Hello all,

I've just discovered this site and I'd like to ask your opinions please.

I have a copy of Chainmail which I'd like to sell. It's a 2nd edn, 2nd print, and I think it probably qulaifies as "fair" condition. The main text is fine and undamaged, the booklet itself is in reasonable condition but the staples have rusted resulting in marking around them, particularly on the front cover.

There are some scans here so you can see what I mean.

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad70/aph1756/P1010001.jpg - front cover

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad70/aph1756/P1010002.jpg - back cover

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad70/aph1756/P1010003.jpg - center pages

What would you consider a reasonable price for this copy?

Many thanks.

Adrian Hussey

Don't these normally sell in the $300+ range even if they are worn or damaged or staples removed?

I can recall trying to buy one of these and placing bids of $250 - $300 on 4 or 5 auctions and not winning any of them.

The staple rust isn't a deal breaker, since the book would be structurally sound and fresh looking otherwise with just that. It's the spotting and fading to the spine that's more problematic since inevitably people will be unsure as to the nature of that and/or the effect on "cover appeal".
Rather makes the valuation a guessing game since some might still be at $200+ in order to acquire a copy whilst others go along with that more conservative $100-150 mark; which would probably also mean that they, themselves, are not particularly interested on a personal basis. Without that spotting/fading, $250 shouldn't have been a problem, IMHO.
Sorry couldn't have been more positive on that and thanks for taking the time to provide decent pics... not all that easy given the non-photogenic yellow!

> I can recall trying to buy one of these and placing bids of $250 - $300 on 4 or 5 auctions and not winning any of them.

Been there; done that, Mark; chasing up the prices and still not catching (as was the case on WoM, too ). And the bidding topped out closer to the $500-700 range when the fighting over printings within the 2nd edition was at its worst - not even for particularly brilliant copies, in some cases.

The markings on the spine look much more like mildew or mold to me than they do rust.  Is there any water damage to the cover or pages??

If it is foxing than I'm fairly sure a good conservator can restore this and for an affordable sum.  It is certainly worth looking into.  Agree with replaceing the staples.  But I would do that after I get an opinion from the conservator.

Martin

Hi all,

Firstly, many thanks to all of you for your prompt and very helpful replies!

Grodog/Invincible Overlord - I think you might be correct that the cover staining could be mold/mildew spotting either instead of or in addition to the rust problem. It certainly looks like the sort of spotting you get on old books, but I'm not familiar enough with the processes involved to know what the cause is.

I don't know how well you can see it in the photos, but the spotting is also visible on the center pages. It's certainly concentrated around the spine and along the staples - there doesn't seem to be any on the outer parts of the leaves. There are a few spots on other pages, but not in the level seen on the centre pages.

I will try and get some higher quality photos if anybody wants to see the problem in more detail. Certainly I'll try and do that anyway when I put the book up for sale - given the prices you guys are mentioning I would like any potential purchaser to be really clear and happy before shelling out for the book.

Again, many thanks gents.

Regards

Adrian Hussey
cheers

Adrian

In addition to getting some more definiteness on the mold, it's worth checking for signs of water damage to the book two:  if you have water damage, then mold is certainly much more likely to have caused the spots.  

If you have a local university with a rare books room/librarian, you can certainly ping them for a professional opinion too.

Hopefully the book will prove to have simple foxing!

Hi all,



Sorry to resurrect such an old thread, but I've finally got round to listing this copy of Chainmail on ebay. Should you be interested, it's at:




** expired/removed eBay auction **




cheers



Adrian



P.S. I did show it to an antiquarian book dealer and in his opinion the marks/spotting were just ordinary foxing - not mold.