Thanks Bill for the information.

I wasn't planning on selling it at present anyway. Maybe it will go back up by the time I am.

Again, Thanks!

Tom Okey

You are welcome.

In general, something is worth what someone else will pay for it.

My parents, writers all their lives, have quite a collection of significant autographed first editions. They told me specifically that when they die, I should call Southebys in NYC as they do rare book auctions and can evaluate the stuff reasonably.

^^^ For starters, it's Sotheby's. Don't get your hopes up about Sotheby's providing any kind of detailed evaluation of the collection, unless it's extremely special.

I'm sure Clay knows this, but I am almost positive that Cyberqat does not.

Auctions are a crap shoot. Unless you have an appraiser whose knowledge of a book genre is so specialized as to include the likely players as well as their current financial resources, the estimates are not going to be accurate.

All you need is two bidders who really want a book to cause its price to go through the roof. All you need is an unopposed bidder to get the price to come in below estimate. This is true of any auction for any kind of item. Books are really not unique at all.

To further underscore how crazy auctions can be -- a while back, a set of cups came up for auction at the Potter and Potter site. This was a set that had belonged to "Pop" Krieger. The estimate on these cups was $500-$700. I thought that might be a bit low, even though the cups were really in sorry condition. I figured maybe $1000.

The other bidders dropped out around the $1000 mark. I held on until the price got to $4000. I'm not sure who the winning bidder was, but I think he shares a name with a famous Charles Dickens character.

There is also the question of expertise in verifying the authenticity of sale items. Here's an example -- one of the most saleable books in magic is Magic by Robert Harbin. If you have an authentic copy, you can easily expect to get somewhere around $1200 for it at auction. But how many people do you know who can really authenticate the book? I know enough about the book to spot most fakes, but there are some really good ones.

The late Al Mann had some copies printed in Mexico that were of variable quality, and are fairly easily spotted as fakes. Usually, a look at the cover will tell you all you need to know. However, I saw one a while back that would have fooled a lot of "experts." The paper felt right. The stamping on the cover and spine was clean and clear. Even the special stickers that Harbin had added to the originals by hand were in the right place. I would have paid full bore for it if I hadn't seen it next to an original.

The thief missed one point. The fake was printed on letter sized paper. The original was printed on A4. So, unless the auctioneer had been sharp enough to measure the book, he would have missed that point, as well.

BTW, if you see one that has Kalanag's signature in it, that's a pretty good sign that the signature is a fake.

Clay is also right about the point of providing a detailed evaluation of a collection. Take a look at a Sotheby's catalog sometime.

Sotheby's may refer you to another, less-famous auction house. I sent them photos of antique furniture I bought from them decades ago. One was a chair signed by a famous cabinetmaker. They tsk-tsk'ed in their emails that every item must be worth $5,000 or they won't handle it. Of course, they weren't $5,000 pieces when I bought them at Sotheby's! Buy 'em there; sell 'em somewhere else.

Sotheby's may be more accomodating on rare books.

Years ago, I had a brief foray behind enemy lines buying rare books on eBay. Bottom line: don't do it. At the time, sellers with the nicest modern lit firsts sold me uh, deceptive, yeah that's the word, deceptive copies.

Moreover, it seems these rare books track the economy*, but their fine/fine status was incorrect.

*I called several dealers before I knew I had bought a pig in a poke. You could them yawning over the phone. "Yes, that _is_ the rare edition, but there are so many around." Direct quote.

P.S. If your autographed firsts include Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon in original dustjacket, ignore what I said. Sotheby's may fly you in to discuss its sale.

[quote]On 2010-05-01 12:09, Rennie wrote:


I have this book. To me, it is ordinary except for those explanatory card-throwing photos.

People on Amazon explain how terrific the text is! "Teaches you an incredible skill that can be used to impress your friends." What? To me, there seems to be no trick at all to throwing a card. 1) Pretend it's a Frisbee. 2)Throw.

Perhaps the over-the-top reviews keep the prices high.

Ebay is not a bad place to buy books, if you know what you are doing.

There are some sellers who don't know what they have or what they are doing. However, there are a number of them who are honest and straightforward.

Magic is a specialized field. If you don't know the material, you really should be very careful. The main thing is not to buy books or anything else as an investment. If you do, you will be disappointed, because eventually, everything reaches a peak and slides back.

If you want to understand this better, read Memoirs of Extraordinary Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles McKay. You can download it as a PDF. It will explain to you why "Beanie Babies" and Pogs are basically worthless now.

If anyone is currently interested in purchasing Harry Lorayne's 'The Himber Wallet Book', I have one available in New condition that I am interested in selling, preferably to a Café member rather than thru eBay. Please PM me if interested.

Marlos Revolutiinary Card Technique. Limited Collectors edition. # 38 of 100. Signed by editor Elliot Cutler. Mint.

I own Soirees Fantastiques, anyone have any idea what its current value is?

I have a copy of Frank Garcia's The Very Best Of Cups And Balls. I was wondering Value and if it a rare find?

Hi Jeremy,
One of these in fine condition just sold for $225.

Check with Richard Hatch on that. Those don't come up very often. A lot of the material was not feasible. For example, the first one of the levitation stools that Fechner had made froze up wit the "rider" in the up position. (According to someone I know who saw an early performance).

How about Luke Jermay's "Building Blocks" (not the extended dance remix)?

Improvisations by William P. Meisel autographed to Norm Houghton
Near mint

About twenty bucks or so, at least until the new one goes out of print. Magicians generally value additional information more than they fetishize first editions.

Versatile Card Magic Revisited, Variations Revisited, The Complete Jarrett, the expanded Walter Jeans Illusioneer and Charvet's Alexander 2nd ed are all more desired than the originals.

I recently found a 1947 hardcover of "Professional Magic for Amateurs" in relatively good condition (the corners are a bit worn) in a collection of books given to me by an old friend. Just wondering if it's a terribly hard find and how much it's worth. I did see that the Vancouver Magic Circle has a few in their library reserve but they didn't have a price listed.

Thanks in advance!

Does anyone know what 'The Man Who Was Erdnase' (Whaley, Gardner & Busby) goes for nowadays?

A regular edition of "The Man Who Was Erdnase" goes for between $70.00 - $100.00 from a knowledgeable seller.
On ebay you may see folks trying to get upwards of $130.00 for a regular edition......but this price is too high, and few of them sell.

I have a couple, and I paid $80.00 for one in excellent condition, the other (still in shrinkwrap) I paid $95.00 for.

The deluxe edition(s) are all over the map price-wise.....worth whatever somebody can be enticed to pay.