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J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit 1st Edition w/ original jacket

231789744987

Seller: dogfark

(2183)

Ended Jan 19, 2016

This item ended more than 90 days ago

Yep, when i find library-style date stamps in the back of a book, I think the most likely explanation is "three small date stamps front and rear end pages, not noticeable at first glance. Looks like a child was playing with their rubber stamp as there are no other marks or indications to explain them."...

That the book is ex-libris is clearly impossible. I'm guessing Mark F. clearly hasn't heard of Occam's razor.

To be fair, Stu, if there are "no other marks or indications to explain them", then this is a pretty odd ex-library copy. My natural assumption would be that this is an ex-library copy; stamping was started at the front; they ran out of space & eventually ended up at the back ("1969"); but the front endpaper has been removed. Note there is no photograph of the half-title pg. That said, dogfark says there are no other marks or indications...

I also don't think it's accurate to describe that jacket as "unrestored very good". What's left of it might be very good; what's left of it might be very good for a 1937 1st impressions H. The jacket cannot have that amount missing from it & be described as VG though.

BH

Khamûl wrote:
To be fair, Stu, if there are "no other marks or indications to explain them", then this is a pretty odd ex-library copy. My natural assumption would be that this is an ex-library copy; stamping was started at the front; they ran out of space & eventually ended up at the back ("1969"); but the front endpaper has been removed. Note there is no photograph of the half-title pg. That said, dogfark says there are no other marks or indications...

I also don't think it's accurate to describe that jacket as "unrestored very good". What's left of it might be very good; what's left of it might be very good for a 1937 1st impressions H. The jacket cannot have that amount missing from it & be described as VG though.

BH

I agree, but then I do have two ex-lib books that only have marks at the back on a single page (none at the front at all, and no missing pages), so it does happen. My assumption is that those books had some kind of cover on at some point and bits of paper were attached to the cover, rather than the books, hence the lack of corresponding stamps and damage.

I had wondered if an end paper had been removed on this one, but not having a first to compare to, hard to tell (you can see how many pages are there in the picture, though, so someone with more knowledge than me might be able to tell??).

Also, in his "most likely explanation" spiel, he says the marks are "front and rear". Not clear if "front" is a mistake, as there is no picture, and the description does not mention marks at the front (Edit: Actually he does, I misread), so it's anyone's guess.

My problem is that his most likely explanation is nothing more than pure speculation, based on no evidence whatsoever. 99.9% of date stamps in a book indicate some kind of library system had the book at some point in its life prior to the stamped dates. I just don't like the way he always seems to spin things.

It has been described in a slightly different way in the past, which I think clarifies three stamped dates at the front of the book and three at the rear.

"1937 1st edition, 1st impression. Very good book and jacket. Book has usual age related wear, but no serious damage. There are small rubber date stamps to the front and rear end pages, 3 each. We would say it belong to a private club library as there are no other indication of library stamps or excessive wear. The dust jacket has a 3 inch paper section missing from the rear top edge of the jacket. This could be restored, but we don’t recommend it. Overall, a very presentable copy and more affordable for the flaws mentioned. You could spend £35,000 plus just on this edition.".

I can't tell from the pictures if any leaves are missing at the front of the book, the page with 'First Published 1937' is the fourth page in the book.

Trotter wrote:
It has been described in a slightly different way in the past, which I think clarifies three stamped dates at the front of the book and three at the rear.

"1937 1st edition, 1st impression. Very good book and jacket. Book has usual age related wear, but no serious damage. There are small rubber date stamps to the front and rear end pages, 3 each. We would say it belong to a private club library as there are no other indication of library stamps or excessive wear. The dust jacket has a 3 inch paper section missing from the rear top edge of the jacket. This could be restored, but we don’t recommend it. Overall, a very presentable copy and more affordable for the flaws mentioned. You could spend £35,000 plus just on this edition.".

I can't tell from the pictures if any leaves are missing at the front of the book, the page with 'First Published 1937' is the fourth page in the book.

Looks like the "first published 1937" page is the third leaf in this copy. Can't tell for sure, mind.

Still, the changing of the description from "stamps front and rear/private library" to "child playing with a rubber stamp" absolutely stinks.

Somewhere Stu posted a price list of the different impressions. As I recall there is a steep drop off from 1st to 2nd impression on this book correct?

Tapuvae wrote:
Somewhere Stu posted a price list of the different impressions. As I recall there is a steep drop off from 1st to 2nd impression on this book correct?

I don't think I actually captured any sales of the 1st impression when I was tracking such things, but from what I have observed on jacketed 2nd prices, they are much less than the asking prices of 1sts.

Of course, realistically the asking prices for Dogfark's 1sts are out of line with reality, which is why he has been trying to sell the same overpriced books for years. This goes for most of the books he advertises, which seem to be aimed at the gullible and ill-informed.

Personally, I can't see prices heading anywhere but down (signed books aside, as they seem to follow no logic and it only takes a single money-no-object person to make a sale). I don't suppose they will end up uber-cheap, but I expect them to be much more affordable (again) in five years than today. If you look at all the 1950s second edition copies on Abe for a few hundred dollars a pop - essentially no one buys them.

But prices for The Silmarillion are on the up & up, right?

BH

Possibly for the Super Deluxe, not sure about the rest