"Your United States" by Arnold Bennett.

I've got what I believe may be the first edition of "Your United
States" by Arnold Bennett. Harper and Brothers Publishers, New
York and London, MCMXII [1912]. Unfortunately, when I bought it
the book was missing its cover, and its spine had been half gnawed
away by mice, so I had to re-bind it. I bound it in full leather
(not one of my best binding efforts, but not bad). Plus, the book
had been slightly water damaged, so that pink from the former
cover was stained across the side of the plate opposite the title
page. Plus, someone had scrawed her name diagonally across the
title page in pen. I'm wondering how much these factors affect the
value?

Al Smith wrote:

I've got what I believe may be the first edition of "Your United
States" by Arnold Bennett. Harper and Brothers Publishers, New York
and London, MCMXII [1912]. Unfortunately, when I bought it the book
was missing its cover, and its spine had been half gnawed away by
mice, so I had to re-bind it. I bound it in full leather (not one of
my best binding efforts, but not bad). Plus, the book had been
slightly water damaged, so that pink from the former cover was stained
across the side of the plate opposite the title page. Plus, someone
had scrawed her name diagonally across the title page in pen. I'm
wondering how much these factors affect the value?


Used.addall.com lists many copies. One, described as first edition, in
very good condition with original red covers and gilt top edge, a few
water drops on covers, and an owner's name rubber stamped on the front
free end paper, has an asking price of of $4.75.


Francis A. Miniter

I've got what I believe may be the first edition of "Your United States" by Arnold Bennett. Harper and Brothers Publishers, New York and London, MCMXII [1912]. Unfortunately, when I bought it the book was missing its cover, and its spine had been half gnawed away by mice, so I had to re-bind it. I bound it in full leather (not one of my best binding efforts, but not bad). Plus, the book had been slightly water damaged, so that pink from the former cover was stained across the side of the plate opposite the title page. Plus, someone had scrawed her name diagonally across the title page in pen. I'm wondering how much these factors affect the value?



Used.addall.com lists many copies. One, described as first edition, in very good condition with original red covers and gilt top edge, a few water drops on covers, and an owner's name rubber stamped on the front free end paper, has an asking price of of $4.75.

Francis A. Miniter

Wow, it's amazing what has value and what doesn't. This is quite
an attractive book, actually, with many very fine plates done in
an ink wash technique. Bennett's not an unknown writer. And he was
writing about America at the turn of the last century, a topic
that should have general interest. Yet a first edition is worth
nothing. I only paid a dollar for my copy, and I probably got cheated.

Al Smith wrote:

I've got what I believe may be the first edition of "Your United
States" by Arnold Bennett. Harper and Brothers Publishers, New York
and London, MCMXII [1912]. Unfortunately, when I bought it the book
was missing its cover, and its spine had been half gnawed away by
mice, so I had to re-bind it. I bound it in full leather (not one of
my best binding efforts, but not bad). Plus, the book had been
slightly water damaged, so that pink from the former cover was
stained across the side of the plate opposite the title page. Plus,
someone had scrawed her name diagonally across the title page in
pen. I'm wondering how much these factors affect the value?




Used.addall.com lists many copies. One, described as first edition,
in very good condition with original red covers and gilt top edge, a
few water drops on covers, and an owner's name rubber stamped on the
front free end paper, has an asking price of of $4.75.

Francis A. Miniter


Wow, it's amazing what has value and what doesn't. This is quite an
attractive book, actually, with many very fine plates done in an ink
wash technique. Bennett's not an unknown writer. And he was writing
about America at the turn of the last century, a topic that should
have general interest. Yet a first edition is worth nothing. I only
paid a dollar for my copy, and I probably got cheated.


Hi Al,

No, not cheated. It is a book that you obviously enjoy, and that is the
best reason for having books. A report on last evenings news (NPR)
involved two stamp collectors trading extremely rare stamps with each
other. When one was asked why he would get rid of this stamp, he
replied that he had had the fun of owning it for the last seven years
and was ready to let it go and have he fun of owning the other set of
stamps.

