Out-of-Print Books: $1000

Blue and Gray Battle Quilt

by Nancy Hornback, Wichita, Kansas, 1996

46" square

From Quilts of the Civil War

See the original inspiration by Susan Robb from the collection of the Museum at Texas Tech by clicking here:

http://www.cliohistory.org/visualizingamerica/quilts/visualhistory/

Order Number 11 by Karen Roxburgh

Made from the pattern for the quilt by Terry Clothier Thompson

in Quilts From the Civil War

A few days ago I wrote about outrageous prices for out-of-print books.

Now I'm even more outraged. Look at this online auction offer!

What would make a book that cost $24.95 ten years ago worth $1,000 to anyone?

Here are some reasons---none of which hold up to any logic.

1) The book is very rare and unobtainable and worth $1,000 to someone who MUST have it.
If one MUST have it one could shop around and find a used copy for $16.50 on Amazon.com. The book sold very well. There are over 25,000 copies out there.

Union Baby Quilt by Barbara Brackman from Civil War Women

2) One is a book collector and wants a pristine first edition and first printing copy.
The book in the post above may be a first printing. There were several printings. First editions can be valuable, particularly if it is by a long-deceased author like Mark Twain or even a recently sainted author like J.D. Salinger (someone online is selling a first edition of Catcher in the Rye for $20,000).

The basic rule of collecting books or any kind of expensive collectible is that you pay $1,000 for a rare book because it's worth it---you are confident that someone else will pay you $1,200 for it soon. This is called The Greater Fool theory. A Greater Fool than you will come along and pay more. This Greater Fool theory was the basis of the real estate bubble of the 2000-2008 era and the great tulip mania of the 17th century.

 (See Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds published in 1841.)

But sooner or later there is no Greater Fool.

Quilt books provide information. People generally want them for the information rather than the object. A couple of years ago my Clues in the Calico cost way over $200 on the used book market. Those who bought one thinking it would hold it's value because they'd be able to sell it for more were disappointed when C&T Publishing made a digital version available for $19.95. Prices for the original printed book dropped by about 50%. The same thing happened with my Encyclopedia of Applique. It was advertised on the used book sites for over $200. Then C&T published a new print edition last year and prices on the first edition dropped to a range from $20 to $100.

 

Birds in the Air by Patti Mersmann Butcher

1996 49" x 59"

From Quilts from the Civil War

3. One wants the information, the patterns, the photos, etc, so one has to pay the price of used copies.
The book business  publishing business information business is changing so fast that the information is obtainable in other formats or will be soon. Clues in the Calico is a case in point. It has been at about $100 for a year or so. It's in demand as a used book because few were printed (and the binding was bad so many fell apart). People think they need it and pay the price for a used copy. But inevitably there will be a Print on Demand edition. Print on Demand books are printed one by one on a computer printer rather than on a color press. Paper and color are slightly different from the press-printed books but the information, page layout, book style is the same. Someone asked if we are comparing apples to oranges by comparing books printed on a press to books printed on a computer. It may be that we are comparing Granny Smith apples to golden delicious apples. Different, but still apples.

Right now you can buy Clues digitally as a download for $19.95. (See the "click to buy" icon on the top left.) My two books for C&T, Quilts from the Civil War and Civil War Women are available digitally. Click here to see them on C&T's web catalog
http://www.ctpub.com/searchproducts.cfm

And now both Civil War books are available as a Print On Demand from the publisher. (POD edition). So consider the $1,000 price above an Extraordinary Popular Delusion, an attempt to make money on the Madness of Crowds.

Pea Ridge Lily by Jeananne Wright, 1996, 66"x77"

From  Quilts from the Civil War.

I like that title

Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds.

I bet you can download the book for free online and read about the tulipmania.