The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-01-22
THE COLLECTORS MARKET.
Rare Books and Priced Editions Have
soId Well In the Past Year.

From the New York Tribune.
The auction book market reflects the
taste and moods of the collector and no
body is moodier than he. When he has a
fancy he pays for IL, and is utterly re-
CARELESS of what he is paying. or wheth-
er the thing purpchased is a real curios-
ity or a Fictitious rarity. 1t is hard to
calculate what such persons will do at an
auction sale, but they are sufficiently
constant to their whims to make the old
book traffic an organized trade and nu-
merous enough TO make IL possible TO
strike an average OF individual vagaries
and establish a certain standard of val
ues in autographs. first editions and pri-
vately printed books.
a record of the auctions i'm New York.
Boston and Philadelphia from September.
1891. to September. 1895. has been COM
piied by Luther 5. Livingston under the
title of American Book Prices Current"
and has been published by Dodd Mead
q Co. This shows a steady advance i'm
prices Of what may be called standard
rarities-with a notable exception which
emphasizes the conventional circum-
stances on which such values depend. A
first edition of Poes "Tamerlane and
Other Poems CBoston. 1S20. was sold
last April for 81 .4J0-with one exception
the highest price of the year in the
American auction rooms. Yet three years
ago the same copy sold for II 80. rot
withstanding that IL had then tho orisi-
nal paper covers, which have since bccn
replaced by a handsome Paris bnCing
costing more than $500 What caused this
shrinkage of value? Simply the a"t that
one more copy had been found. In 1892
only one other copy VAS known ana tia.
was i'm the British Museum. without COW
ers. Now there are three. ana the fourth
owner pays the penalty % not ha,ing
something which nobody else has.
First editions of old English books sell
well. The Vicar of Wakefield" which
cost SIS 10 years ago, now brings 500;
Herbert's THE Temple" has in eight
years advanced from $3.50 to 81 1850. II is
gratifying to record the fact that the
highest price of the year in American
sales was George Washingtons "Ofiiclal
Letters" Q.ondon. 1880, his own copy,
with his autograph. 1t brought 81 $50. The
manufactured rarities which are rare
from the beginning still are honored by
collectors Some of Mr.. William Morris
Kelmscott Press publications brought
prices remarkable. even i'm view of their
beautiful workmanship. The first book of
the Grolier club, "A Decree of Star
Chamber Concerning Printing" issued TO
members in 1884 for about 81 now sells
for 1925. and The Rubyiat," the next
years publication, reaches $50. The COM
plete set. which cost members about $685.
was sold i'm March at prices agEregating
Sil. French books do not sell well here
but the interest in Americana stll holds
sway, though no great collections have
this year been put on the market. The
LiVermore collection, however had an
Indian Prince" Boston. 174O' the only
duplicate of which is I'm the LenoN IL
brary and imperfect. 1t brought SS25
Many good autographs and manuscripts
were brought to the hammer during the
year. among them 80 pages of "Pickwick
Papers" which sold for S775.