"mdobson" wrote in message
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Hi,

New to the hobby. :-)

I see a lot of books on eBay with the preface "Eaton Press" and
"Franklin Library."

Are these the modern day version of the Reader's Digest books?

Cheers,

Mike

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Nope. Readers Digest Books are usually condensed versions of
popular books - the editorial content has been changed.

Both Eaton Press and Franklin Library publish standard editions
of mainly classic works - in other words not just current
bestsellers - in modern day "deluxe" leather bindings.

Some of the editions may have additional introductions, or other
editorial matter, by reputable authorities.

Some people buy these books for their content, as the easiest way
of purchasing a favourite text in a nice binding - especially if
the book has been out of print for years, and pristine second-hand
copies are very scarce, or prohibitively expensive. Some buyers
commit to buying extensive collections of these books.

There is a secondhand and collectors' market in these books, but
as with all items deliberately pitched at a collectors market -
as opposed to material people decide to start collecting
years after it was made simply for use - such as antique furniture -
there can be a very large mark-up when buying new directly
from the publisher.

Although the leather binding used isn't done using the traditional
methods, and so doesn't necessarily have the same quality or durability
as traditional leather bindings, these books would probably be quite
acceptable for someone wanting a nice copy of a text. As the basis
for a collection of a particular authors' works for instance.
As an investment, even buying pristine second-hand copies at a 75%
discount on new - provided you could find them - it's doubtful if
they'd work out very profitable in the long run as many purchasers
will have kept them in pristine condition themselves, wrongly believing
them to be an "investment".

Also a lot of these books can be marketed as sets - as with the author
collection mentioned above, and so this is possibly something to be
aware of when buying single titles. Whether its part of a set or
not, and whether this is stated inside of the book itself.


michael adams

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