Rare books you have still in your library that nobody ever heard of before..

midlifebear

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I've got an 1876 signed edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, although I'm not a great fan of Whitman's poetry.

My favorite "collectibles" are a 1946 edition of North and South and a 1956 edition of A Cold Spring, both are early collections of poems by Elizabeth Bishop. I had the good fortune to find them collecting dust in the basement of Sam Weller's (his real name) Books in Salt Lake City. One day a friend in Boston arranged for me to meet her. She was embarrassed, but gracious, and signed them.

But my favorite book is a 1947 hard cover edition of E.B. White's The Elements of Style which he signed, "To Gracy, it's called comma flaw. Don't forget." I bought it at a yard sale in Martha's Vineyard.

I have several signed paperback copies of Howl, by Allen Ginsberg. He was a common fixture in San Francisco during the 1970s and loitered at The City Lights bookstore when ever he was in town. We weren't friends, but we knew each other (primarily because I kept him supplied with free drinks when he came to one of the bars I worked in). I conned him into signing a pile of copies which I still keep as a stash for giving as gifts to those who can appreciate it.

Two things I never do: 1. loan books to anyone for any reason, and 2. never throw a book away. I do, however, give books to everyone I know -- frequently.
 

petite

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The only signed books I have that weren't written by people I know is a copy of Make Love! by Bruce Campbell. I've never read it. I only bought it so I'd have an opportunity to talk to Bruce Campbell.

Gosh, I had completely forgotten about the porn! TheBoyfriend purchased an item at an auction, and it turns out that the previous owner, now deceased, was a total pervert and the item TheBoyfriend won was chock full of pornography and accoutrements! Bonus! We threw away about 90% of it because it was in such bad condition and smelled horrible, but we couldn't help but keep some of the weirder and more fun items, like the porn viewfinder toy and a miniature nude model set from Germany. The little people are only about a centimeter tall, but are painted in such detail that they have perfect little nipples. Anyway, we have a lot of interesting and I'm guessing rare old books of porn now in addition to the pornography I brought into the relationship. The old perv had lots of books on cosetry, Betty Page, 50s pinup girls, illustrated books, and pulp novels. I completely forgot about them until just now. I've haven't looked through most of them. Yet.
 

SilverTrain

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Sadly, or maybe not, the Google Book Scan project is going to make books a thing of the past.

I disagree.

Lots of people prefer to hold a tangible book in their hands.

And many people enjoy collecting books as artifacts, quite apart from their readability quotient.
 

thadjock

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I've got an 1876 signed edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, although I'm not a great fan of Whitman's poetry.

.


oh come on, ur such an esoteric elitist

how could you NOT be a fan of opening lines like:

"we two boys together clinging, one the other never leaving....."

anyway, b4 u chuck that book into the dustbin with extreme repugnance, mail it to me, i'll cherish it.
 
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Brensta

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I've actually got a signed copy of Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut that my dad gave me, definately one of the best presents he has ever given me!

Oh but to answer the ACTUAL thread... I havent got anything rare... im a follower
 
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thadjock

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can i post a wanted ad here?

one copy of BEAR POND by Bruce Weber, must be in mint condition and signed, without a personal inscription (unless it's to C.Z. Guest) , barter exchange preferred.
 

Brensta

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can i post a wanted ad here?

one copy of BEAR POND by Bruce Weber, must be in mint condition and signed, without a personal inscription (unless it's to C.Z. Guest) , barter exchange preferred.

Can we barter in currency other than books, or would that be a pseudo form of prostitution? If it is, do you mind?
 

Enid

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D_Lanksesbye Sleepingrawe

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We have many old, first, or signed books in our rare book cabinet. I guess the most impressive of which may be a first edition of Wharton's House of Mirth.

If you are a bibliophile and you have the mean, you should visit Hay-on-Wye at least once in your life:
Hay-on-Wye - The Official Website

It's a small town that is nothing but used bookshops.
 

B_lrgeggs

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Miss Petite,

Miss Abagails timewarped advice----What fun! But as you said there actually is real good advice there. Harkens back to a more civil period
it seems (racism and bigotry aside :biggrin1:)
 

B_hungprepjock

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just found in my possessions a 1st edition this book (i've been packing for a cross country move):

Amazon.com: The 120 Days of Sodom and Other Writings (9780802130129): Marquis De Sade, Richard Seaver, Austryn Wainhouse: Books

marquis de sade -- 120 days of sodom & other writings

1966 this book was made. pretty bauhausian purple cream and black cover. hardback.


oh oh oh just found it.

120 Days of Sodom - de Sade, Marquis

My copy's in perfect condition.


Yeah, but is it cherry? I mean, mint...

The only books worth collecting, you know, are the ones that not only have never been read, but also have never had their pages circumcised... I mean, cut.

Whereas some books, like the œuvre of Jaqueline Susann should remain forever uncut, unread and uncollected...

Now, for some reason, I want ice cream, and it's only 9:30 in the morning.
 

petite

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Miss Petite,

Miss Abagails timewarped advice----What fun! But as you said there actually is real good advice there. Harkens back to a more civil period
it seems (racism and bigotry aside :biggrin1:)

I can't find "Personality Development" right now because a lot of my books are boxed up and they're disorganized, but here's a few pages from the 1955 edition of Perfect Engish with 48 lessons, which is much more entertaining than the original 15 lesson version. I love the little glimpses into 1955 culture that they provide, which is the most interesting thing to me about old etiquette books. The only reason to tell someone not to do something is if it's something everyone does!

http://www.lpsg.org/members/petite/albums/practical+english/50733-unit-2.html

http://www.lpsg.org/members/petite/albums/practical+english/50734-unit-11.html
 
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petite

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Good gracious, I just found the perfect LPSG rare and unknown book in my library! It's called How to Be Good, Or, The Somewhat Tricky Business of Attaining Moral Virtue in a Society That's Not Just Corrupt But Corrupting, Without Being Completely Out-of-It (1976), published by Playboy. In the chapter on sexual morality, it has chapters called, "History and Theory of the Mercy Fuck," "What's Wrong with Adultery," and "Three Ideas for Simplifying Sex: The Lewd Friendship, the Jolly Orgy, and Love."

While looking for some of the accidentally acquired porn, I found some of the other items that came with the books. I found some of the dirty trading cards (we have 100s), a series of very dirty illustrations, and a very old Betty Page postcard.

In addition to scores of recently published textbooks, I just saw two genetics textbooks published in 1950 on my shelves: Genetics and the Races of Man by William C. Boyd and Principles of Genetics by Sinnott, Dunn, and Dobzhansky. Frankly, I'm blown away by how much was already known about genetics then, much more than I would assume given the lack of technology available. Even though the helical nature of DNA was completely unknown, the specific loci of a lot of genes were already known and the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium had been discovered. I just learned that the concept of linkage evidently dates back to 1910!

For the true science fiction geek, I also have a lot of rare and hard to find Harlan Ellison books. I made the mistake of loaning two of them out to friends and they've never been returned. Actually, only one friend has ever returned a rare book I've lent, so I refuse to do so anymore. Now if there's a book I love so much I think others will love it, I buy extra copies at used bookstores when I see that they're a dollar and I just give them away.

In the upstairs library I found my first edition of Arthur C. Clark's absolutely incredible The Exploration of Space (1951). What a brilliant mind!

I also have Larousse Gastronomique in my kitchen, which is neither rare, nor unknown, and I bring it up just because I wanted to include an example of why it's a great book to browse while you're waiting for dinner to finish up.
 
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