Tuesday, October 16, 2007

How to Buy Rare Books ( book rare store used )

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There are few tips when you want to buy rare books. Let us take a look.

Introduction

Buying rare books is a complicated and sometimes even thrilling process. The rare book market is as esoteric as it is broad, so finding the right book at the right price is a difficult challenge. There are a few simple steps which can help you make the right decision on a rare or antiquarian book.

Instructions


Step One
Know exactly what you want. To find a rare book at a fair price, you should know everything about the book you want before you begin searching for it. Know, for example, the different editions and printings of the book, unusual instances of the book, the different publishers and any other detail that might change the value of the book.

Step Two
Check rare book trading sites online. The Internet has brought on a revolution in the rare book market, so take advantage of it. Amazon, Biblio and Alibris are excellent places to start. Use these sites not only to shop for the book but also to gather information about it.

Step Three
Learn the language of book conditions and sizes. Before you buy a rare book, you need to know the basic terms of book buying. Words like "Mint," "Excellent" and "Good" have very specific meanings when referring to the condition of a book. Similarly, the type of binding and size of the book affect the value of a book and also have specific terminology. Read a good introduction to rare books at The Vintage Bookstore to learn more.

Step Four
Contact book sellers directly. Many rare book sellers are experts, so getting in touch with them will certainly help you find a book if you are having trouble. And most rare book sellers simply enjoy talking about books, so have a conversation with an antiquarian or rare book dealer to learn more about the book you're searching for.

Step Five
Take a look at the book or at detailed photos before you buy. Signs of damage from mold or, worse, insects can destroy a book's value. So check for yourself before you commit to buying a rare book.

I hope the information above are useful when buying from rare book store.

by eHow Arts & Entertainment Editor

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Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Rare Books vs Hard-To-Find Books ( book rare store used )

book rare store used

Mr Wills (not his real name) owned an antiquarian bookshop in one of the up-market malls in Rosebank, Johannesburg in the 1980’s. He was a quirky, bad-tempered Englishman who made you quake if you set foot in his shop but his books were superlative. One just knew that books this beautiful had to be rare books.
Take for instance the account, with illustrations, of two Dutch explorers in the 17th century, Ensigns Bergh and Schrijver, into the hinterland of what is now South Africa.
To put that in perspective: that was so long ago in human history that the black speakers of Bantu languages had not yet come down the African Continent to South Africa. The Europeans had yet to arrive in force. The region was sparsely populated only by the copper-skinned hunting-and-gathering aborigines, the Khoi and Khoisan.
The explorers kept copious journals that are now kept in the Cape Archives. In 1931 Dr E.E. Mossop wrote a book, based on his translation of these journals, entitled Journals of the Expeditions of the Honourable Ensign Olof Bergh (1682 and 1683) and the Ensign Isaq Schrijver (1689). Today copies of Mossop’s book rate as rare pieces of Africana, although they do come on onto the book market from time to time.
I remember Mr Wills showing me this book but not allowing me to touch it. It was a rare book, he explained. And so the idea of a rare book was formed in my mind. “Hand-scribed Byzantine tomes are rare. Gutenberg Press books are rare. Self-published Victorian tomes are rare,” I thought. I was confident that I knew what a rare book was when we started our bookshop deep in the country, quite near where Schrijver penetrated the mountains for the first time.
Then Mr Besant (not his real name) came asking for a book called A Colossus of Roads by Pat Storrar and Günther Komnick. It was published in 1984 by Murray & Roberts, a South African construction firm, and concrete firm Concor. The subject of the book is the road passes built through the Great Rift Mountains swathing the eastern and southern sections of the country by one intrepid visionary called Thomas Charles John Bain (1830-1893). His road works still exist in all their daring glory. His endeavours resonate strongly with the travels of Bergh and Schrijver. Whereas the earlier travelers clambered over mountains to explore the interior, Thomas Bain built lasting thoroughfares through mountain passes hacked into the mountainsides, living in remote areas to complete his work.
Mr Besant had been searching for this book for a long time. I assured him that it would not be difficult to find. I would put out the word to the SA Bookdealers Association (SABDA) members and search through the aBillionbooks booksites, I told him to keep his mobile switched on. It would take no more than an hour to locate, I said. I believed that sincerely. My parents were friends with Pat Storrar. I own a signed copy of The Colossus of Roads. How hard could it be to find?
Well, five months later I called Mr Besant’s mobile with the good news that I had finally located a copy. “I thought you said it wouldn’t take long,” he complained. “Well, it is a hard-to-find book,” I said firmly. Why didn’t I call it a rare book? Something told me it would be sacrilege to place this book, as interesting as it is, alongside books as special and rare as the rare piece of Africana in Mr Wills’s shop.
Some semantic significance is attached to word “rare” for us all. “Hard-to-find” apparently means a more recent book that was under-published in error or so popular that no one wants to place their copies in the secondhand market. “Rare” apparently means a book over a hundred years old for which one feels an intuitive veneration.
The difference is spurious, really, now that online bookstores are bringing elusive and obscure books within reach of everyone. Now as a matter of principle I mix the two terms freely and use them interchangeably. True, it is hard to find a rare book. But wouldn’t you expect it to be? And hard-to-find books are rare books, even on the internet. That’s why they are hard-to-find.
Think about it and decide for yourself.
Copyright 2006 Justine Eaglestone
About the author: Justine Eaglestone is a journalist brick-and-mortar bookstore owner, online bookdealer and booksite specialist. See her blog at http://search-book-sites.blogspot.com/ and website http://www.abillionbooks.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Justine_Eaglestone

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Rare Book Stores ( book rare store used )

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Rare book stores, unlike rare books, can be located easily. There are hundreds of rare book stores which stock all sort of rare books otherwise known as "antiquarian books". Rare books are always in demand, as you never know when you would need them. Most of the book stores would have some collection of rare books, but selling rare books is a specialty, and that explains why there are exclusive rare book store.
Most of the rare books are in fact books which are out of print or circulation. Just in case you are not able to locate your rare book in your neighbourhood rare book store, you can always try shopping for them online. There are literally thousand of titles available online. A little bit of search and you can locate an online store. Locating an online store can be still made easy by visiting online directories that can guide you. Once located, you can go through the entire list of rare books at most of these online stores. Pay online and your rare book will be shipped to you in a day or two. One thing you should be careful about while purchasing rare books online is that to make sure that the rare book you are buying is rare. For instance, you could have chosen a book with the same title as that of a rare book, in which case the book you have chosen could be totally different from what you wanted.
Most of the online rare bookstores allow you to compare prices. It is always preferable that you compare prices before you make your purchase. One can also bid for rare books at auction Web sites.

Book Stores provides detailed information on Book Stores, Online Book Stores, Christian Book Stores, Adult Book Stores and more. Book Stores is affiliated with Book Club Question.

Article Source : http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Josh Riverside

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