If I had such an edition then I would read them, but carefully, and without a ciggie on the go. I always think a book is meant to be read, so I would have to read even the most expensive editions, but I'd store them in a North facing room to keep 'em safe from the nassty yellow face.
With collecting, a thing is only really 'worth' as much as you are willing to pay for it; if you want it really badly then you will pay more. This is what makes collecting a risky investment. You might think, to take a recently topical item, action figures would increase in value over time, but you can never be sure as changing tastes in collectables and antiques dictate the market prices, as collectors of ivory and tortoiseshell have found out to their cost. The best advice I've heard is only to invest in something because you find it desirable yourself, and I like those books a
lot, but do I like them enough to splash out all that much money? My favourite copy is still the battered paperback set I first read when I was a youngster, and that's worth more to me than any other edition.