The AE Book Collector Survey Conducted at the Recent ABAA Show in San Francisco
- by Bruce E. McKinney
The 36th ABAA International Book Fair
As to from whom/where they buy it is not surprising that most respondents said they buy from dealers. At this dealer show, no other option was available. Here is how they answered:
From dealers
91%
At auction
33%
Opportunistically
29%
(such as garage sales)
On Line
47%
Online Sources
% of all respondents
% of those who buy online
ABE
31%
67%
eBay
27%
57%
Bibliofind*
16%
33%
ABAA
11%
24%
ILAB
4%
10%
WBD
4%
10%
Bookfinder
11%
24%
We were surprised that eBay showed so strongly. This may be a California bias, may reflect eBay’s promotion at the show, or may simply be a stealth trend. After all, eBay advertises that it has 65 million signed-up users. That doesn’t leave a lot of people to not be signed-up. We failed to include Alibris among the alternatives, our error. Several people we spoke with mentioned them and certainly many more would have had that option been available. Our apologies to Alibris. They are on the map and we suspect are becoming a factor among online sources in the rare books field.
As to the question “Are book fairs more important, less important or about the same?” the results were very random. Forty-two percent didn’t answer the question at all. Thirty-three percent said fairs are more important, 16% said less important and 9% said their importance remains unchanged.
As to the categories respondents collect:
Sotheby’s: The Shem Tov Bible, 1312 | A Masterpiece from the Golden Age of Spain. Sold: 6,960,000 USD
Sotheby’s: Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD
Sotheby’s: William Blake | Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Sold: 4,320,000 USD
Sotheby’s: The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD
Sotheby's Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
Sotheby’s: Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Sold: 1,920,000 USD
Sotheby’s: Machiavelli | Il Principe, a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP
Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR
Leland Little, Jan. 22: The First Issue of Robert Frost's A Boy's Will, In Extremely Scarce Binding.
Leland Little, Jan. 22: Knight's An Account of the Remains of the Worship of Priapus.
Leland Little, Jan. 22: First Edition of Locke's Important Treatise Some Thoughts Concerning Education.
Leland Little, Jan. 22: The Richly Illustrated First French Edition of Voyages de Corneille Le Brun par la Moscovie, en Perse, et aux Indes Orientales.
Leland Little, Jan. 22: Scarce First Issue of An Account of the Province of Carolina in America, Finely Bound and With Celebrated John Speed Map.
Leland Little, Jan. 22: Humphrey's An Historical Account, Complete with Scarce Folding Maps.
Leland Little, Jan. 22: First Edition of Chamberlain's Scarce Civil War Memoir The Passing of the Armies.
Leland Little, Jan. 22: A Rare Photograph of David Bruce Brown and #48 Fiat.
Leland Little, Jan. 22: George Cruikshank (England, 1792-1878), Archive of Sketches, Notes, and Letters.
Leland Little, Jan. 22: Extremely Scarce Copy of Die Samländische Ode (The Samland Ode), Signed by Max Pechstein.
Leland Little, Jan. 22: Andy Warhol's The Thirteen Most Wanted Men Exhibition Catalogue.
Leland Little, Jan. 22: Edward Ruscha (American, b. 1937), Every Building on the Sunset Strip.
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Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
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RareBookBuyer.com Specialized in Purchasing
Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
RareBookBuyer.com We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide
RareBookBuyer.com Specialized in Purchasing
Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
RareBookBuyer.com We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide