Collecting one author entirely

I have attempted to collect the first editions of Evelyn Waugh - as I love his novel Scoop. Some of his books are quite obscure, but I think that the only one I am missing is Brideshead Revisited - quite ironic if you consider that this has become the most expensive one since the movie etc.
Thanks for starting this thread. Good idea.

My son is looking for a hardback first edition of the first book in Robert Jordan's wheel of Time series. Anybody out there got one for sale?

Good luck with that one bettyjo. I believe you are looking for Eye of the World which is availble on the web with fine copies in like DJ bringing about $500.
If condition is not a top issue there may be some for $100 - $300. I once had the notion of collecting all of the Aubrey/Maturin O'brian series until Master & Commander totally blew the price of the early titles into orbit.

I'm trying to collect Borden Deal but many that I find do not have their DJs and/or are ex-library (which are not always in the best shape).

Hi VictoriaPL, Do you have this one? (A Long Way to Go)
http://www.alibris.com/search/detail.cfm?BID=8819638922&pwork=4024339&si...

Don't know if this system forwards URLs in HTML but try it. It looks like most of his works are available on Bookfinder.com as 1sts with DJs not library.

scotchbooks.... thanks! That particular one is out of my price range. But I'll keep an eye out. Thanks for the tip!

I'm new to this group (and Librarything). I just regret I didn't know it sooner. I'm trying to collect all books in first HB ed. by Andrew Taylor. His recent ones are no problem, the older ones (especially his children books) are much harder to find. Anyone an idea.
Thanks

I'm collecting the different editions of collected poems of a rather obscure Flemish poet, Prosper van Langendonck. He didn't publish a lot, and I've already got three out of four editions, including the first. I'm starting to think of collecting more copies of the first edition (published in 1900), just for kicks!

Recently I've also started collecting Hector Berlioz books. First editions are very expensive though, so I'll probably stick to later editions. I'm also collecting Berlioz biographies.

My tastes are unabashedly low-brow, running to mysteries, fantasy and other species of (gasp-shudder) genre-fiction; and there isn't enough $$ or shelf space in the universe for hc/dj/1/1s of all the authors in those categories!

However, when I discover an author or I particularly enjoy (off-beat and/or regional, well-plotted, decent grammar, strong characterization, distinct voice, etc.) I'll trek to the library or used paperback emporium to "audition" his or her previous titles before making the 'momentous decision' (tee hee) to add him/her to the 'permanent collection.' Once that author makes it into the 'pc,' yee-hah, the hunt is on for hc/dj/1/1s.

Often, I'm just looking to complete one "series," rather than an entire body of work. For example, my current hunting obsession is the "Sheriff Dan Rhodes" series by Texas author Bill Crider. I'm all caught up with the China Bayles series and Cottage Tales of Beatrice Potter series by Texas author Susan Wittig Albert, the Appalachian Ballad series by Sharon McCrumb, the Bast series by Rosemary Edghill and a few other offbeat faves.

With me, "the hunt is the thing." Yes, I do shell out big bucks on ABE now and then, but there's absolutely nothing like the thrill of an amazing garage sale or junk shop find that puts me a little closer to completing a favorite series.

Dang, now I'm going to have to go back to my LT catalogue and add two new tags: complete series collection and working series collection!

When it comes to finding that hard to find title, nothing beats bookfinder.com. If it is posted for sale on the internet, it'll show up there. Now, you do have to be creative at times. For instance, I was looking for a book originally published in Spanish, but the author's name is (now) typically anglicized. To find a deal on a true first, I had to search with just the author's name... his original name. Bookfinder.com beats the other meta-search book sites hands down.

