FIRST EDITIONS

Taranaki Daily News, 15 October 1930, Page 11

FIRST EDITIONS

POINTS FOR BOOK COLLECTORS. During recent years book''cpllectojs, especially in the United States, h’avp increasingly turned their attention to’ r fif’?t and limited editions of modern, authors, and the reasons are not difficult to discover? They appeal to the man of slp.nder means who cannot afford the older .rarities, and in addition give him an opportunity of staking his literary judgment against' that of posterity, writes F. Beresford Chancellor in the “Daily Telegraph.” There, are, however, one or two points' which should be borne in mind? In nearly every case it is the earlier books of an author which are scarce, and therefore desired by collectors. It is no good collecting merely first editions bf books which are' issued in large quantities, and it is for this reason that discrimination is so necessary. Once the reputation of an author is' firmly established, his books ; usually p'ut upon the market in large numbers. If, however, you have .bought, his earlier books in due season, you may have done quite well. . ■■., <•' Mr. Rudyard . Kipling’s . “Schoolboy Lyrics,” published, ip 1881, fetches hundreds of pounds, and. .collectors ' -bid eagerly agaiiist.orie another when a copy comes on the market; but the same author’s “Debits and Credits,” published in 1926, causes no stir at all. Again, Mr. Galsworthy’s early books, such i-as “From the Four Winds,” “Villa Rubeip,” and “A Man of Devon,” are difficult/to procure, but this is not'the case w-jith his later books, such as “The Silyer Spoon” and “Swan Song.” . In collecting first editions of modern authors the collector must look to quality rather than quantity; but in any case, he must, buy a copy of the first issue of the book it? question. Now it may seem strange that a (Collector .should prefer to, own a copy of, a book containing.misprints, rather than one in which they, have been corrected, yet sometimes he does. It may appear ridiculous that he would rather possess a copy of a book with leaves of advertisements at the.end than one, in all other respects exactly, the same, but not containing such leaves. Yet, again, /he sometimes does.’ ." '• Here are a few examples. On page 273 of Vol. 1 of Thoma's Hardy’s “A Bair of Blue Eyes” (Tinsley, 1873) —which, 'incidentally, was the first book to bear Mr. Hardy’s name on the .title page —the signature letter “T” is missing in. Ijie genuine first edition.’ln Joseph Conrad’s “Chance”.- (1914), the publisher’s,,advertisements should be dated ‘‘July, 1913,” although, owing to a trade dispute, the book was not actually published until the following year. Mr. Rudyard- Kipling’s “Plain Tales from the • Hills” (1888), should have page 192 misplaced, and there should be 24 pages of advertisements at tlie end, instead of 32, as in the second issue. These details are not to be found in subsequent Many of Hardy’s novels and Sir James Barrie’s early books' are prized. There is a demand for the earlier books by Mr. Galsworthy, which were published under the pseudonym of Sinjohn. They are:—“From the Four Winds” (1897), “Jocelyn” (1898), “Villa Rubein”. (1900) and “A Man of Devon” (.1901); “The Man of Property” (1906/) is also scarce. Some Conrad firsts are difficult to secure, and this is also true with W. H. Hudson. In nearly every case, copies must be in good condition in order to be of value. It is useless to collect ex-lib-rary copies. Nowadays, when a novel is published, the libraries take large numbers. This accounts for the difficulty which often arises in securing & clean copy in good condition later, and has done much to put up■the cost of such books. , i, - Be early on the scene then, and secure your copy first-hand from a bookseller, for remember that the collector is a connoisseur and will not include in hij library mutilated or dirty copies of books. There is endless scope in'first editions of modern authors, but you must back your own judgment, and -follow it up by securing the prize immediately. '