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Not sure what to do
We drove over to our local indoor flea market to just poke around as the weather was cold and raining.
Most of the vendors there are amatures,just local folks selling stuff that's been kicking around for years or estate auctions.
Anyways,my wife and daughter found a shelf with some old books on it.My daughter is interested in poems and they found a very old Henry W. Longfellow book of various poems.
Not sure what the real name of the book is.It looked quite old and worn but binding was good.
The guy running that booth was so impressed that a 15 yo. girl was interested in literature and poem,especially Longfellow,he gave the book to her for nothing.
OK,that's not the strange part.
We're driving to the local restraunt for lunch and my daughter is thumbing through the book.
She says there's writing in the book and what apears to be a signature from Longfellow under the picture of the auther.
So I take a look and on one of the first pages it says something like"I hope you like this gift ***,from aunt ***
Christmas 1880.(forgot the names)
Then,turning the pages there's a very small picture of Longfellow(white beard)and a signature"Henry W Longfellow" under it.
The sig is quite small as well.But it definitely looks like all the examples I've found online.
There's a page that's like tissue seperating that sig page from the next.
Not sure if I should have it looked at.Normally I would just dismiss this.
But,Longfellow did teach at Harvard and lived in Cambridge Ma.
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Take it to a book shop (not Barnes and Noble or Book a million)or a auction house to see what they have to say about it.....proceed from there.
You can also take some photos and post them with questions about it on some of the "collector book" forums.
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Well it would not hurt to check it out.
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Ohhhh that does sound interesting. I collect old books. Yes, take it to a real book store.
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I would have it checked out as well, just because I am a curious sort, and it would bug me if i didn't.
Nice find anyway,....and congrats on a interested daughter.....a book rather than a cell phone in her hand, ....very special.
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Get it appraised as soon as you can, and then you may need to add it to your insurance policy.
Since you asking --- after all of that - if it did turn out to be a book of value - I would return to the flea market and offer that vendor some $$.
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The more research I do about Longfellow's books the more I'm convinced it's just part of the illustration of the picture of him.
The sig. seemed to be different than the ink used for the picture.I found books that have similar illustration with signatures under the picture.
So,I'm thinking false alarm here.
Also the letter in the from saying Christmas 1880 might even be bogus.As the first edition of the book that I've found was 1884.
That would be two years after his death.
Thank goodness for the internet.My daughter is very happy with the book,no need for it to be special anyways.
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You might also want to research who the book was given to and who Aunt ****** is. It might turn out to be collectible through them.
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Lets learn together,
You can look up the book on the below links, There is a cross over with books listed on all of them. We search in the below order.
Book finder http://www.bookfinder.com/
Allibris.http://www.alibris.com/
Biblio http://www.biblio.com/
Book information needed will be
Title, Author, publication date or copy right date (two different things)
Often an authors portrait with a signature is included in a book. It is likely not hand written, can't be sure without seeing it. If it is a first addition it may have some value. I do book repair and rebinding as well as value books. My wife has an on line used rare book store "Impressions past". Condition is every thing. Thats about all I can do without the information.
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If Im following correctly (J&C on board...), see if the sig is authentic. If it is, it has value. Let the daughter keep it in her library as a treasure, it will give it more personal value to her if it has a connection to the author.
That is all...
Andrew
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And remember that book dealers and apraisers are very much like gun dealers/used car salesmen.
Your stuff has no value,
Their stuff is very precious.
My father was a rare book collector.
You would be quoted a lowball price, an offer made trough a third party a few days latter, and the book sold at true value by the shop for their own profit. It is not like "Antiques Roadshow".
Each time my father got an outside appraisal he knew the true value was two or three times the stated price.
A book of poetry by a well known author, that old and in good condition, has worth in and of itself. It has survived for 130 years.
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Krat is correct in that Any dealer of rare dealers of any thing will likely offer 1/3 of the value or less with the thought that you need to cover overhead while the book sits on a shelf waiting to be sold at the higher price. That is why I suggested using the links I posted you can get an idea for what book sellers are hoping to get for similar books. We use those links to gauge were we should price. It helps but isn't flawless. like Krat said. It all depends on what side of the coin you are looking at. If you are selling your book is precious. If you are buying you pick apart the book to get the cheapest price. In case you were wondering I don't need more books. We are trying to get rid of them. Do your research.
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