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Really really old books - what to do with them?

45 replies

Pruners · 11/06/2007 09:25

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PinkMartini · 11/06/2007 10:10

I'm not an expert so really posting to bump for someone else more knowledgable but I do know you can also get a (free) valuation from any major auction house as well.

Marina · 11/06/2007 10:15

17th and 18th century material is worth taking straight to a major auction house pruners. Regardless of content the books as artefacts are likely to be valuable enough to not be covered under your current house insurance.
Are you Pruni Resurgens? Because if you are I would recommend cosying up to someone from the Rare Books Reading Room at St Andrews, Edinburgh or the National Library of Scotland. Their conservation depts will be able to give storage tips too.

Pruners · 11/06/2007 10:17

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Marina · 11/06/2007 10:22

Eeek, yes, I am a Rare Books dunce but I'd get them out of the attic now.
Would definitely use academic contacts or the National Library before waving them around in front of an auctioneer.
There is also a conservation team at Riley Dunn and Wilson over in Falkirk (also resurgens after a management buyout recently!) who can make bespoke cases for really valuable items - acid-free paper and all that malarkey.
Am sitting here drooling at the Dulac volume, I'd keep that one if humanly possible
Good to see you back old thing

Pruners · 11/06/2007 10:24

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Pruners · 11/06/2007 11:57

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Marina · 11/06/2007 12:43

When you said C17 I did wonder! There's bound to be a really reputable specialist in rare books in Edinburgh I'd have thought.
So it's all back to pruners' for the party of the century

frogs · 11/06/2007 12:47

Quick semi-hijack: I have a pile of elderly (early 20th C) books to get rid of -- what would be the best way of checking whether they are worth anything, and if so what is the best way to sell them?

Marina · 11/06/2007 12:48

For C20 material I'd do some spot-checking on abebooks frogs

Slim · 11/06/2007 12:54

Pruners: re storage, the worst conditions are warm and damp (which encourages mould). Cold and damp not good either. Temp coolish and humidity low. Get them out of the tissue paper - wrap them in acid-free paper or stick them in an acid free box if you need to protect them. Also, if leather bindings, reading and handling them is a good idea.

frogs · 11/06/2007 12:54

Ah, abebooks, okay. Presumably better than Amazon, which drives me crazy because its search facility is so useless.

So if worth anything would you recommend selling through abebooks as well, or taking to a dealer? I've always assumed the dealers will do their utmost to rip you off, no?

Slim · 11/06/2007 12:54

frogs: if you end up with books you don't want to sell (or which aren't worth a lot) you could consider donating them to a local library.

NineUnlikelyTales · 11/06/2007 12:55

Wow, congratulations!

Just a quick thought. I used to be a curator and my advice to you would be not to get the books down from the attic into a warm, centrally heated envionment. This is likely to cause more stress to the materials. If I were you I would try to gradually aclimatise themselves to whatever new environment you want to put them in. So if the attic is damp and cold, put them in a cool upstairs room or even the garage for a short while, then in a more normal place.

Get the out of that blue tissue paper asap as it could stain and ruin the books if it gets damp Wrap them in acid free tissue, which you can buy in the post office really cheaply. Don't put them in a plastic bag or cardboard box as they contain chemicals that will leach out into the books. Don't stack them on top of one another. Store them with their spines vertical on a shelf with some sort of book ends to stop them falling. Keep them well off the floor (floods, spillages, etc). Keep them away from any heat source such as radiators. Keep the room they are stored in cool and dry.

Don't try and do any repair work of your own and I wouldn't even try to turn the pages if I were you, except to identify them. It would be best if you didn't handle them with bare hands at all or let anyone else do it, because there are acids and oils on your hands that can leave marks. The best thing to wear is white cotton gloves. If you can't do that, wash and dry your hands thoroughly before handling and if they get at all dusty through touching the books.

And don't let your DC anywhere near them! Thanks for that opportunity to pretend I still have a brain and skills other than washing and nappy changing

Slim · 11/06/2007 12:56

Oh, an attics bad because a) they get hot b) increased fire risk and c) potentially full of pests.

NineUnlikelyTales · 11/06/2007 12:57

Forget the garage, I still have my baby brain on apparently

NineUnlikelyTales · 11/06/2007 12:57

Slim are you in the trade as well then?!

FrannyandZooey · 11/06/2007 12:58

Nothing to add but

frogs · 11/06/2007 12:58

Slim -- sure, but would quite like to raise some cash atm. Do abebooks act for private sellers as well, like amazon? And are their fees reasonable?

(Sorry for hijack, Pruni)

Slim · 11/06/2007 13:00

NUT: good point about the acclimatisation, had forgotten that .

I'm in the 'don't wear gloves but clean your hands' school - yes, oils from your hands can damage books over time, but gloves also make you clumsy and you can catch ragged paper ends and tear them. Also, books are designed to be read rather than as museum objects...

You'll also find that 17th century stuff is pretty robust - it's the 20th century books you have to be careful with as the paper and bindings are shoddy.

(photographs are a different matter - gloves all the way)

Slim · 11/06/2007 13:01

NUT: I'm an archivist, but we also have a library of rare books .

Slim · 11/06/2007 13:02

we as in the institution I work for, not me myself (unfortunately)

Slim · 11/06/2007 13:02

oh and no idea about abebooks, sorry!

NineUnlikelyTales · 11/06/2007 13:04

Ah, vive la difference! I was thinking of Pruners wanting to keep them in mint condition for selling. I agree with you regarding the reading of books actually (so shoot me, Museums Association)

Marina · 11/06/2007 13:08

I bet the paper in the Don Quixote volume could be used to roof sheds it's so tough
Frogs, I think it is very unlikely your local library will accept donated books nearly 100 years old unless they are on a specific subject (eg local history) and fill a gap in existing collections.
I have just tried to track down the reliable, courteous antiquarian bookdealer we used to pass on surplus older stock to, and he doesn't seem to be in business any more

NineUnlikelyTales · 11/06/2007 13:09

Sorry Pruners, blatant hijack but I have just seen your profile Slim and love your taste in books/films. My Man Godfrey is one of my favourites too and DH and I are big fans of William Powell and Carole Lombard. Also Richmal Crompton. Must be something to do with the museums/archives line of work

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