If you are collecting books for their economic value rather than their
content value, then you have to be more aware of the general principles
of collecting in general and collecting books in specific. Check out
ABBookman.com for a general introduction to collecting, and start
reading the search results you can get from used.addall.com for
descriptions of condition, edition identifiers, scarcity and value.

The first principle is that a book has to have a demand for there to be
a value. The second is that scarcity in the presence of demand drives
up value. [Harry Potter 6 has a first printing of 10 milliion copies.
It will never have much value to collectors.] Third, collectors are
fanatics - they want books in pristine condition, with dust jackets
whereever possible. They pay for condition. As with automobile
collectors, original condition counts. If not in original condition,
restoration to that condition is desirable if possible. (That works
better with cars than with books.) This will generate some jokes about
bleaching marks off of books.

Scarcity itself does not render a book valuable. There are scarce 18th
and 19th century books of sermons beautifully bound in leather that no
one can sell, for instance. There is no market at all, unless some
crazy PhD student has a particular obscure minister to write about. And
one person is not a market.

Experience is a great teacher. Hang in there.


Francis A. Miniter

I've got what I believe may be the first edition of "Your United States" by Arnold Bennett. Harper and Brothers Publishers, New York and London, MCMXII [1912]. Unfortunately, when I bought it the book was missing its cover, and its spine had been half gnawed away by mice, so I had to re-bind it. I bound it in full leather (not one of my best binding efforts, but not bad). Plus, the book had been slightly water damaged, so that pink from the former cover was stained across the side of the plate opposite the title page. Plus, someone had scrawed her name diagonally across the title page in pen. I'm wondering how much these factors affect the value?





Used.addall.com lists many copies. One, described as first edition, in very good condition with original red covers and gilt top edge, a few water drops on covers, and an owner's name rubber stamped on the front free end paper, has an asking price of of $4.75.

Francis A. Miniter



Wow, it's amazing what has value and what doesn't. This is quite an attractive book, actually, with many very fine plates done in an ink wash technique. Bennett's not an unknown writer. And he was writing about America at the turn of the last century, a topic that should have general interest. Yet a first edition is worth nothing. I only paid a dollar for my copy, and I probably got cheated.



Hi Al,

No, not cheated. It is a book that you obviously enjoy, and that is the best reason for having books. A report on last evenings news (NPR) involved two stamp collectors trading extremely rare stamps with each other. When one was asked why he would get rid of this stamp, he replied that he had had the fun of owning it for the last seven years and was ready to let it go and have he fun of owning the other set of stamps.
If you are collecting books for their economic value rather than their content value, then you have to be more aware of the general principles of collecting in general and collecting books in specific. Check out ABBookman.com for a general introduction to collecting, and start reading the search results you can get from used.addall.com for descriptions of condition, edition identifiers, scarcity and value.
The first principle is that a book has to have a demand for there to be a value. The second is that scarcity in the presence of demand drives up value. [Harry Potter 6 has a first printing of 10 milliion copies. It will never have much value to collectors.] Third, collectors are fanatics - they want books in pristine condition, with dust jackets whereever possible. They pay for condition. As with automobile collectors, original condition counts. If not in original condition, restoration to that condition is desirable if possible. (That works better with cars than with books.) This will generate some jokes about bleaching marks off of books.

Scarcity itself does not render a book valuable. There are scarce 18th and 19th century books of sermons beautifully bound in leather that no one can sell, for instance. There is no market at all, unless some crazy PhD student has a particular obscure minister to write about. And one person is not a market.

Experience is a great teacher. Hang in there.


Francis A. Miniter

I do like books a great deal, which is why I took all the trouble
to put my coverless, mouse-gnawed Bennett into a new leather
binding. I've taught myself book binding and restoration over the
years by restoring old, damaged or coverless books. Some of the
collectors here think my methods are a little slipshod, because I
don't use book conservation techniques, but what the hell, I use
what works. I am suprised about that Bennett, though. I would have
guessed that a copy in good condition would have been worth $100
to $150. So I've got a lot to learn.