For book collectors, it seems that the pursuit of the first edition is the only thing that matters. It doesn't have to be that way. I am as guilty as anyone for being, as Orwell put it so delicately in an essay he wrote on working in an old bookshop, "a first edition snob." There are actually many, many avenues to collecting books that do not require first editions. For example, my wife Caroline collects the Perry Mason mysteries by Erle Stanley Gardner.
A good example of an illustrated Perry Mason dust jacket.
As you can see in the above example, many of them have fantastic illustrated dust jackets. It is these that she likes to collect and though she has some first editions she also has a number of book club editions, usually dreaded by collectors but in this case welcomed with open arms.
Can you tell from the cover that this is a book club edition? Probably not.
Perry Mason books have been often reprinted (TV shows will do that for a book) so here is an example of reprint. The illustrated jacket is gone and replaced with a photographic one.
So in this case, the collector is trying to be complete, because she loves the stories, but if she finds a copy of, The Case of the Mischievous Doll in its illustrated jacket, she will be more than willing to trade or sell the photo jacket copy.
All for now and until next time, happy hunting at Yesterday's Treasures!
All for now and until next time, happy hunting at Yesterday's Treasures!
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