unmarked association copies
Denise Enck
like "this book belonged to (insert name of famous author), though there are no
ownership marks."
I'm wondering - does this type of thing matter to anyone? I mean, I've seen books
that came from a particular author's library which had that author's bookplate or
signature, and that's one thing. But a book that's not actually marked with its
previous owner's name? Do collectors care about such things? I've seen books that
were marked up a fair bit merely because of their prior ownership, and it puzzles me.
Association copies are one thing - but when the book is not marked in any way by its
previous owner, does anyone care?
I'd love to hear opinions on this ~
Denise
James D. Keeline
>
> While browsing ABE, etc. sometimes I come across a listing that will say something
> like "this book belonged to (insert name of famous author), though there are no
> ownership marks."
>
>
> Denise
One possibility is that the sellers book-entry program has "no ownership marks" as
default text.
Another possible area of interest would be books from a well-known or at least a
savvy collector who had an eye for significant but unusual items or high spots in
top condition. In these cases, unmarked copies from a particular collection might
be interesting. I realize this is a way off from what you were asking.
The natural draw for a book owned by an author is if the book in question was
influential in some direct significant way to one of the author's own writings.
Granted this could be said about any book one encounters in life but I have in
mind the larger example of this situation.
James D. Keeline http://www.keeline.com/
Ja...@Keeline.com http://Stratemeyer.org/
San Diego Booksellers http://SDBooks.org/
Denise Enck
> One possibility is that the sellers book-entry program has "no ownership marks" as
> default text.
>
bookseller uses the same text. I just meant that some dealers seem to think that if a
book came from an author's collection, even if there is nothing on the book to
indicate that, that it deserves mention, and often, a higher price. I was wondering
if such a book would really be more desirable to a collector than one of unknown
provenance. It seems unlikely. A book that belonged to a well-known author, if it is
in no way marked as such, is indistinguishable from every other copy.
For example, I have bought lots of poetry books from several well-known poets. None
of these books have bookplates or signatures indicating to whom they once belonged. I
suppose I could mention these books' provenance in the book listings but I don't.
Also, how do we really know where the book came from? Lacking a signature or
bookplate, one must take the bookseller's word for it.
I do agree that if a book was determined to be influential on the work of its former
owner, or if it came from that of an esteemed collector, it could be worth
mentioning. But I'm talking about something along the lines of, say, "This fifth
printing of Allen Ginsberg's 'HOWL' once belonged to poet Charles Simic, " or "This
copy of 'Naked Lunch' is from the collection of Emeril Lagasse," or "This paperback
copy of 'On the Road' was owned by Sue Grafton, though there is nothing on the book
to indicate this." (completely fictional examples)
Denise
James D. Keeline" <ja...@keeline.com> wrote in message
news:3B65BB1F...@keeline.com...
Max Johnson
claimed that he had purchased it (and many others) from the widow of Bernard
Malamud. It has no ownership marks but it does have the personal business
card of Robert Giroux of FSG tipped in. I requested from the bookseller a
brief letter (on his store's letterhead) outlining the book's provenance as
he understood it and I have stashed all this paperwork safely between the
brodart and the dj for what it is worth --- which probably isn't much.
Perhaps some day when my heirs are having a yard sale of my books someone
might just be interested or on the other hand they might say, "Bernard who?"
Fleeting fame. Max
----------
In article <TRh97.26492$gj1.2...@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net>,
Lawrence Person
"Denise Enck" <den...@emptymirrorbooks.com> wrote:
> For example, I have bought lots of poetry books from several well-known
poets.
Isn't the phrase "well-known poets" an oxymoron if they're still alive? ;-)
Signed, Someone Who Has Occasionally Committed Poetry (And Even Gotten
Paid For It)
--
Lawrence Person
lawrenc...@jump.net
Lame Excuse Books Now Online at: http://www.abebooks.com
Nova Express Website: http://www0.delphi.com/sflit/novaexpress/
Nigel Burwood
that becomes the provenance.You have to trust the dealer but often the
catalogue will also have many signed books from the same author's library.
I dont think it adds alot to the value. Blackwells latest catalogue has alot
of inexpensive poetry from the library of John Waller (not a big name--he
edited the interesting but obscure Oxford WW2 magazine 'Kingdom Come') with
the note 'without mark of ownership.'
