please help me with these antique books

[dupont2005]

i have a set of leatherbound books published by the london times in 1907 titles "the historians history of the world"

the set is incomplete and one volume has a damaged cover, well they all have wear on the covers but this one has the spine torn loose on one side so its just hanging there. they also all have a pricetag sticker on one of the first blank pages from some old oak furniture shop, price $150. i dont know how old the tag is, i would say at least 25 years, and i do not know if that was the price for the entire set or just the volumes i have, and i do not know how much stickers on an inside blank page will effect the value of the collection. they are very nice books with gilded edges, multicolored endpapers and a tissue type page early on, forgot what that thing was called but i know it means the book is fancy:biggrin:
they have multiple illustrations, photographs (in a book from 1907, i thought that was something) along with maps and black and white photocopies (or whatever method they used) of paintings. i can post pictures later

i am missing volumes 1,2,3,5,6,13,17,19,
it is a 25 volume set


i am planning on selling these through ebay or craigslist and i do not know what they are worth. any insight would be greatly appreciated

[dupont2005]

here are the pictures
http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg22/fashizzlemaybe/6-18-08012.jpg
http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg22/fashizzlemaybe/6-18-08017.jpg
http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg22/fashizzlemaybe/6-18-08018.jpg
http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg22/fashizzlemaybe/6-18-08019.jpg

[dupont2005]

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg22/fashizzlemaybe/6-18-08020-1.jpg
http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg22/fashizzlemaybe/6-18-08021.jpg
http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg22/fashizzlemaybe/6-18-08022.jpg
http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg22/fashizzlemaybe/6-18-08023.jpg

[dupont2005]

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg22/fashizzlemaybe/6-18-08024.jpg
http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg22/fashizzlemaybe/6-18-08025.jpg
http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg22/fashizzlemaybe/6-18-08026.jpg
http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg22/fashizzlemaybe/6-18-08027.jpg

[dupont2005]

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg22/fashizzlemaybe/6-18-08030.jpg
http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg22/fashizzlemaybe/6-18-08031.jpg
http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg22/fashizzlemaybe/6-18-08032.jpg
http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg22/fashizzlemaybe/6-18-08033.jpg

[Bazooka Jones]

Like pretty much all books, they're worth what you can get for them, which is to say usually not much. $5, maybe $10 a volume if the material is interesting and in good condition. Otherwise less, approaching zero.

[dupont2005]

thank you
$10 a volume is honestly more than i had hoped, and zero is obviously less. i think i will ask $100 obo and take what i can get, if anything

[Greg Hatcher]

The easiest gauge is to look at eBay or at Bookfinder.com and see what the going rate is, and price accordingly. It hurts that you don't have the whole set; it's kind of the difference between selling a working car and parting out a used car at a wrecking yard. $5-10 a book looks about right from the pictures. You did a nice job with those, that's probably your best sales tool.

[dupont2005]

yeah i researched ebay a while ago. easton press publishes something similar but i did not think the value of those books would be relevant to mine

[Inkthinker]

The dichotomy here is that for their intrinsic value as antiques, they're in pretty rough shape... the binding is falling apart, and to a collector they may be more costly to repair than they're worth.

To a reader, they're worth only as much as an individual values their contents. Personally I find that sort of subject matter to be fascinating, and I wouldn't mind owning a set like this, but if I was to buy one I expect I might be able to find something similar (or even a more modern edition of this set) in far better condition for a similar price. But at $100 for the set (about $6 each) I'd say you're doing all right. $85 is probably closer ($5 apiece) to what I'd hope for were I selling it.

It might help if you were able to repair the binding on vol. 16... even if you could just glue it back down, having it hang loose like that is a killer.

[dupont2005]

i did not want to glue anything and have someone think of me as dishonest when they take them home. i will be happy with whatever i get, its just crap in the garage, but of course more money would be better than less:smile:


if you are into that kind of thing easton press makes a really nice set of pretty much the same exact thing

[Doodle Bob]

i did not want to glue anything and have someone think of me as dishonest when they take them home. i will be happy with whatever i get, its just crap in the garage, but of course more money would be better than less:smile:

if you are into that kind of thing easton press makes a really nice set of pretty much the same exact thing

Actually, there's nothing dishonest about it. Repairs to keep antique books readable are completely legitimate -- although, if you want to allay any suspicion, you have a conservator or bookbinder do the work for you. In fact, keeping the books in disrepair will also keep the value of the book lower.

Other places you might want to look to compare prices are: alibris.com and Advanced Book Exchange (abe.com) which both deal with antique books a lot.