posted on September 3, 2001 05:23:30 PM
Cleaning off the bookshelf, I rescued a book my husband was about to throw out, a book of black-and-white plates of a famous photographer's images of old-time prostitutes.
This book is out of print and apparently very hard to find. The copies I did find, on abe.com, are collectibles in good and very good condition, and they're listed at prices ranging from $100 to $350.
My husband says he picked up his copy a long time ago at a secondhand shop. Someone had sliced many of the pages out, apparently with the idea of framing them. The plates are all still in the book, but, as I said, most have been sliced down the edge of the spine. Otherwise the book is in very good shape.
I'm not normally a bookseller, so I don't know what's the best place to try and sell the book. Or, of course, what to ask for it with most of the plates sliced. I thought of listing it on eBay under both rare books and fine photographs, but then thought maybe I might get more for it somewhere else.
Though not quite an 'expert' I can only assume that missing pages are a kiss of death for rare book collectors.
However, it is irrelevant for print collectors, and you may wish to sell under that category. Or even better, frame the rest yourself and sell individually. I would note the volume they came from since for print collectors there may be a qualitative difference between book prints and standard prints. Not that there might be any real differences in prices though...
I have some very damaged old books that I may simply dell the prints from. I've done that in the past with success...
posted on September 3, 2001 06:36:19 PM
Cutting the pix out is the end of it as a book. But people interested in the book because of the images might want it. The value is probably in the neighborhood of $25 since it is no longer of collectible condition. Under copyright law, you can't sell the images individually.
posted on September 3, 2001 07:11:44 PM
"Under copyright law, you can't sell the images individually."
The book sounds like it might be old enough that the copyrights have expired--but, yes, even copyrighted images could be sold separately so long as the photographer and/or copyright holder is properly credited.
posted on September 3, 2001 07:28:25 PM
Yes, these photos are old enough to be in the public domain, but I would still credit them to the original photographer anyway -- or they wouldn't be worth as much. Well, I am glad y'all suggested this, as I would have just listed the book as being cut up and (probably) not gotten as much for it as I might by selling the plates individually.
posted on September 3, 2001 08:33:57 PM
If the book has a copyright, than all the images in it are also. Calling something nonsense does not make it so. I spent 25 years in the photography and publishing fields and I happen to know what I am talking about. Older images by deceased photographers are often part of someone's estate and their images are still under copyright protection. Proceed with caution.
It is perfectly legal to sell prints that have been removed from magazines, books or other printed material. Basically, you are selling part of an original item that has already contributed to the creators royalties etc... It would NOT be legal to make copies of the prints and sell them as this would rob the artist of their royalties. But, this is not what is being done. There is nothing legally wrong with this at all as long as the prints are properly represented as what they are.... prints that have been removed from a book and not the original photographs.
posted on September 4, 2001 07:17:39 AM
Books which are not intact are not desired by book collectors. "Otherwise the book is in very good shape" doesn't matter one bit, because the book is NOT in very good shape, it's been cut up.
I doubt that listing the book on eBay would be worthwhile; I think your husband's first impulse - to throw the book out - was the correct one.
posted on September 4, 2001 03:07:18 PM
beatnikangel,
I appreciate your expert advice on the value of this book as a BOOK, but I think I like the idea some of the others suggested of posting the photographs individually and seeing if they will sell that way. This photographer is very well-known, specifically for these images, and even though they are cut from a book, each plate is in great shape and has plenty of white space around it to accommodate matting and framing. If I didn't have a 9-year-old daughter -- hence, a G-rated art collection
-- I might frame them myself.
