Albuquerque morning journal., 1922-05-30
$4,000 is PAID
FOR ONE BOOK
BY COLLECTOR
Br FREDERIC J. HAsKIN.

New York City, May 29.--Would
you pay $4,000 for one little
book?
This is the price recently paid
at the Anderson Galleries here in
New York for one little volume
of Will Shakespeare's complete
works, with Chambers portrait,
dated 1923. 1t was first edi-
tion, of course, in remarkably
good condition considering its vast
age, and considered by the grati-
fled purchaser to be a great bar
gain as first editions go.
Here is something we'll worth
remembering the next time you
feel imposed upon at having to
pay $3.50 for the latest product
of your favorite author. You
never can tell--in a few years his
works may be worth good deal
more. Some OF Joseph Conrad's
already bring as much as S65 per
COPY, while q first edition of
Walt Whitman's Leaves of
Grass" recently sold for $3.50
But first editions, like all 9TH
er antiques, grow more valuable
as they get older. An author has
to be dead a long time before
his books will bring as much as
81 900 apiece, and few of the
books published nowadays are ca
pable OF surviving through several
centuries. Not that some of them
are not Of lasting merit, but the
materials of which they are made
are too. fragile.
The Elizabethan literature was
printed on strong, thick paper,
made by hand from rags, and in
many cases remains whole and
firm today. The Shakespeare
volume mentioned above, for in
stance, is in as perfect condition
as 1t was in the 18th century, ex-
cept for a front page, where an
expert eye can detect break in
the watermark of the old paper,
showing that it has been mended.
"A good many of the old books
have to be doctored," explained
Mr.. A. Bade, of the Anderson
Galleries, as he pointed out to
us the almost imperceptible flaw
in the precious Shakespeare vol
ume. "There are, of course, eX-
perts who specialize in this re-
storing work. Some of the books
have been washed and ironed, in
which case it is always apparent.
Many have been virtually ruined
in the big English libraries, where
they remained for centuries with.
out proper care, and now have
to be extensively repaired.
n - 1. -
careful collectors, and have been
passed down in surprisingly fine
trim. We can usually tell from
| the owners label in the front of
a book just what to expect. TO
mention one example, books from
the library of the late Robert Hoe,
which up until 1911, was the
largest private library in this
country, are always in good shape.
Mr.. Hoe evidently took elaborate
pains with them. Then we have
several volumes here from George
Washington's library, which are
in astonishingly good condition.
Washington was great collec-
tor for his day, and took excel
lent care OF his books. F'ortu-
| nately, 80 dlu tnOss WHO laler
acquired them
Americans have always dis
played an unusual interest in col
lecting rare books, according to
Mr.. Bade, although they have
not been given much credit for
1 it. There were book catalogues
as far back as 1880. Fortunate
ly many of these early collectors
took patriotic interest in the
development of the United States
and carefully collected all ma
terial relating to its historic
growth. Thus there is a great
| deal of valuable historical data
scattered about the various pri-
vate Libraries of the country,
which some day will doubtless be
| turned over to universities or
otherwise made available to the
public.
In one case a wealthy Ameri.
can collector financed the pre-
paration' of complete history of