I would like to thank the Heirloom Antique Club of Jackson for asking me to be the speaker for their February meeting. They were very nice to come to the DotCom building and sit there and listen to me talk about book collecting. Of course, they might have come for the refreshments, those ladies brought some great snacks! I hope that I explained all the ins and outs and if anyone has anymore questions please come in or call me at Lemuria and I will be happy to try and answer them.

If anyone is interested in book collecting I thought I would list the ways that dealers define a book’s condition:

1. Mint-like new

2. Very Fine-almost like new, but used more frequently by conservative dealers.

3. Fine-showing no defects, probably meaning the book has been read.

4. Very Good-a book with flaws (for example, price clipped dust jacket or small closed tears).

5. Good-a book with unappealing flaws (for example, a remainder marked copy); usually only acceptable to collectors until a better copy is found.

6. Poor-serves only out-of-print material purpose.

If you are interested in collecting first editions a great way to start a library is to join Lemuria’s First Edition Club. Check out the list of FEC selections since 1993 on the website.

Share