Book collecting.
12-10-02, 04:27 AM
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Book collecting.
We've touched upon Marvel Masterworks, DC Archives and Library of America volumes (well described by Mutley Hyde as "The Criterion Collection of American Literature" 
)
I also really like those cool little 5x7 hardcover volumes from The Modern Library that they sold in the 50's and 60's. Does anybody else collect those, or any other similar types of sets?
)I also really like those cool little 5x7 hardcover volumes from The Modern Library that they sold in the 50's and 60's. Does anybody else collect those, or any other similar types of sets?
01-01-03, 09:18 PM
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Thanks Buck!
There's the Everyman Library, and as you said, the Modern Library. These books are actually being produced still today. I do like the Modern Library editions of today, but in choosing which edition of Moby Dick to get for my personal heirloom edition, so to speak, I went with the Library of America edition as it also contains Redburn and White-Jacket... and also because I found it in perfect shape at a second hand store for $17 - oh yeah! BOO YAH! I rock! heh
I think each edition is majestic in it's own right, and it's just up to the individual as to which one to choose. Above, from left to right are The Modern Library, Library of America, and Everyman Library editions of Moby Dick. And as I'm sure at least Tuck knows, the rest of each publisher's books in their series are uniform. (These images are not in scale by the way, as the books are generally all the same size. Click on them for larger images of each.)
I have been hitting the used book stores pretty hard here lately, attempting to pick up the LOA books on the cheap. Of course, being the picky collector that I am, I'm sticking with first printings and "like new" editions. I did bend on the Melville book though, as it is a sixth printing. Since it was Moby Dick that pushed me to look for a good lifelong copy, which led to my discovery of the LOA series, there was no way that book was going back on the shelf.
I did find a Henry David Thoreau volume in first print (Collected Essays and Poems), and while I've never read him, nor was very interested in him, I picked it up because it was in excellent shape, and only $10.
This brings me to a point that I'd like to compare with, again, the Criterion Collection. Many members here and people in general like to scoff at Criterion collectors, because they somehow feel that nobody could possibly like every movie they put out, so it's just silly that some people will buy Criterions without considering whether they might like the film or not. The point is that given the track record of the company and the known dedication to the material by that company, it's a pretty safe bet that the films are either technically or artistically (or both), sound achievements. There are many films that I would have never even thought about seeking out had it not been for Criterion. Some people like to say that this just means that I'm a Criterion whore, a groupie, and just want to be part of a clicque. That's not the case; again, given their track record, I have a certain amount of trust in them that it more than likely will not be a complete waste of my time if I were to check out the films in their library. It's the same with Library of America. While I have never actively read Thoreau, one day I might like to give him a shot and see what he was all about. When I find a first printing of an LOA book of his for cheap, I'll pick it up, as I will for any other author that is represented in the series.
This is different than actually seeking out specific volumes. Had the Thoreau book been full price, or even more than half price, I probably would have left it behind. As for the volumes I am actively seeking out, approaching these used book stores with anxious hope, are the following volumes...
Charles Brockden Brown - "Three Gothic Novels"
Raymond Chandler - "Stories & Early Novels", and "Later Novels & Other Writings"
Dashiell Hammett - "Complete Novels", and "Crime Stories and Other Writings"
Washington Irving - "History, Tales and Sketches", and "Bracebridge Hall, Tales of a Traveller, The Alhambra"
Herman Melville - "Typee, Omoo, Mardi", and "Pierre, Israel Potter, The Confidence-Man, Tales"
Vladimir Nabokov - "Novels and Memiors 1941 - 1951", "Novels 1955 - 1962", and "Novels 1969 - 1974"
Edgar Allan Poe - "Poetry and Tales" and "Essays and Reviews"
Not that this list would interest anyone here particularly, but I post it nevertheless in the off chance that some of you who frequent used book stores may come across a first printing of one or some of these, and would let me know. I would certainly appreciate it, and would reimburse you for picking any up for me. Depending on how old the release is, I would pay half to full retail price for them. (I also want the Debate on the Constitution volumes, as well as the founding fathers volumes, but there is a leather gift set available on their website that I think I'm going to get, so I leave them off of my "to hunt" list.)
As for Marvel Masterworks... dang, those would be expensive to collect. Some of the volumes were short printed, and go for mad cash on eBay. That's too bad, because it really would be nice if they were kept in print and were readily available. I always thought the retail price on them was rather high though.
I haven't looked in to the DC Archives, so can't comment on them. I presume I would probably balk at the price on those as well though. I'm a cheap bastid.
There's the Everyman Library, and as you said, the Modern Library. These books are actually being produced still today. I do like the Modern Library editions of today, but in choosing which edition of Moby Dick to get for my personal heirloom edition, so to speak, I went with the Library of America edition as it also contains Redburn and White-Jacket... and also because I found it in perfect shape at a second hand store for $17 - oh yeah! BOO YAH! I rock! heh
I think each edition is majestic in it's own right, and it's just up to the individual as to which one to choose. Above, from left to right are The Modern Library, Library of America, and Everyman Library editions of Moby Dick. And as I'm sure at least Tuck knows, the rest of each publisher's books in their series are uniform. (These images are not in scale by the way, as the books are generally all the same size. Click on them for larger images of each.)
