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Modern Book Collecting: A Basic Guide to All Aspects of Book Collecting: What to Collect, Who to Buy from, Auctions, Bibliographies, Care, Fakes and Forgeries, ... Donations, Definitions, and More
Modern Book Collecting offers advice that answers all the basic questions a book lover and collector might have—what to collect and where to find it, how to tell a first edition from a reprint, how to build an author collection, how to get the best price from dealers, how to understand the prices and rarity of books, and more. With a handy dictionary of terms used in auction and dealer catalogs and a new section on Internet resources, this is a must-have guide for book lovers.
281 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1980
12 people are currently reading
139 people want to read
About the author
Robert A. Wilson
130 books7 followersRobert A. Wilson was proprietor of the famous Phoenix Bookshop in New York City. He was a passionate writer and author of bibliographies of Gertrude Stein, Gregory Corso, and Denise Levertov. Wilson specialized in rare books and manuscripts.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
July 20, 2017
Though the previous book I read (Once Upon a Spine) was not my favourite read, it made me want to read more about books and collecting books. So I picked up Modern Book Collecting, which is actually in my NLB TBR list.
So I have always liked the idea of collecting books. And while I think this book is the most practical book I've seen on how to get started (got to go and check because I think I own a book on the experiences collecting books?), it has also convinced me that I'm not going to be a serious collected. Most of the time, I'm fine with owning an ebook. The medium doesn't matter as much as the story.
Most of the time.
In certain cases, I get emotionally attached to covers and then I must get those. Like the Graveyard Book (had to get the edition that I first read - I think on ROCS? Can't remember but for some reason I love that cover), Fahrenheit 451 (Sec 3 and 4 lit book!) and a scant few others, none of which are first editions. So I shall happily resign myself to just amassing books rather than being a collector.
That said, this was a fascinating and easy read (plus each chapter is relatively short so I picked it up whenever I had time and finished it in two days). The author clearly loves books and it shows through the numerous stories that he has about his collection. He's also no book snob, which I appreciate.
The book (now we finally get to the book!) covers topics like what to collect (by author, by topic, etc), the merits of collecting unknown authors, the best ways of buying books (dealers vs authors vs secondhand shops and thrift stores), how to identify first editions, and even if books are worth it as an investment. And there's even a look into how a book is made (not sure how accurate it is now) which I found fascinating.
One thing I picked up is that it's very rare to find an undervalued book in a second hand bookstore because the owners tend to know if stuff is valuable, but it's possible to do so in a thrift shop/garage sale, especially if the people in charge aren't familiar with the value of books. Of course, things might have changed because this book is probably more than 30(?) years old.
Oh and this book actually has illustrations about the parts of the book so I actually can follow what the author is talking about. The information on how books can get damaged and the discussion on how to store them will probably be useful to any book lover, because no one wants to see their precious books disintegrate.
The fifth appendix is a list of internet resources (not sure if it's a recent edition but yay) so I will be checking that out. Especially the one that seems to be a sort of guide - lists I'll probably skip.
This book has made me want to read more about collecting books and serious collectors, even though my own collection will only be for reading and sentimental purposes.
This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
So I have always liked the idea of collecting books. And while I think this book is the most practical book I've seen on how to get started (got to go and check because I think I own a book on the experiences collecting books?), it has also convinced me that I'm not going to be a serious collected. Most of the time, I'm fine with owning an ebook. The medium doesn't matter as much as the story.
Most of the time.
In certain cases, I get emotionally attached to covers and then I must get those. Like the Graveyard Book (had to get the edition that I first read - I think on ROCS? Can't remember but for some reason I love that cover), Fahrenheit 451 (Sec 3 and 4 lit book!) and a scant few others, none of which are first editions. So I shall happily resign myself to just amassing books rather than being a collector.
That said, this was a fascinating and easy read (plus each chapter is relatively short so I picked it up whenever I had time and finished it in two days). The author clearly loves books and it shows through the numerous stories that he has about his collection. He's also no book snob, which I appreciate.
The book (now we finally get to the book!) covers topics like what to collect (by author, by topic, etc), the merits of collecting unknown authors, the best ways of buying books (dealers vs authors vs secondhand shops and thrift stores), how to identify first editions, and even if books are worth it as an investment. And there's even a look into how a book is made (not sure how accurate it is now) which I found fascinating.
One thing I picked up is that it's very rare to find an undervalued book in a second hand bookstore because the owners tend to know if stuff is valuable, but it's possible to do so in a thrift shop/garage sale, especially if the people in charge aren't familiar with the value of books. Of course, things might have changed because this book is probably more than 30(?) years old.
Oh and this book actually has illustrations about the parts of the book so I actually can follow what the author is talking about. The information on how books can get damaged and the discussion on how to store them will probably be useful to any book lover, because no one wants to see their precious books disintegrate.