This is an interesting group I think, although not very active. I collect all books created by Osho, formerly known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. I say "created by" because these books were not written, but spoken and recorded and published as books. This process was supervised in detail by Osho. A number of Hindi discourses have not been translated into English yet, but that will come. About 600 books were created, not all translated yet, and I have about 400. It's difficult to find an english book I don't have. My preference is first editions, mainly from the seventies. So these books are 30 years old and some are very rare, but used book sellers don't see their value yet, they're still relatively cheap, for example $25. These older editions still have the word Bhagwan on the cover instead of the word Osho. I collect these books just to read and enjoy them, not as an investment. The texts become more and more available through the internet in electronic form, for free. I own a few rare books which, if I have to believe what's on the internet, are worth hundreds of dollars or even much more. But I don't expect anybody would really give that kind of money for a book.

That's a very interesting collection, Richard. Are these audio-books tapping directly into the centuries-old oral culture of Hindi?

PS. Don't underestimate the amount of money people want to spend on books! My library bought a book for 18.000 euros once, against a private bidder who was prepared to give 17.000 (but not 19.000). You just need to find the right market niche!

What I collect is books, not audiotapes. These books were not written but the words were spoken and recorded and the discourses were from audiotape typed over into books. Otherwise it would take too much time to produce 600 books by 1 person only, this is much more efficient but requires slow speaking and very thoughtful, accurate speaking. Later, many discourses were videotaped also.
Each book contains a series of discourses about 1 subject. Some books were published under different titles, up to 3 or 4 titles for the same book. And some books are compilations of discourses, in this way it's possible to create an infinite number of books from a limited number of discourses, and publishers are doing that, earning money. The percentage of compilations and "doubles" (same book, other title) is very small in my collection. For 2 books, I have participated in translating from english to dutch.

i collect complete works of several authors and have almost completed john dann macdonald's collection. i have come across a title called "Weep for Me" Dale publications, England, and I cannot verify it as one of JDM's works. It m ay be one of his books he changed the title on later. any input?

>14 andyray: andyray, I found Weep For Me for sale online at Quiller Books. I'll try to post a link, but I'm not good at this. It appears to be an original title, not switched from another title. They're asking $125. If I remember, their copy was published in 1951 and is listed as a 1st edition, but I don't think it was Dale Publications. I hope my link works here. Good luck. I like MacDonald's stuff too.http://www.qbbooks.com/details.php?record=35984&URLPAIR=%2F%2Fwww.qbbooks.com%2FsearchResults.php%3FbrowseLetter%3DA%26action%3Dbrowse%26orderBy%3Dauthor%26searchType%3Dauthor%26searchString%3D282%26showImage%3DYes

>14 andyray: andyray, I found 40 copies starting from $10. See if this link works. http://used.addall.com/SuperRare/RefineRare.fcgi?start=0&id=0902231356200341...

>16 bernsad: bernsad, I hope andyray reads your message. This looks like a great link for old books. I've bookmarked it. Thanks.

It is my goal to collect all books of all my favourite authors, whether they are valuable editions or used paperbacks. (Of course, if I manage to get my hands on a rare valuable, I'll also supplement it with a paperback double...)

I'm running out of space. It's time to jump to the managing bookshelf space group.

I think that if you like to read, like books, and find good authors you eventually start reading alternate editions - if you also keep everything you read you end up being a collector and this can lead to the topic of this thread. I think for most of my favorites I end up with multiple editions and eventually start picking up those variant editions that aren't already in the collection - it's not a conscience "I gotta have everything by author x" but rather a gradual progression into "completeness-world." I do try to limit any collecting to first editions but do have an occasional other edition due to the cover/interior art or some change that I thought was interesting. I've either read or have attempted to read every book in my library, but rarely read an alternate edition unless it's unabridged or a special release for some reason (annotated, author commentary, etc). I often re-read a favorite - just re-read Pullman's Dark Materials which for some reason really resonates with me. Some authors re-publish anthologies or complilations into a new addition with different or additional stories - I tend to just read those additions.

well, better late than never. just retrieved ironmike's and burnsed's messages and hit that link, but they say they have no copies of weep for me. i shall try again using direct www rather than a link. thanks guys.