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Berelach wrote:
That's such a beautiful shelf Stu! Compared to yours my shelf looks like a mess! I generally don't have the resources to be too picky about condition and also I guess I collect more from a bibliographic viewpoint; just trying to get them in my hands so I can study them. I threw in a few duplicates to fill it out (my US Hobbits have DJs but I prefer them on the shelf without).
Your shelf is looking pretty good, to be honest! The bibliographic viewpoint is the main interest for me, but I've studied A&U Hobbits and jackets pretty thoroughly (even before physically owning them) as part of my 1st 15 Hobbits Facsimile Dustjacket Project. I don't really need them to learn anything specifically from them, I'm just after nice shelf adornments and having the "fun of the chase"! I'm also pretty narrow in my collecting, and a dozen books or so a year is just fine for me these days. Hobbits so far have run me an average £250/yr over 4 years, so keeping me firmly in the camp of "not a proper collector", as I'm sure Mark F. would say
Stu wrote:
Your shelf is looking pretty good, to be honest! The bibliographic viewpoint is the main interest for me, but I've studied A&U Hobbits and jackets pretty thoroughly (even before physically owning them) as part of my 1st 15 Hobbits Facsimile Dustjacket Project. I don't really need them to learn anything specifically from them, I'm just after nice shelf adornments and having the "fun of the chase"! I'm also pretty narrow in my collecting, and a dozen books or so a year is just fine for me these days. Hobbits so far have run me an average £250/yr over 4 years, so keeping me firmly in the camp of "not a proper collector", as I'm sure Mark F. would say
Ha, he'd probably also say that your buying prices are falsified and that 2nd edition Hobbits aren't sold anywhere for under a grand
Non-collectors don't typically have shelves like that.While we're on the subject, I've definitely noticed an unmistakable rise in prices, specifically over the last 3-4 years; something to do with the Hobbit film debacle maybe. Most of the 2nd editions that I decided to keep were bought around 2014-15 and aside from a 7th impression, they all cost me about £40 each, give or take £15 or so. Granted a couple don't have jackets but most are in very nice shape. Compare that to now when you rarely find any of these for under £75, even in poor condition. Point being, this has seriously interfered with my progress in matching Trotter!
Berelach wrote:
I definitely think 1950s copies have gone up in price a bit. 1960s impressions seem to sell for around the same price(ish) as they did 3 or 4 years ago (for jacketed copies), except for the odd daft expensive jacket-less sale. My 12th, 13th and 15th were all within the last year and in the £40 region, give or take (13th was bit under, and I think 15th was a bit over). There is some odd psychology that people seem to think the late 1950s was a long way before the early 1960s. Doesn't make much sense to me. So far as I can tell, no one is buying the really overpriced copies (they sit on Abe forever), but the sensibly priced ones sell very quickly.
While we're on the subject, I've definitely noticed an unmistakable rise in prices, specifically over the last 3-4 years; something to do with the Hobbit film debacle maybe. Most of the 2nd editions that I decided to keep were bought around 2014-15 and aside from a 7th impression, they all cost me about £40 each, give or take £15 or so. Granted a couple don't have jackets but most are in very nice shape. Compare that to now when you rarely find any of these for under £75, even in poor condition. Point being, this has seriously interfered with my progress in matching Trotter!
I definitely think 1950s copies have gone up in price a bit. 1960s impressions seem to sell for around the same price(ish) as they did 3 or 4 years ago (for jacketed copies), except for the odd daft expensive jacket-less sale. My 12th, 13th and 15th were all within the last year and in the £40 region, give or take (13th was bit under, and I think 15th was a bit over). There is some odd psychology that people seem to think the late 1950s was a long way before the early 1960s. Doesn't make much sense to me. So far as I can tell, no one is buying the really overpriced copies (they sit on Abe forever), but the sensibly priced ones sell very quickly.
Stu wrote:
I must admit, the "collect every impression" thing is a bit absurd. I'm only doing it for these Hobbits (and the Longmans ones). Everything else, I'm more than happy with first and first thus. I only have one first edition set of LoTR, for example (well, two including RU), and no plans to ever expand on that!
Oh... now ya tell me!
I half agree with you. But it's very subjective isn't it? Collecting as a hobby can look absurd from an outside perspective, but if it's enjoyable...? Anyway you've heard that argument before. Personally I like collecting the Hobbits because of how those beautiful jackets look lined up against each other. I nominate that spine for best out of all Tolkien. The only others I've gone after like that are the first editions and these Ballantine paperbacks (the photo is of the first 12 printings of Fellowship and the first 10 of TTT & RotK). I bought the Ballantines because I was doing a little research project about the corrections made through these (there are a considerable amount).I have no defense for the first editions
Berelach wrote:
Stu wrote:
I must admit, the "collect every impression" thing is a bit absurd. I'm only doing it for these Hobbits (and the Longmans ones). Everything else, I'm more than happy with first and first thus. I only have one first edition set of LoTR, for example (well, two including RU), and no plans to ever expand on that!
Oh... now ya tell me!
I have no defense for the first editions
That's a wonderfully absurd collection
At the end of the day, we all do this for fun, not because it is rational. Now I think about it, having a set of priced and unpriced HoME, makes no sense -- but it seemed to make sense at the time. In my defence, I think I only have three of the four variants of the first impression of Shaping of Middle-earth, though...12
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