The fifth appendix is a list of internet resources (not sure if it's a recent edition but yay) so I will be checking that out. Especially the one that seems to be a sort of guide - lists I'll probably skip.
This book has made me want to read more about collecting books and serious collectors, even though my own collection will only be for reading and sentimental purposes.
This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
February 24, 2011
Not very modern.
This is supposed to be the updated version on book collecting. It is, however, a book about book collecting written in approximately 1980 and updated with some color photos and web links. I was hoping to read some information on using modern technology not only for the search of prized books but also the most effective and safe storage available in the modern age. This info is not available. But you do get some color photos of fancy home libraries! Lots of mahogany shelves and leather bound tomes to view over the course of a few pages. *sigh*
Don't waste your time or money on this updated version. If you find the original version for cheap then maybe it can be helpful. Otherwise, you'll find more useful info from Googling "book collecting".
This is supposed to be the updated version on book collecting. It is, however, a book about book collecting written in approximately 1980 and updated with some color photos and web links. I was hoping to read some information on using modern technology not only for the search of prized books but also the most effective and safe storage available in the modern age. This info is not available. But you do get some color photos of fancy home libraries! Lots of mahogany shelves and leather bound tomes to view over the course of a few pages. *sigh*
Don't waste your time or money on this updated version. If you find the original version for cheap then maybe it can be helpful. Otherwise, you'll find more useful info from Googling "book collecting".
December 8, 2014
You can feel the passion that the author has for both the history of books and book collecting. However he chose to focus a lot on collecting poetry which unless you have an interest in it, half this book is an exercise to get through. The other half is composed of outdated material. This book was re-released and updated in 2010 but evidently this is a world where the internet and credit cards dont exist. Stories of how you should get your books from catalogues and newspaper ads astounds and how you should pay for your books by check right away instead of sending a check in the mail baffles.
There are some interesting tidbits regarding collecting but material is so outdated that the book is basically a waster of time for any modern book collector.
There are some interesting tidbits regarding collecting but material is so outdated that the book is basically a waster of time for any modern book collector.
March 31, 2017
If there is one book to have in your collection,
make it this one!
Mainly, for the irony.
make it this one!
Mainly, for the irony.
December 12, 2017
Reading this book was like listening to a couple of smart people talking to each other about something interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed eves dropping on Mr. Wilson.
November 8, 2015
This book reads like a book from the 80s, with only a passing mention that more people are starting to use computers -- starting! -- during the process of printing books. No mention of the Internet or any other such new dangled gadgets. Get out your check books and be sure to pay your book dealer's invoice in a timely fashion (forget that most people will not let you part with an item without upfront payment anymore). The chapter on auctions was written before the realization that eBay would overtake all but the most expensive of auction house items.
It also made me angry -- the idea that book collectors place no value on quality books (for example, fine bindings you might see from Limited Edition Club or similar book clubs or even that trade-quality books LOSE their value if rebound using high quality material and bookbinding technique). Apparently book collectors only care about first and/or rare, maybe with the bonus of an author's signature. I don't think book collectors should be called book collectors if they don't care one wit about the quality of the books.
Can you imagine if antique furniture collectors or antique car collectors did not care about the quality of the object they collected? "THIS IS A FIRST EDITION IKEA BILLY BOOKCASE! You replaced the crappy plywood with old-growth wood? Ugh! There goes the value. THIS IS A SIGNED KIA SPECTRA! Oh you replaced the engine with something of quality? Gross. Sell it to somebody else. I only like mass-produced crap that will crumble before my eyes!"
I think the pre-Modern book collectors had it right and so-called Modern book collectors have it terribly wrong. The practice of loose, temporary book blocks that were sold with the express purpose that a person would have it professionally bound to suit their library and pocketbook is something that I pine for. The Victorian practice of spending years collecting illustrations (called extra illustrated) to match the people and places in the book and re-binding them into their copy charmed me but is apparently "now looked upon askance."
Ugh, it's all so frustrating.
It also made me angry -- the idea that book collectors place no value on quality books (for example, fine bindings you might see from Limited Edition Club or similar book clubs or even that trade-quality books LOSE their value if rebound using high quality material and bookbinding technique). Apparently book collectors only care about first and/or rare, maybe with the bonus of an author's signature. I don't think book collectors should be called book collectors if they don't care one wit about the quality of the books.
Can you imagine if antique furniture collectors or antique car collectors did not care about the quality of the object they collected? "THIS IS A FIRST EDITION IKEA BILLY BOOKCASE! You replaced the crappy plywood with old-growth wood? Ugh! There goes the value. THIS IS A SIGNED KIA SPECTRA! Oh you replaced the engine with something of quality? Gross. Sell it to somebody else. I only like mass-produced crap that will crumble before my eyes!"
