Rare books hold appeal for collectors [Signed US LR]

Last year a rare edition of John James Audubon's "Birds of America," which was first published in the 1820s, sold for $11.5 million. Some of the works of William Shakespeare are estimated to sell for $250,000. The asking price of an autographed L. Frank Baum copy of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is $110,000 and only recently, in Half Price Books' Cleveland store, a "Lord of the Rings" rare boxed trilogy set signed by J.R.R. Tolkien was valued to sell at around $30,000......

The Tolkien book included an inscription as well. "These are considered true treasures because very few books exist signed by J.R.R. Tolkien," Half Price Books expert Steve Leach said. "A website that specializes in Tolkien sold another boxed set for $9,000 with only the first volume signed. The description noted that Tolkien very rarely wrote anything other than his name. Other signed copies of individual books start at $7,500."