The Serious Collector at Book Fairs and Beyond: two views
Serious collectors come in two varieties, traditional and new. At book fairs traditional collectors come out in force. They see a hundred dealers with similar standards and occasionally the same titles. They can compare copies, hear their explanations, and get a sense of flexibility about the price. Because dealers authenticate material and typically guarantee their accuracy the collector can focus on what they like. When another copy is available the collector can examine the differences, learn the dealer’s perspective and gauge the influence of condition on value. For many this is h...