Psychologist Herbert Gerjuoy once said, "Tomorrow's illiterate will not be the man who can't read, he will be the man who has not learned how to learn."

The old cliché that nothing is certain in this world except death and taxes now needs to be amended to ----'but death and taxes and (rapid) change.' The field of books has not escaped ITS OWN rapid change as evidenced by the fact that the book selling, book collecting, book shows and even book reading in particular are in the midst of a revolution.

Used Book Stores

The days when you could don your Shetland sweater with the leather elbow patches, load up your pipe and head out for the wonderful musty environs of your local used book store for good conversation and to cop an undiscovered treasure are disappearing fast. One of the most enjoyable aspects of 'booking' was the chance to jaw with the dealer who often was a combination of docent and walking encyclopedia and who would help steer you into new adventures in print. My own experience with one of America's great bookmen, Leland Lien*** of Lien's Bookstore in Minneapolis and his dear departed wife made life more joyful and interesting for me for years every time I visited their shop.Also many dealers like the Liens had dedicated followers who liked to gather, usually somewhere in the back of the shop, to discuss books and to solve the problems of the world. In a sense, the book store replaced the 'hot stove leagues' of the rural country store.

However, today, many if not most used book stores in the heart of our larger cities and towns are now not economic because the proprietors can not afford the space, licenses', energy costs and taxes. Used book dealers therefore are selling more and more on the net from spaces with low overheads which are usually in more remote locations and therefore less accessible.

Also because of the rise of the world wide web and the cost of travel the world of books shows is fast disappearing. The cost of renting space, hauling inventory, lodging and meals make all collectible shows less and less economic for dealers. At the same time that shows are waning the web has made the inventories of dealers across the land available to collectors from their own desk and images on the net are now so clear you even have a very good idea what you are buying in terms of appearance and condition which obviates the need in most cases to handle a book prior to purchasing it. One thing about bookdealers in general is that they take great pride in describing their goods accurately as a badge of honor.You may be foregoing the personal interactions but you have a wider choice at less expense and with less time invested. Added to these trends is the growth of government supported libraries and computer centers where information and reading materials are available at a nominal cost. All of the foregoing we fear spells doom for the world of small independent used book dealers with store fronts.

TIPS ON COLLECTING

Our main expertise is in signed books but you have to know something about books in general to deal in them. These are the things to look for in either books in general or in signed books.

Condition is important. Books are graded from As new to fair at the other end of the grading scale. It would be unusual to find a book in poor condition for sale.The book should be free of internal markings including the names of former owners and former owners's book plates or embossed Ex Libris stamps. Any type of writing inside the book other than it being signed by the author is a no-no unless other factors make the book irresistible.On occasion margin notes by a famous person can in fact add value to the book.

The Edition is important. The ultimate collectible book is a First Edition, First Printing. If it is an American Book it should be First American Edition and so on . Many books state what edition and what printing it is but some of the older books have the edition indicated by a small letter or some other marking.

Books to avoid. Most collectors avoid Book- of- the Month Club books most of which have a little tell-tale square of circle at the base of the spine that indicates what they are. Also to be avoided are Easton Press or Franklin Mint Press Limited Edition books because it is alleged by sophisticated collectors and dealers that the materials in them are inferior. The signatures in most of these special edition books are applied to a sheet of paper and then incorporated into the book as it is 'gathered' or bound. So, technically, these books are not signed books and were never handled by the author.

Importance of Dust Jackets , Intact dust jackets add great value. The practice of removing the price by clipping it off the jacket diminishes the value of the book. Jackets are graded like books from As New or Pristine to fair or poor. Jackets are less rugged than books so a little less than perfect jacket is acceptable to most collectors.

Signed Bookplates inserted into a book is not a signed book. We advise collectors to avoided books with signed book plates inserted into them. You have to watch sellers who claim they are selling a signed book when in reality it is a book that has had a bookplate that is signed inserted into it

Signed and Inscribed or just signed- which is best? If the signer is a less well known person it may be advisable to seek a book both signed and inscribed for authentication purposes. Under most circumstances however advanced collectors prefer a book to be signed and not inscribed. Most signed book collectors do like it if the signature is dated. But all this is a matter of preference and the way the book is signed and inscribed or not inscribed does not effect value if the signature is bold and clean.

Obtaining Signed Books. If you are going to ask an author to sign your book by mail, prepare two padded book mailers and make sure one has proper postage and your address for a return mailing, Send the book and enclose the self-addresses, postage correct self-sealing mailer so all the author has to do is sign the book and place it in the return envelop for mailing. We suggest you remove the jacket prior to mailing. In the past a publisher would forward the book to the author but many will not do that now. It is best if you have the author's address and if it is a valuable book it is advisable to write the author and confirm that if you send a book for signing it will be returned to you.If an author receives an unsolicited book they have no legal obligation to return it to the sender.