If a bookseller and more especially an auction house acquire the books of a
very big name they often have a little bookplate / label made up and attach
it to all the books from the collection. This was done in the case of Thomas
Hardy, Siegfried Sassoon and EM Forster. We bought a load of books from VS
Naipaul but didnt get round to doing this. Luckily alot of them were
presented to him. Nigel
Denise Enck
I guess the credibility of the dealer has a lot to do with it. I just love
association copies and have quite a few; however, I prefer books that are actually
signed by either the author or the previous owner. I can't quite see paying a premium
for a book that looks like any other but used to be owned by someone known.
All this brings another issue to mind, as well. Last year I purchased a book online,
from a well-established dealer. It was described as an association copy, having been
inscribed to a fellow poet (who was mentioned by name in the listing) by the author.
When I got the book it was inscribed merely to "Bob." Well it may or may not have
been inscribed to Bob the poet - I felt I was misled. After several emails & phone
calls to the store in question, I finally got an answer from a buyer who said they
had bought a large lot of books from another poet, who had inherited a number of
Bob's books when he died. Therefore they believed that this had belonged to the Bob
they mentioned in the listing. They offered to write a letter stating the provenance
of thisbook as they understood it, and I said that would be great. I never received
it. Now all I have is a book signed "for Bob" by one of my favorite poets and no way
to prove that it belonged to the Bob in question. Very frustrating.
Denise
"Nigel Burwood" <char...@anyamountofbooks.com> wrote in message
news:B78BB0C5.FB9B%char...@anyamountofbooks.com...
Denise Enck
Unfortunately, that's true. Should you ask the average person on the street to name
one living poet he will probably be unable to do it. This is why poets can't usually
make a living unless they also teach - something which is not as often true for other
types of writers.
In my opinion, that's because poetry doesn't get taught, or gets taught poorly, in
the schools. All I ever got in school was Shakespeare & Frost & Auden etc. - you'd
think no poetry of worth had been written since 1940, at the very least. I was amazed
when I discovered modern poetry in college - it sure opened my eyes.
Oh, here I am going on about this - you hit a nerve - this is something that really
gets to me -
Denise
"Lawrence Person" <lawrenc...@jump.net> wrote in message
news:lawrenceperson-...@jump-x2-1080.jumpnet.com...
Mike Berro
won't pay extra for it. As I mentioned recently in a different thread, I
have some books signed to Zelazny simply "To Roger", and without the letter
of provenance from the dealer who liquidated his estate (or part of it),
there's no reason for anyone to believe me. In fact, since letters are an
easy forgery, there's still no reason. Luckily I'm not a dealer.
---Mike
"Denise Enck" <d.e...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:TRh97.26492$gj1.2...@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
Bob
"To my Tokyo room mate" I bought this and other books from a well known
author, who had quite a few books signed to him. I know who the "room mate"
was, and will tell the buyer, but don't advertise it that way.
I've always wondered what the policy should be on this. I usually won't
mention the recipient unless they've given me permission or are long dead.
Bob
--
http://www.allroutes.to/thatbookstore
http://www.allroutes.to/stjohnsbury
"Mike Berro" <mikebe...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:oip97.2848$Pn4.2...@dfiatx1-snr1.gtei.net...
Randy Burns
about a book of her's that I had on ABE. It was signed by her to someone
and she wanted to know who to? She wasn't interested in buying the book,
she just wanted to know which one of her friends had given away or sold the
book! Of course I had bought the book at a fund raising sale, not from the
owner, but you do wonder how much to make public.
Randy
--
Bob <t...@plainfield.bypass.com> wrote in message
news:tmdo4s4...@corp.supernews.com...
Bob
of romantic rendezvous, the photographer was female, the recipient was quite
the ladies' man in his day."Randy Burns" <randy....@gte.net> wrote in message
news:U2C97.2602$GF.1...@dfiatx1-snr1.gtei.net...
FREE SHIPPING!
"Denise Enck" <d.e...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:PYn97.60447$C81.5...@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
jerry morris
If booksellers in good standing say that certain books came from the
libraries of famous authors, I would take them at their word; however,
I would expect to see the author's bookplate, and/or signature in the
book. If not, I would expect something in writing from the bookseller
to verify his claim.