I have been hitting the used book stores pretty hard here lately, attempting to pick up the LOA books on the cheap. Of course, being the picky collector that I am, I'm sticking with first printings and "like new" editions. I did bend on the Melville book though, as it is a sixth printing. Since it was Moby Dick that pushed me to look for a good lifelong copy, which led to my discovery of the LOA series, there was no way that book was going back on the shelf.
I did find a Henry David Thoreau volume in first print (Collected Essays and Poems), and while I've never read him, nor was very interested in him, I picked it up because it was in excellent shape, and only $10.
This brings me to a point that I'd like to compare with, again, the Criterion Collection. Many members here and people in general like to scoff at Criterion collectors, because they somehow feel that nobody could possibly like every movie they put out, so it's just silly that some people will buy Criterions without considering whether they might like the film or not. The point is that given the track record of the company and the known dedication to the material by that company, it's a pretty safe bet that the films are either technically or artistically (or both), sound achievements. There are many films that I would have never even thought about seeking out had it not been for Criterion. Some people like to say that this just means that I'm a Criterion whore, a groupie, and just want to be part of a clicque. That's not the case; again, given their track record, I have a certain amount of trust in them that it more than likely will not be a complete waste of my time if I were to check out the films in their library. It's the same with Library of America. While I have never actively read Thoreau, one day I might like to give him a shot and see what he was all about. When I find a first printing of an LOA book of his for cheap, I'll pick it up, as I will for any other author that is represented in the series.
This is different than actually seeking out specific volumes. Had the Thoreau book been full price, or even more than half price, I probably would have left it behind. As for the volumes I am actively seeking out, approaching these used book stores with anxious hope, are the following volumes...
Charles Brockden Brown - "Three Gothic Novels"
Raymond Chandler - "Stories & Early Novels", and "Later Novels & Other Writings"
Dashiell Hammett - "Complete Novels", and "Crime Stories and Other Writings"
Washington Irving - "History, Tales and Sketches", and "Bracebridge Hall, Tales of a Traveller, The Alhambra"
Herman Melville - "Typee, Omoo, Mardi", and "Pierre, Israel Potter, The Confidence-Man, Tales"
Vladimir Nabokov - "Novels and Memiors 1941 - 1951", "Novels 1955 - 1962", and "Novels 1969 - 1974"
Edgar Allan Poe - "Poetry and Tales" and "Essays and Reviews"
Not that this list would interest anyone here particularly, but I post it nevertheless in the off chance that some of you who frequent used book stores may come across a first printing of one or some of these, and would let me know. I would certainly appreciate it, and would reimburse you for picking any up for me. Depending on how old the release is, I would pay half to full retail price for them. (I also want the Debate on the Constitution volumes, as well as the founding fathers volumes, but there is a leather gift set available on their website that I think I'm going to get, so I leave them off of my "to hunt" list.)
As for Marvel Masterworks... dang, those would be expensive to collect. Some of the volumes were short printed, and go for mad cash on eBay. That's too bad, because it really would be nice if they were kept in print and were readily available. I always thought the retail price on them was rather high though.
I haven't looked in to the DC Archives, so can't comment on them. I presume I would probably balk at the price on those as well though. I'm a cheap bastid.
Last edited by Mutley Hyde; 01-01-03 at 09:31 PM.
01-03-03, 02:33 AM
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I have a similar attitude. I like to have paperback reading copies of things, and (for some stuff I really love), I like to have deluxe editions. I have 10-15 Library of America volumes that I detailed in Mutley's thread about the LOA Founding Fathers set. I have a few original Marvel Masterworks and a few DC Archives volumes, also.
The Modern Library still publishes lots of stuff. In the last 10-15 years, I've picked up a few of their titles (Plutarch's Lives and a Thoreau volume), but they're kind of bland. They are excellent books, but they're plain dark brown w/ light brown jackets.
In the 50's and 60's, they published a whole huge series of 5x7 volumes that are prized today. I've seen several websites dedicated to collecting them. They fit just perfectly in your hand and feel just right. Their surface is very pleasant to the touch, like the LOA volumes, just smoother. Like the LOAs, they came in several colors. Green, blue, gray and brown most common. I have @ the same number of those as LOA volumes, and like those terrific books, they really look wonderful lined up on the shelf. I have Anna Karennina, The Red and the Black, Vanity Fair, Fathers and Sons, The Wings of the Dove, Leaves of Grass, and volumes for Ibsen and Shaw's plays. Very, very cool. Check them out.
The Modern Library still publishes lots of stuff. In the last 10-15 years, I've picked up a few of their titles (Plutarch's Lives and a Thoreau volume), but they're kind of bland. They are excellent books, but they're plain dark brown w/ light brown jackets.
In the 50's and 60's, they published a whole huge series of 5x7 volumes that are prized today. I've seen several websites dedicated to collecting them. They fit just perfectly in your hand and feel just right. Their surface is very pleasant to the touch, like the LOA volumes, just smoother. Like the LOAs, they came in several colors. Green, blue, gray and brown most common. I have @ the same number of those as LOA volumes, and like those terrific books, they really look wonderful lined up on the shelf. I have Anna Karennina, The Red and the Black, Vanity Fair, Fathers and Sons, The Wings of the Dove, Leaves of Grass, and volumes for Ibsen and Shaw's plays. Very, very cool. Check them out.
01-03-03, 02:48 AM
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Hmm, I know I've probably seen those Buck , but I just can't visualize them. There's a bajillion Modern Library books on eBay, so I'll browse around and check 'em out. I already found one auction I'm interested in. 