Book dealers versus autograph dealers. Although we have an obvious conflict of interest we recommend that collectors deal primarily with established autograph dealers to obtain their signed books since the value of any signed book rests primarily on the authenticity of the autograph. Most book dealers sell the occasional signed book and they are not, by and large, expert in determining the authenticity of the autograph.They simply have not dealt with autograph material as a life's work.One specific caveat-there are many Reagan 'signed' books on the market that are obvious forgeries.So be careful where you obtain signed books and read our article on authenticating autographs.

A wonderful book and signed presentation copy about book collecting that was written by the legendary collector and dealer A.S.W. 'Rosy' Rosenbach. Rumor has it the 'Rosy' was derived from the "beet red" color of his nose thought to be caused by his imbibing .Complete write up here.

A new book by Larry McMurtry of Lonesome Dove fame titled Book: A Memoir is available in all major bookm stores. An excellent read for book lovers. Many people do not realize that McMurtry the famous author is also a book seller and has his own book store in Texas.

A NEW WRINKLE ON SIGNED BOOKS-THE LONG PEN

A Canadian science fiction writer Margaret Atwood has developed a device she had dubbed the "the Long Pen" that allows authors to sign books by remote control at a distant location without leaving home. The advantage for the author is that it obviates rigorous book tours. The device consists of a control console with a "pen" with which the author can carry out a pseudo signing AND THE LONG PEN DEVICE imparts electronic (digital) instructions to a remote pen that replicates the author's signature ( and inscription) on a book placed on a platform in a store where the book was purchased or at a book show. The signature produced by the Long Pen is therefore slightly different than an autopen signature because the actual signing requires participation by the author and video interaction between the fan and the author is possible since the device also has video streaming that allows the author to converse with the book owner as their book is being "signed". So this format almost replicates a conventional book signing: except, of course, the book buyer never meets the author in person. What is produced by the Long Pen is not a real autograph (Auto-self, graph-write) nor is an autopen signature. Rather, I would call the resulting signature and inscription a ROBOGRAPH since the author is using a 'robotic device' to create the signature. Thus, welcome to the 'new age' of the virtual robographs.

Harry Truman once said, "The only thing that is new is the history you do not know." The concept of the Long Pen was put forth by Gernsback over a hundred years ago:

"She hesitated, and then, impulsively, "I wonder if it would be too much to ask you for your autograph?"
Ralph then attached the Telautograph to his Telephot while the girl did the same. When both instruments were connected he signed his name and he saw his signature appear simultaneously on the machine in Switzerland."
From Ralph 124c 41 +, by Hugo Gernsback.

The Long Pen is not unlike the robotic 'daVinci' Device, produced by the Intuitive Surgical Company that is used by modern surgeons to perform surgery sitting at a console either in the same room as the patient or at a remote location. The devices, 'daVinci' and Long Pen, are in principle almost one in the same.

The implication of the Long Pen for the field of autographs in general and collectors of signed books in particular is obvious. Clearly, signed book collectors in the near future will have to distinguish between authentically signed books , outright forgeries and the new kid on the block-virtual robographs.

NEW- A few weeks after writing this article that we discovered that a leading book dealer/autograph dealer is now offering virtual book signings with the LON Pen! Well, there goes the neighborhood.

The next step in the evolution of this technology might be to create a robotic signer with a memory cache of signatures of infinite variation that were originally created by a major political figure or other celebrity. Such proxy signatures that might have a thousand or so different iterations may well turn out to be much more difficult to detect than autopen signatures. Time will tell.

More detailed information on The Long Pen is available on this web site:http://www.longpen.com

NOTE:A leading autograph and book dealer is now advertising a virtual book signing using the Long Pen device that is scheduled to occur sometime in the next few months. More will follow. Our guess is that you will not be able to differentiate between true signed books and a 'robograph' in the secondary market.

AMAZON.COM'S NEW READING DEVICE-THE 'KINDLE'

A new development in the book reading area has been the introduction of the Kindle by Amazon.com. In essence this is small hand-held device that can hold entire books which are downloaded in a few seconds from Amazon.com using a wireless connection. The Kindel will hold up to several hundred books. The cost for a download runs around $10.00 per book depending on the book. This device has the potential of revolutionizing the book business, book collecting and reading. It is too early to tell how well this device will be accepted because most readers are also book lovers in every sense of the concept and they like to see, touch and be in the presence of their books but it is amazing technology that makes books available at a much more reasonable cost and saves the time and expense of going to any type of book store. Information about the Kindle can be found on Amazon.com

VISIT OUR SIGNED BOOKS SECTION HERE.

***Lien's Book Store-612-362-0763

Last Revised: 10/12/2008