Saw this and wished I were rich...... - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

ElementFire · 03-29-2005, 11:20 AM

My copy is...torn and ripped, and faded and old, and not very nice to look at, but you can still read it!!!

Mithalwen · 03-30-2005, 09:16 AM

But I would read them - just maybe not in the bath.... and I would put them down carefully not just shove it under the pillow... and as for the money - yes it is a lot but sometimes it depends on your priorities. I mean some people spend a lot of money on cars I mean this is out of my league, if you bought a new beamer it would have lost the price of the first edition as you drove it out of the showroom...... And apparently the average price of a wedding in the UK is now £17K ..... makes a first edition LOTR seem a bargain .... and you know it will last a lifetime.... but if I had £2K+ to spare now I would go back to NZ......

Lalwendë · 03-30-2005, 09:55 AM

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.

Mithalwen · 03-30-2005, 10:18 AM

Well my first set of paperbacks survived long enough to be ' lent' ( it tends to be a fairly permanent arrangement where she is concerned

) , to my god daughter after she saw the first film but they were already reinforced with aging sellotape and ROTK self destructed as she read it leaving her to kidnap her brother's one volume edition.

I then bought the film edition paperbacks and once again ROTK is the first casualty having lost the back cover. I think I do need hard backs....

Lalwendë · 03-30-2005, 10:35 AM

No matter how battered they get, don't ever throw them away, as you may regret it one day! I daren't hazard a guess as to how many copies of each of the books there are in the house now, but each has its own non-monetary value. I obtained a nice box set of 1970's editions for davem recently, and though neither rare nor perfect, they were what he wanted and as such, valuable in their own right.

But for cheap editions, e-bay is your place to go. Or obscure book fairs, where a first edition of The Sil was snapped up for just £2.50 the other day.

Mithalwen · 03-30-2005, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

No matter how battered they get, don't ever throw them away, as you may regret it one day! I daren't hazard a guess as to how many copies of each of the books there are in the house now, but each has its own non-monetary value. I obtained a nice box set of 1970's editions for davem recently, and though neither rare nor perfect, they were what he wanted and as such, valuable in their own right.

But for cheap editions, e-bay is your place to go. Or obscure book fairs, where a first edition of The Sil was snapped up for just £2.50 the other day.

Well the originals, I would have kept regardless ( were they not still with GD ..) since they are the originals and bring back memories .... (the edition with the elvish letters in a circle and the red eye.... bought about 1980? ) ... an dI was looking on Ebay when I found the above.......

Orominuialwen · 03-30-2005, 05:27 PM

Quote:

a first edition of The Sil was snapped up for just £2.50 the other day.

I recently got a US first edition of Silm at a used book store for about $9 US. It's great!

Between the two of us, my brother and I have 4 copies of LotR, 2 of the Hobbit, and 2 of Silm. Everything else we only have one of, or just don't own.

03-29-2005, 11:20 AM	#1
ElementFire Animated Skeleton Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: The Gama Quadrant Posts: 33	My copy is...torn and ripped, and faded and old, and not very nice to look at, but you can still read it!!! __________________ He who stands on toilet is high on pot. XP I don't do kung fu, I do kung lamb!!!

03-30-2005, 09:16 AM	#2
Mithalwen Pilgrim Soul Join Date: May 2004 Location: watching the wonga-wonga birds circle... Posts: 9,461	But I would read them - just maybe not in the bath.... and I would put them down carefully not just shove it under the pillow... and as for the money - yes it is a lot but sometimes it depends on your priorities. I mean some people spend a lot of money on cars I mean this is out of my league, if you bought a new beamer it would have lost the price of the first edition as you drove it out of the showroom...... And apparently the average price of a wedding in the UK is now £17K ..... makes a first edition LOTR seem a bargain .... and you know it will last a lifetime.... but if I had £2K+ to spare now I would go back to NZ...... __________________ “But Finrod walks with Finarfin his father beneath the trees in Eldamar.” Christopher Tolkien, Requiescat in pace Last edited by Mithalwen; 03-30-2005 at 09:22 AM.

03-30-2005, 09:55 AM	#3
Lalwendë A Mere Boggart Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: under the bed Posts: 4,737	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. __________________ Gordon's alive!

03-30-2005, 10:18 AM	#4
Mithalwen Pilgrim Soul Join Date: May 2004 Location: watching the wonga-wonga birds circle... Posts: 9,461	Well my first set of paperbacks survived long enough to be ' lent' ( it tends to be a fairly permanent arrangement where she is concerned ) , to my god daughter after she saw the first film but they were already reinforced with aging sellotape and ROTK self destructed as she read it leaving her to kidnap her brother's one volume edition. I then bought the film edition paperbacks and once again ROTK is the first casualty having lost the back cover. I think I do need hard backs.... __________________ “But Finrod walks with Finarfin his father beneath the trees in Eldamar.” Christopher Tolkien, Requiescat in pace

03-30-2005, 10:35 AM	#5
Lalwendë A Mere Boggart Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: under the bed Posts: 4,737	No matter how battered they get, don't ever throw them away, as you may regret it one day! I daren't hazard a guess as to how many copies of each of the books there are in the house now, but each has its own non-monetary value. I obtained a nice box set of 1970's editions for davem recently, and though neither rare nor perfect, they were what he wanted and as such, valuable in their own right. But for cheap editions, e-bay is your place to go. Or obscure book fairs, where a first edition of The Sil was snapped up for just £2.50 the other day. __________________ Gordon's alive!

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