posted on April 5, 2001 03:02:49 AM
I have an old book which is severely damaged around the edges of the covers, from what looks like insect munching. It is called "Markets of America" and is full of old ads from the 30's.
Normally I would put a book like this in my yard sale but I found it on Bibliofind in only good condition for $350.00 and on Bibliophile for $525.00.
What would be the best thing to do? Sell it as is, try to tape the ragged cover edges or cut it up for the ads?
posted on April 5, 2001 03:46:33 AM
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REPAIR A BOOK YOU PLAN TO SELL unless you can make the repair invisible AND archival. Taping the ragged edges is neither.
Keep in mind that for book dealers "Good" is NOT what real people call "good" ... it's well-used.
Also keep in mind that the pricing on the online book dealers can often be called "hallucinatory". If it's "Markets of America, the Advertiser's Sketch Book", there are several volumes for nice prices, but all by the same dealer, so it might be just their wishful thinking and only two books. It sells nicely on eBay. It's what commercial artists bought to see what the top ad agencies were doing.
My suggestion is to list it AS IS for enough to make a small profit ($24.99 or $49.99), with an accurate description of the condition, a picture of the cover showing the damage, and a good description of the contents, including links to a few other pictures ... it either will sell or not. Give it a title of "1939 Advertising Design Book Art Deco" (whatever fits), and list it either in graphics arts or advertising memorabilia or both.
The extra money to be made by hacking it to bits is not worth the effort ... there are plenty of 1930s magazines to hack to bits. With the continued interest in retro design, the book is better kept in one piece.
