Book Collecting Information & Articles:

We've written a number of articles to help you understand the edition, condition & value of the books you own, and to point out some good resources for the collector.

If you have a suggestion for a topic, or would like to contribute an article, please let me know.

Book Collecting Basics

• Illustrated glossary of book terms (condition, edition, bindings, & much more...)
• How to identify first editions & book club editions
• Identification of 1st editions from specific publishers
• Types of book bindings. Includes examples & common problems.

Book Condition & Value

• What's my book worth? On valuing, pricing & selling your books.
• How does a book's condition relate to its value?
• How to care for your books so that they retain their condition & value.
• The value of books with printing or binding errors

Signed Books

• Signed books: Types of author signatures, and how they affect value.
• For authors: Where to sign a book.
• Gift Inscriptions: On preserving the condition & value of gifted books.

More Articles on Collecting

• Dating Old Books: Finding dates for undated 19th century books
• Literary Ephemera: What is it?
• Bookplates: different types & how they affect book value.
• How to research the print run for a given book

For Collectors of Beat Generation Books

• Beat Generation & related online bibliographies
• Beat Generation poets / authors bibliographies, Kerouac book covers & more

Book Collecting Websites

• Online book collecting resources (including some Beat-specific info!)

Questions? Suggestions?