wood%nermal.DEC@decwrl.DEC.COM@caip.RUTGERS.EDU (01/29/86)
From: wood%nermal.DEC@decwrl.DEC.COM (Celeste Wood) I received a solicitation in USnail today. It is from Easton Press. It is for a library of "Masterpeices of Science Fiction". These books sound pretty nice but since I'm not much in collecting hardbound books I was wondering if anyone could tell me if I am better off getting regular hardbound books. The offer is this $32.00 plus $2.50 shipping and handling will get me one book per month bound in leather with 22Kt gold accents. Asimov, Bradbury, and Herbert will autograph their volumes. The titles sound pretty much like a classic SF library. I have read all the books they list. Can anyone tell me if this kind of library is worthwhile from a collectors point of veiw or just for my own private satisfaction that I finally own these great tomes in a proper binding. I never really justified the cost of hardbound books, especially in an age where a printing of a book contains zillions of copies. I have about a hundred 'favorite' stories which I keep on a special shelf, but they are all paperback. These favorites are not necessarily considered classics, and there are some classics which I do not really care to own. Celeste Wood ARPA: wood%nermal@decwrl.dec
kalash@ingres.ARPA (Joe Kalash) (01/31/86)
In article <1115@caip.RUTGERS.EDU> wood%nermal.DEC@decwrl.DEC.COM@caip.RUTGERS.EDU writes: >From: wood%nermal.DEC@decwrl.DEC.COM (Celeste Wood) > >I received a solicitation in USnail today. It is from Easton Press. >It is for a library of "Masterpeices of Science Fiction". >These books sound pretty nice but since I'm not much in collecting hardbound >books I was wondering if anyone could tell me if I am better off getting >regular hardbound books. . . . >Can anyone tell me if this kind of library is worthwhile from a collectors >point of veiw or just for my own private satisfaction that I finally own >these great tomes in a proper binding. As a collector of rare SF (I estimate my collection at about $25,000), I will state that these books will be worth just about nothing as a collectors object. The only interesting "value" they will have is that some of them will be signed. After an author dies, signitures will sometimes become valuable, independent of what they are written on (There is a special limited "signed" edition of the new "UBIK: The Screenplay", that is signed by using signitures cut off of old cancelled checks). Although, I wouldn't pay more than about $20 for even a nice binding (Donald Grant has proven a real nice book can be put out pretty cheaply). If they are nicely bounded books, they might be nice to have, as the first editions cost far more than they are usally worth to most people. Joe Kalash kalash@berkeley ucbvax!kalash
WILBUR%OFFICE-2.ARPA.#Internet@RED.RUTGERS.EDU@caip.RUTGERS.EDU (02/06/86)
From: WILBUR@OFFICE-2.ARPA Supply and demand determines the value of books as it does the value of anything else we buy. Unless you want a bunch of pretty books to line the walls and unless you really want the xxx number of books in the set, don't buy any pre-packaged series of books. If you really decide to consider buying the set, make sure that you get a list of titles in the set and see if you can buy each volume one at a time with the right to cancel the remaining volumes at any time. You are better off collecting a particular author, series that you like, subjector small press books. Small press editions tend to retain their value but even that can be risky when you consider what happened to the Stephen King small press book. Faye