posted on July 19, 2001 11:19:54 PM new
I really did it today! At auction I fought a lady over a box of books up to $130. I assumed we were fighting over the two early Gone With The Wind Editions. One marked 1939, and the other from MacMillan with a simple Roman Numeral date of 1936 with no succeeding editions mentioned. I figure this has to be a first printing!
Turns out the lady was fighting over a family genealogy book that was useless to me, so I let her have it for nothing.
But there is a problem... In all my web searches, the original May edition is marked as May. This does not have a dustjacket so I cannot verify by marks there. This does not mention printing dates, though it is clearly marked as being published by MacMillan.
This edition also has 689 pages, and each page is printed in TWO COLUMNS! All searches of GWTW for a 689 page book yielded nothing!
Whether Abebooks or the Web.
A later printing? Wouldn't MacMillan have made a note of it... And wouldnt a BCE at least have had a date?
posted on July 20, 2001 12:37:59 AM new
The first edition, first printing, of GWTW has on the copyright page:
"Published, May, 1936"
with no mention of subsequent printings.
(I know you said you don't have the dj, but just for general info: I believe there were three different issues of the dustjacket on that first printing of the book; the price of a first printing of the book varies considerably according to which dj the book has.)
posted on July 20, 2001 01:19:10 AM new
It may be a book club edition. I'd recommend asking the good folks at the newsgroup rec.collecting.books - they are usually extremely helpful with this type of problem.
A book club edition will be smaller, and feel lighter, than a regularly issued book.
posted on July 20, 2001 04:25:48 AM new
I sold a 2 column GWTW when I first started on eBay, I thought it was an original. The winner paid quite a bit for the book, upon reciept of the book he asked to return it. He told me the book was a worthless Book Club Edition. When I described it the next time I added in the things that were pointed out to me that made it a Book Club Edition. The book sold for only $13.00.
posted on July 20, 2001 06:21:43 AM new
Roman numerals in a GWTW always signifies a book club. The two columns is another sign of a book club.
Not worth selling. GWTW is one of the most mis-identified books on eBay. Bidders are spending hundreds of dollars on worthless books. Some sellers are clueless; others are doing it knowingly.
Here's the identifying feature of a true first printing of the first edition. The copyright page must state "Published May, 1936." Anything other than May, 1936 is a reprint. Also, it's in grey cloth.
The first state dust jacket will have "Gone With the Wind" occupying the second position in the right-hand column of the list of Macmillan Spring Novels.
posted on July 20, 2001 12:15:15 PM new
The book you "gave" away may have been the most valuable. Genealogists pay good money for them, and if a family decendant sees it on eBay the bidding goes nuts.
posted on July 20, 2001 01:21:59 PM new"The book you "gave" away may have been the most valuable. Genealogists pay good money for them, and if a family decendant sees it on eBay the bidding goes nuts."
posted on July 20, 2001 03:06:22 PM new
If you keep a close watch you will probably see the book you gave away listed on ebay or in a local BM shop. This lady pulled one of the oldest cons in the world by letting you think it was her family. Give nothing away out of a box lot!
posted on July 20, 2001 04:26:13 PM new
I did the same thing, once. Well, I didn't give any books in the box away but I fought for and won a box of books just because there was a book in the box that I really thought was valuable and I wanted. Turns the book I really wanted was an okay find but the rest of the books were a goldmine. I made so much money from that box of books and I paid what was a huge sum of money (I thought at the time) for those books. That's why I agree with the other posters - don't give anything away out of your box! You can be so surprised at what is really in there!
posted on July 21, 2001 01:15:47 AM new
Thanks everyone for your input!
I'll probably post it and the other real 1938 GWTW up to see how much I can recover from the blunder. I had never seen a 2 columned BCE before and I thought it was so unusual that it just HAD to be a first. And I don't usually associate MacMillan with BCEs either! Why on earth would they go through so much trouble to document the print histories of their 'normal' editions, yet nary a word on their BCE edition?
The funny thing is I have worked at a Historical Society and done genealogical research. I do not understand why anyone would spend alot of money on family histories when they could just photocopy them. I regard local histories to be of more value, and kinda collect them. It is because there were a few of those books also in the box that when given the oppurtunity to go for 'choice' I said I wanted the whole box. In fact if I knew the genealogy was even in there, I probably would have discarded it.
As I have in the past!!!
I dont feel I was conned, since the lady turned out to work for the auction, and the family name was not that particularly memorable. A real con would have realized that the odds were greater of me going for the GWTWs and let me have the box for a couple of dollars and then made me an offer on the book. Or even pulled it out of the box and put it aside. The auctioneer would have given it to her for a buck. He's known to do that for people he likes.
But there are some lessons learned here. And that is to seperate your item if possible when you are wiiling to go high on it. Since you never know when someone is going to take the dumb item to the wire. I had a preview of that two days earlier. Two fantastic early photos of the Columbia Exposition. Threw a dumb old duck print (it looked like a watercolor) on top so as not to attract attention. Well, my little lot went through the roof, and I let it go. Found out it was the ducks they were after!
My second lesson is never to pay more than $30 on an unsigned book that does not explicitly say FIRST EDITION. Not even if its the freaking Gutenberg Bible. If I can pick up a 16th century manuscript for a buck, I can darn well wait for a true GWTW first for the same price.
My third lesson is never to snub my nose at genealogies again.
I prolly will still give away my junk books -at least if I *think* they are junk! Makes for goodwill, which in an auction, a REAL auction can be more valuable than money. A fellow vendor once gave me a wonderful 1815 Franklin biography. Books werent his thing. But I'll certainly never bid against him on other things!
posted on July 21, 2001 07:19:51 AM new
If the other copy is dated 1938, it is a multitudinous reprint and not worth a lot of dollars either. The first printing was in May 1936.
posted on July 21, 2001 03:18:50 PM new
Well this is how we learn,,wouldn't it be great to have a computer on line in our pocket at a yard sale.?
I got a box of books for 10.00 once,,,oh my,,,old catalogue sold for over 150.00,& was going to be DONATED TO THE CITY ARCHIVES..,,also in the box
best part was a piece of paper on bottom of box,,looked like a napkin...really dusty bottom of box..
An 1800'S Map of London!! & it had stayed perfect under the books..i sold it on ebay & now is professionally framed & hanging in a
University ...got about 40.00. on auction..but the best part the Proffessor had been looking for this for 30+ years..This was the most money & rewarding box i ever got...
kinda makes up for all those books we all got for 1.00 they ended up worth 1.00
Hit & miss but i love selling books..many people write back & say.."thanks for listing this" i have looked for this since i was a child.."etc...i love selling books..Rescuing them actually...good luck everyone,,neat thread..we all learn from each other..hope we all have a great fall & holiday season this year..we deserve it..!remember,,don't forget the pieces of paper on bottom of the box
