Collecting rare books can be overwhelming at times as there is quite a lot of specialist vocabulary used by the industry, and there are so many different categories of collecting: early printed, travel books, modern first editions, 19th century literature, etc. Those are all quite broad categories, and many collectors choose to collect within a very specific niche, for example - collecting printed books by the Ashendene Press, or the first editions of Walter Scott's Waverley Novels, etc.
What to look out for in collecting rare books
The main factors that come into the price of a rare book are scarcity, demand, and condition. Generally a book needs all three of these to be valuable, but not always. There are books where there are loads of them, but they're expensive because the demand is there. There are books which can still be worth a lot in awful condition for the same reason. Most condition issues can technically be fixed by an expert conservator, but sometimes they're just not worth the trouble.
First editions tend to be the most sought after, though not always. Other things also come into play, for example if the book is signed by the author, illustrator, or someone connected with the book, or even if the book was owned by someone of significance. For example, an 18th century Bible isn't usually worth very much, but if it was George Washington's copy, it's going to be worth a lot! The main point here is to do your own research.
How to learn the vocabulary
If you don't know the words commonly used by the rare book industry, it can make it difficult to effectively evaluate the description of a book which is being sold to you. The best vocabulary guide is called the ABC for Book Collectors which is quite a long book, but it is very comprehensive.
Collect what you love!
Our main recommendation is to collect what you love or what gives you satisfaction. For many people that can be completing incomplete sets which can be a richly rewarding pursuit and often an inexpensive one which can bring good financial rewards if these sets are then sold on. One of our favourite areas is early printed books, particularly incunabula - that is, books printed prior to 1501.
As you can see, there are many different things that people choose to collect. We find that those who are new to collecting rare books often get their foothold into the world of rare book collecting through the acquisition of a first edition of a childhood favourite such as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Winnie the Pooh, or The Lord of the Rings. We have sold many first editions of all three of these, and they're some of the most highly desirable first editions in the entire market because of the sentimentality that accompanies them. Another common route is again sentimental, through the acquisition of an early Bible, Qu'ran, Torah, etc or indeed any meaningful book. Bible collecting in particular is a very large area of the market, which can often broaden into religious books and literature generally such as C.S. Lewis' works.
How to buy rare books
Anyway, say you've decided what you want to collect - you might now be asking what the best way to acquire the books you're interested in is. As rare book dealers, of course we are going to say that you can either browse our stock or contact us or another rare book dealer and ask them to get it for you. This tends to be very successful as rare book dealers are experts in sourcing rare books. Many book dealers will request fairly high percentages for providing this service (ours is generally around 10% which is much more competitive than the industry standard). This can be worthwhile for some people to pay as rare book dealers spend a great deal of time attending book fairs around the country and internationally, as well as the ability to contact their clients or other dealers and attend various auctions throughout the world. However, this certainly is not the only method to acquire your rare books.
Many collectors enjoy the thrill of the chase, which asking book dealers to do on your behalf can often fulfil, but for many people, travelling around to various book shops throughout the country, scouring the internet, making those emails and phone calls, etc, can be richly rewarding and genuinely exhilarating. Rare books are by definition rare. This makes them hard to find, especially if you're searching for a book where perhaps 50 copies were originally printed centuries ago and maybe one comes to the market once every decade. Let alone talking about condition. Sometimes rarity means taking what you can get, but some collectors will insist on only the best condition examples which naturally makes those much more expensive. A great example of this is the first edition of Ian Fleming's Casino Royale. A copy missing its dust jacket in very good condition might sell for around £7,500 - indeed, we sold one matching this description for this amount, but a fine copy with its original dust jacket could sell for far in excess of £75,000 - a tenfold difference.
Work with experts to grow your collection
Using the expertise of rare book experts is widely beneficial. At WoodPaz Books, we are experts in the categories we sell and are more than happy to advise you in curating and building your collection, and for areas which we are not experts in, we are more than happy to refer you to experts in those areas.
Misconceptions about rare book collecting
A common misconception is that rare book collecting is an untenable pursuit for a regular person without millions in the bank. A rare book is not by necessity expensive. Sure, there are rare books which cost millions, but there are also rare books which cost 50p. One can build a fantastic rare book collection for significantly less than the price of even modern paperback books brand new from a shop. It depends on what you want to collect. If you want to collect first editions of Ian Fleming's James Bond series, this starts at £100 and ends at £100,000, and even more if they're signed. If you're interested in incunabula, these are very difficult to obtain for less than £2,500 each, and at this lower end they're not generally of too much interest. These are expensive collecting categories. However, many people choose to collect beautifully bound editions of their favourite authors. For example, we regularly sell beautiful copies of the works of Shakespeare, Lord Byron, Jane Austen, the Bronte Sisters, Chaucer, Dickens, Eliot, Kipling, Verne, etc for less than £50.