Book Fair

I went to the Antiquarian Book Fair yesterday.While admission was $5, there was little to buy for under $40 and most was over $100. It really varied what folks were selling. There were illuminated pages from the 1400 and then a signed copy of W's biography. I saw a lot of "Watership Down" and "Catch-22". I even saw 4 copies of the first edition of "The Hound of the Baskervilles", ranging in price from $2,000 to 12,000.

I saw a copy of The Hitchhiker's Omnibus, which I think I gave Dan as a birthday present years ago, acquired from the remainders bin. It was signed, but I really wondered about the signature--"Don't Panic Adams". How do we know that is his signature? Would he really have signed that? In the Omnibus edition? I didn't think to ask at the time, but I did become very curious about how you know. I once signed one of Donald Trump's books to an old boss as "The Donald". Sadly, no one in the room got the joke. 

Walking around, looking at the prices, I started to feel very uneasy about what had happened to these books. Many of them were things you could go to a book store and buy (or, at least, order). So why were these copies able to be sold for so much money? Yes, it might be cool to have a first edition of "Murder on the Links" but is it really worth $150?

I went to the Friends of the Seattle Public Library book sale recently, and they had a table of ... treasures? Some word like that. I picked up 3 at $3 each--a hardback copy of "Strong Poison", a book that sounded interesting but I've still not looked at by someone from the University of Minnesota, and "So You're Going to Italy? And if I were going with you, these are the things I'd invite you to do", which is a delight and makes me want to collect the whole series of these books that Clara Laughlin wrote, even if they are selling for $10+. I think it was something like those purchases that lead me to this Book Fair, not really clear on the range for first edition and autographed books.

I also wondered when authors began signing books. Book signings are an event these days, often more common than readings since there is a built-in sale accompanying the transaction. I've never really cared about signatures, although I did have Craig Charles sign my copy of "Better Than Life" which he'd not come across before. I've had friends sign their books for me, and then that means something. Will those copies someday be for sale at a book fair? The thought depresses me more than the fair did.