....Your thread can relate to manuscripts as well. In a previous
thread, Mike Berro said I got him started on collecting Books About
Books. Well he and his Collection of Manuscripts, got me intrigued
enough to buy my first "manuscript". In May, there was an ebay auction
which included an original unsigned manuscript written in pen by Logan
Pearsall Smith as well as a letter written and signed by Christopher
Morley. I collect both authors, who both graduated from Haverford
College, and was quite happy to win the auction. I still am happy, but
would have liked additional documentation. First, the letter is signed
by Christopher Morley and dated March 18,1928, but it is written to
"Dear Sir". The ebay sellers (autograph dealers) could not identify the
"Sir" other than to say they bought the items from the archives of a
book publisher. I would suspect that Doubleday was the publisher.
The Logan Pearsal Smith manuscript, Kings of Persia, is a two-page
letter written by Smith to Morley on two pieces of 8 by 5 notebook
paper. The "manuscript" itself is undated and unsigned. The title, Kings
of Persia, is written near the top of the first sheet in the same hand
as the manuscript. Above the title, someone has printed Logan Pearsall
Smith's name in pencil. On the reverse of the second sheet, someone has
printed in pen the words, " MMS. of LPS", and underneath written the
words, "Kings of Persia".
Someone else, presumably the person at Doubleday, typed a translation of
the manuscript. This is what is typed on the bottom of the translation
sheet, "(Mms. of LPS sent to me by Christopher Morley - July 25,1947)".
The typed translation sheet itself is unsigned as well. I have matched
the word "of" and several letters in the words "Kings of Prussia" on the
reverse of the manuscript to Morley's writing in a previous item I own,
and I believe I can show it is Morley's handwriting. I still have to
compare Smith's handwriting.
Finally, if one has read Logan Pearsall Smith in the past, one could
undoubtedly believe that this is his writing. If anyone has seen this
in print anywhere, I would surely like to know! Please read on; you are
in for a treat!
Jerry Morris
................KINGS OF PERSIA.................
..........................by Logan Pearsal Smith
What things there are to write if one could only write them! My mind is
full of gleaming thoughts; gay moods and dreams and mysterious,
moth-like meditations hover and fan their painted wings in the garden of
my imagination. If only I could catch them, they would make me famous;
but I can hardly ever catch them - always the fairest, those freaked
with the most amazing blues and crimsons, flutter beyond my reach and
eternally elude me.
The childish and ever-baffled chase of these airy nothings sometimes
seems, for one of sober years in a sad world, rather a trifling
occupation; yet have I not read of the great Kings of Persia, who used
to ride out and hunt butterflies wih hawks, nor deemed this pretty
pastime beneath their royal dignity?
Welcome to the Library of Moi the Bibliomaniac:
http://community-2.webtv.net/MoiBibliomaniac/MOISBOOKSABOUTBOOKS/
Jon Meyers
> Unfortunately, that's true. Should you ask the average person on the street to name
> one living poet he will probably be unable to do it.
I'll bet a surprising number would be able to come up with Maya Angelou, 'cause she
was on Sesame Street a lot. (You didn't say the APOTS had to name a *good* living
poet.)
--
Jon Meyers
"If you can’t convince them,
confuse them." --Harry Truman
Mike Berro
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1451705413
If I was a Dickson or Anderson fan, I'd be happy with this, but not for much
more than the opening bid.
---Mike
"Mike Berro" <mikebe...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:oip97.2848$Pn4.2...@dfiatx1-snr1.gtei.net...
Mike Berro
the book, I'll ask, or if I'm interested in some salacious evidence, I'll
also ask, so how is it protecting anyone?
I had a book (Ringworld) inscribed by Niven to a friend of mine, and then
decided not to give it to him (long story.) I ended up trading it away to a
dealer (the only time I've done that), and then found it at the annual local
bookshow every year for 4 years, and always in a different dealer's booth.
I'd love to see it pop up again in someone's catalog, especially since I'm
now in a position of giving it to my friend.
---Mike
"Bob" <t...@plainfield.bypass.com> wrote in message
news:tmdua5h...@corp.supernews.com...
Denise Enck
poetry as well ~ isn't Maya great!:)
Denise
"Jon Meyers" <cath...@connectria.com> wrote in message
news:tmetqul...@corp.supernews.com...