20th Century First Edition Fiction: A Price and Identification Guide--The Complete Guide for Collectors of Used Books [Paperback]

Thomas Lee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1997

Here, for the first time, is a book dedicated to helping the serious collector of first-edition fiction. Written by the owner of The Book Emporium, a nationally recognized book business specializing in providing high-quality, first-edition fiction to a highly discriminating clientele, this book is a complete How-To for both the beginning and the advanced collector. Information previously confined to the author's reference file cabinet is now professionally compiled to provide:
* description of terms commonly used by book dealers and collectors,
* in-depth discussion of grading and the effect of defects on grade,
* first edition points for today's most collected first editions,
* tabulation of values for six different grades of book and dustjacket,
* description of first issue dustjackets.
This is not merely a printout of auction sales or catalog prices. This is a price guide (the previous editions of which were offered for sale only to used and rare book dealers) that tells how to identify first editions and what they are worth.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Thomas Lee is the owner of Book Emporium, a business specializing in providing high-quality first-edition fiction. He lives in Rockville, Maryland. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The following is from the Introduction in Twentieth Century First Edition Fiction: A Price and Identification Guide.

Collecting first edition books can be an extremely challenging and rewarding experience. Although volumes of books-on-books have been written, I have yet to find a single book or even a reasonably small set of books that answered most of the basic questions commonly asked by new collectors of modern first editions. Book dealers are very knowledgeable about these kind of things (it's their business and they have extensive reference libraries) but they don't always have the time to share this knowledge with beginning collectors. This guide provides answers to most of the questions that a beginning collector would ask. Beyond answering the obvious question of how much a book is worth, this guide contains an accumulation of much of the knowledge I have gained through years of running a used book business. It addresses the hows of assembling a collection of books that can satisfy both your needs and your budget. The guide explains how to identify what is a true first edition (the words "FIRST EDITION" aren't always the best indicator), which dust jackets go with which first edition, how grading (estimating condition) is done, and what first editions in various grades are worth. Terms commonly used in book collecting are explained and the meaning of each is discussed. Although the narrative on collecting is intended for beginning collectors, all collectors of fiction will find the pricing section an invaluable reference for the price estimates and for identification of first editions. The guide contains information on 878 books by 69 of today's most popular authors.

Product Details

• Paperback: 183 pages
• Publisher: Book Emporium Pr; 1st edition (March 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965342913
• ISBN-13: 978-0965342919
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #322,951 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #72 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Antiques & Collectibles > Books

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars MISLEADING!, May 11, 2001

By 

Almark (Thornhill, Ontario) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 20th Century First Edition Fiction /2000 Edition: A Price and Identification Guide : The Complete Guide for Collectors of Used Books (Paperback)

Mr. Lee, at least in the brand new 2001 Edition (and I can only assume that this edition would be an improvement over the 2000 edition), pays little or no attention to British Editions, especially when he's considering British authors.

The first three entries in this new edition are Douglas Adams, Eric Ambler and Jeffrey Archer, all British, and in each case he either disregards the TRUE First Edition (British) or lists the American Edition first. By listing the American Edition before the correct British Edition he implies that the US is the true first. THAT is not only dispensing inaccurate information, but for beginning collectors, misleading information.

I am not certain if this was an oversight, or if it was done deliberately. The reason I say that is that perhaps Mr. Lee wants to sell his own American Editions and by listing them first in the guide, he fools neophyte collectors into believing that a Simon and Schuster Edition of Jeffrey Archer's best book, "Kane and Abel" is the only appearance of that book. That the Hodder and Stoughton TRUE First Edition doesn't exist.

That attitude is irresponsible.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars OK, but....., July 11, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 20th Century First Edition Fiction /2000 Edition: A Price and Identification Guide : The Complete Guide for Collectors of Used Books (Paperback)

Some useful info but it's absurd that this is a "2000 edition" and covers books up to about 1993! What did he do when he updated this book, close his door and stay inside from 1993 to 1999 writing this book, ignoring any books written after 1993? Weird.

What boggles my mind is how few books there are on pricing and grading first edition books, and the ones that do exist are not very good, including Aherns. Why can't someone come out with a decent one like they do for comic books (Overstreet, etc)?

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Talk about a limited scope!, April 19, 2002

By 

"buddhaman2000" (Davis, California USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 20th Century First Edition Fiction /2000 Edition: A Price and Identification Guide : The Complete Guide for Collectors of Used Books (Paperback)

I'm not sure exactly how this guy came up with his criteria for what to include in this book and what to leave out. There is no Kurt Vonnegut, no Toni Morrison, no Saul Bellow, and no J.D. Salinger. Morrison and Bellow are both Nobel laureates in "20th century fiction"! And Salinger's first edition of Catcher in the Rye is probably one of the most sought-after books in this category. On top of this, the book is full of editorial errors. Not worth the trouble.