I think the pre-Modern book collectors had it right and so-called Modern book collectors have it terribly wrong. The practice of loose, temporary book blocks that were sold with the express purpose that a person would have it professionally bound to suit their library and pocketbook is something that I pine for. The Victorian practice of spending years collecting illustrations (called extra illustrated) to match the people and places in the book and re-binding them into their copy charmed me but is apparently "now looked upon askance."
Ugh, it's all so frustrating.
May 3, 2011
(I'm teaching myself more these days about both bookmaking and book collecting, so I thought I'd start by reading the Chicago Public Library's collection of titles on these subjects.) Yet another guide from the '70s full of ridiculously specific and hence instantly dated advice; for example, when discussing what kinds of little-known books one should collect, he names specific people, exhorting us time-traveling readers to pick up such Early Modernists as James Joyce and Virginia Woolf "before they get expensive." But still, this does have an excellent beginner's look at all the complications involved with determining first-edition status of books published before the 20th century, for those interested in this surprisingly fascinating topic.
April 8, 2016
Fantastic overview of book collecting. It was also like being in a bit of a time warp because it is all pre-internet, when getting information was more difficult. Has inspired me to be more methodical with my first editions. I am going to start/complete some author collections.
A very interesting chapter on values, and how poetry does better than novels mainly because of the smaller print runs.
A great read with some really useful information.
A very interesting chapter on values, and how poetry does better than novels mainly because of the smaller print runs.
A great read with some really useful information.
February 13, 2013
Solid fundamentals but seriously outdated. That a book on book collecting could get all the way through without using the word "internet" is amazing when you consider it was published just 35 years ago. My how times have changed! Still, a clearly written and informative book though a bit skewed to the poetry end of collecting.
August 29, 2016
Lucid, compelling writing. Certainly an intro, but well worth the read. Author was a bibliographer of beat / countercultural modernists and therefore gives one a slightly different perspective on collecting and dealing than, say, an expert on incunabula might.
January 13, 2018
Wanting to live an uncluttered life and collecting things don't go together. Yet most of us love to see and hold beautifully made items. I don't mind reading an e-book but I still admire good printing and binding and paper. At first Wilson's book was hard to slog through, the first half of the book, largely about how to acquire hard of find books, was a chore to get through. While reading it I found myself comparing Modern Book Collecting unfavorably to Books and Collectors by Maurice Dunbar. Dunbar's book made me think that I might perhaps want to be a serious book collector, Wilson's book told me I really don't want to get involved in all the book collecting entails.
In the second half of Modern Book Collecting the author gives the reader a good understanding of how books are actually made and provides the names of the parts. I found that useful. The lists of dealers and collectors were interesting but not so useful for me. The though of owning a few first editions is tempting, but I will try to resist. At least now I know what a first edition is and how to identify one.
In the second half of Modern Book Collecting the author gives the reader a good understanding of how books are actually made and provides the names of the parts. I found that useful. The lists of dealers and collectors were interesting but not so useful for me. The though of owning a few first editions is tempting, but I will try to resist. At least now I know what a first edition is and how to identify one.
December 30, 2017
Though I have not yet read the book all the way through, I read certain chapters which were relevant to the type of collecting I indulge in - that is, focusing on an author collection. Robert A. Wilson provides very clear and fair descriptions of how to build a collection and how to maintain it. He provides balanced information on methods of preservation and emphasizes that to lecture on why to collect would be pointless, as "a genuine bibliophile is born rather than made." His take on collecting books shows the true passion of a fellow bibliophile, and I found that very endearing, inspiring, and comforting.
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January 14, 2025This is a great resource, but it's very VERY dated.... I know the author has since passed but it'd be great if someone could carry on the torch and write a fully updated version bc I would absolutely tune in
September 25, 2022
Dated and anecdotal, has a strong liking for Gertrude Stein. Oh, did I mention that the author liked Gertrude Stein?
April 19, 2023
Informative but dated.
February 17, 2015
A quick and fun read about modern book collecting. I know now that I'll never be a hardcore collector but I learned some tips and tricks for collecting the few books that mean the most to me. Worth the read, especially for the 99¢ Kindle edition.
August 29, 2012
Though a bit dated, this book opened my eyes to the fact that my unhealthy love for books is in fact a respectable hobby. Great read to get you in the proper collecting mindset, broken into useful, quick sections.
June 30, 2013
Lays out the basics for a beginning collector and could be a valuable resource to revisit as the collector becomes more mature in his pursuit.
October 31, 2016
An informative, basic, though dated in some aspects, introduction to the collecting of books.
April 26, 2017
SUPER BOOK! reference with lots of appendix, very easy to read. Love this book!
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews