217.50)

Item Description: Accurate Press, St. Louis, Missouri, 1995. Hardcover. Book Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: New. Jacket cover photography: Rick Meoli (illustrator). 8vo – over 7¾ – 9¾” tall. New, still sealed in original publisher’s plastic. Third printing. (We cheated and opened the plastic wrap just far enough to check the printing.) Original $28.95 price showing. 863 pp. Bookseller Inventory # 003078

The New Housekeeping / Efficiency Studies in Home Management
Frederick, Christine
Published by Doubleday, Page & Co., Garden City, N.Y. (1918)
Used Hardcover
Price: US$ 410.00
(REDUCED TO $350.00)

Item Description: Doubleday, Page & Co., Garden City, N.Y., 1918. Hardcover. Book Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. Illustrated with B&W photographs (illustrator). 12mo – over 6¾ – 7¾” tall. Original 1918 Doubleday Page printing of a classic book generally now found only in much later reprints. “Copyright, 1912, by / Curtis Publishing Co. / Copyright, 1913, 1918, by / Doubleday Page & Company.” Includes Chapter XI : “Increasing Servant Efficiency.” 274 pp. including bibliography. Bookseller Inventory # 003158

Storm Over Rangelands / Private Rights in Federal lands (SIGNED)
Hage, Wayne
Published by Free Enterprise Press, Bellevue, Washiington (1990)
ISBN 10: 0939571099 ISBN 13: 9780939571093
Used Hardcover Signed
Price: US$ 425.00
(REDUCED TO $360.00)

Item Description: Free Enterprise Press, Bellevue, Washiington, 1990. Hardcover. Book Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Good. Jacket design by Northwoods Studio; author photo by C.J. Hadley, Range magazine (illustrator). 8vo – over 7¾ – 9¾” tall. Jacket “good plus” with a shallow triangular chip to top of rear panel. Inscribed & signed by author Hage to the title page. Not price clipped; original $14.95 price showing. The split estate and property rights in the “public lands” of the West. Hage was a rancher and historian of these topics, who fought the federal taking of his grazing rights near Tonopah, Nevada, through the courts. After his death, his daughters won those lawsuits, vindicating his arguments & analysis. 265 pp. Inscribed by Author(s). Bookseller Inventory # 003012

Der Schatz Der Sierra Madre
Traven, B.
Published by Verlag der Buchergilde Gutenberg, Berlin (1927)
Used Hardcover First Edition
Price: US$ 475.00
(REDUCED TO $402.50)

Item Description: Verlag der Buchergilde Gutenberg, Berlin, 1927. Hardcover. Book Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. 1st Edition. 8vo – over 7¾ – 9¾” tall. “Copyright 1927 by B. Traven, Tamaulipas (Mexico),” no later printings mentioned. No jacket. Book will close its own text block but not its boards. Spine is moderately sun-faded. First line on page 18 begins with Besonderes (the long “s” looks like an “f”) and ends with the world “und.” Der gesamte Text des Buches ist in der deutschen Sprache. 213 pp. Bookseller Inventory # 003154

Sharpe’s Sword / Richard Sharpe and the Salamanca Campaign / June and July 1812
Cornwell, Bernard
Published by William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd., London (1983)
ISBN 10: 0002214105 ISBN 13: 9780002214100
Used Hardcover First Edition
Price: US$ 871.00
(REDUCED TO $740.00)

Item Description: William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd., London, 1983. Hardcover. Book Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. 8vo – over 7¾ – 9¾” tall. “First published in 1983.” 1983 also to title page, no additional dates or printings listed. The third and scarcest of the Sharpe U.K. editions, and also one of the best at weaving Sharpe’s romantic adventures into the history of the peninsular war. Not price clipped; original L8.50 price showing. Spine is angled about 1/4-inch and there are some minor brown spots to bottom page edges near the spine. Thus, “Near fine in a very-good-plus jacket.” 319 pp. Bookseller Inventory # 003085

The Amazing Spider-Man No.14 / The Grotesque Adventure of the Green Goblin
Lee, Stan
Published by Marvel Comics Group, New York (1964)
Used Soft cover First Edition
Price: US$ 950.00
(REDUCED TO $810.00)

Item Description: Marvel Comics Group, New York, 1964. Soft cover. Book Condition: Good. No Jacket. Illustrated by Steve Ditko (illustrator). 1st Edition. 8vo – over 7¾ – 9¾” tall. First appearance of the Green Goblin. The wraps (covers) of this intact original “July” Spider-Man are separating for about the top three or four inches — all the way down to the first staple and slightly past — but are still attached. Small chip to top right corner of front wrap. Approx. two-inch-square dampstain to top right corner of REAR wrap. Internal pages yellowing slightly but still flexible & easily read. We’ll grade it “Good plus.” Our Alex Malloy 2009 “Comics Values Annual” gives this comic a value of $4,700 in “near mint,” which this example clearly is not. In “Good plus,” that should translate to about $1,270, but we’ll start this one at $950, both because no one likes to pay “full catalog” and because — while we do our best — we do not claim to be experts in the nuanced field of comic book grading. Bookseller Inventory # 003047

Journey to Ixtlan / The Lessons of Don Juan (SIGNED)
Castaneda, Carlos
Published by Simon & Schuster, New York (1972)
Used Hardcover First Edition Signed
Price: US$ 950.00 (SOLD)

Item Description: Simon & Schuster, New York, 1972. Hardcover. Book Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. “First printing” stated; SBN is 671-21399-7 (ABE computer will not accept this as an ISBN.) Book will close its text block and its boards. Tiny rub to DJ corners. Inscribed & signed by author to title page (see scans.). Inscribed by Author(s). Bookseller Inventory # 003040

Tales of Power (SIGNED)
Castaneda, Carlos
Published by Simon and Schuster, New York (1974)
ISBN 10: 0671218581 ISBN 13: 9780671218584
Used Hardcover First Edition Signed
Price: US$ 1,212.50
(REDUCED TO $1,030.00)

Item Description: Simon and Schuster, New York, 1974. Hardcover. Book Condition: As New. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. 12mo – over 6¾ – 7¾” tall. Number line complete 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10. Boards resist opening past 50 degrees. Inscribed & signed by author in blue ballpoint to title page. Clipping of Robert Kirsh’s review from the Jan. 7, 1975 L.A. Times laid in. Inscribed by Author(s). Bookseller Inventory # 003117

The Phantom Tollbooth
Juster, Norton
Published by Epstein & Carroll / Distributed by Random House, New York (1961)
Used Hardcover First Edition
Price: US$ 1,250.00 (SOLD)

Item Description: Epstein & Carroll / Distributed by Random House, New York, 1961. Hardcover. Book Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. Illustrations by Jules Feiffer (illustrator). 1st Edition. 8vo – over 7¾ – 9¾” tall. True first edition, first printing in first-state jacket with only the author photo, author blurb, and illustrator blurb to DJ rear panel (no reviews.) No later printings mentioned. Jacket front flap has been price clipped to bottom corner. (Yes. $3.75 price was printed at BOTTOM of flap on the first edition.) First children’s book to be illustrated by cartoonist Feiffer, this book was a runaway success and went into additional printings almost immediately. Spine slanted a minimal 1/4-inch. 256 pp. Bookseller Inventory # 003071

The Avengers / Earth’s Mightiest Super-Heroes / Number One
Lee, Stan
Published by Marvel Comics Group (1963)
Used Soft cover First Edition
Price: US$ 1,275.00 (SOLD)

Item Description: Marvel Comics Group, 1963. Soft cover. Book Condition: Good. No Jacket. Jack Kirby (illustrator). 1st Edition. 8vo – over 7¾ – 9¾” tall. This hard-to-find September, 1963 comic book, in which Thor, Ant Man, Hulk and Iron Man take on “Loki, God of Evil,” is complete; covers well attached. Interior pages legible, all can be turned and read, though growing fragile enough that they could easily chip to bottom corners. Front wrap (glossy cover) shows several fold marks at upper right, one of which is becoming a tear, and in fact top right corner had been folded back when it came to us, so a 2-by-3 inch triangle at upper right of first interior page is age-stained a fairly dark brown from exposure. One inch at bottom corner of each of the first four interior sheets has been dog-eared. In short, a readable copy with a cover that’s still pretty to look at, but not likely to stand up to any rough handling. We’ll call it “good only.” Catalogs $8,500 per Alex Malloy’s “Comics Values Annual 2009,” which means in “Good” it should value $1,700. We will start at $1,275 because no one likes to pay “full catalog,” and because (while we do our best) we do not claim to be experts at the grading of comics. See scans. Bookseller Inventory # 003044

On the Road
Kerouac, Jack
Published by Viking, New York (1957)
Used Hardcover First Edition
Price: US$ 1,525.00
(REDUCED TO $1,300.00)

Item Description: Viking, New York, 1957. Hardcover. Book Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. 1st Edition. 8vo – over 7¾ – 9¾” tall. Hardcover, no jacket. 1957 date to both title and copyright pages, states “Published in 1957 by the Viking Press, Inc.”, no later dates or printings listed. Thus, a Viking first printing as per publisher’s 1937 statement. Black cloth-covered boards are lovely, corners are nice, white titles sharp, no internal markings whatsoever. The spine is angled about 1/4-inch and the red topstain is slightly faded to brown in the center. Rear board will close itself but front board will not. Bookseller Inventory # 003079

Happy hunting!