[ 3 / biz / cgl / ck / diy / fa / ic / jp / lit / sci / vr / vt ] [ index / top / reports ] [ become a patron ] [ status ]
2023-11: Warosu is now out of extended maintenance.

/lit/ - Literature

View post   
File: 277 KB, 597x843, fs_limited_mobydick_complete.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
8152448 No.8152448 [Reply] [Original]

What is the most expensive book you have on your shelf?

Pic related was $400 for me, I think it goes for a lot more now.

>> No.8152462

Probably the UoC Press edition of Moby Dick or an ARC of one of Meme Wolfe's books

>> No.8152472

It used to be a first edition copy of Rage by Richard Bachman but I sold it on ebay for way more than it was really worth. Worth about $300 I think.

>> No.8152480
File: 77 KB, 640x426, Schiele_bookz.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
8152480

120€ for each of those Quantum Field Theory textbooks

>> No.8152483

>>8152480
Klimt was better than Schiele

>> No.8152484

>>8152448
That looks gay as fuck. Just thinking about all those books you could have bought instead makes me sick.

Americans, I guess.

>> No.8152491

first edition in cold blood lmao

>> No.8152492

>>8152484
>le vindictive europoor

>> No.8152496

I have a first edition of For Whom The Bell Tolls from my Grandmother's estate. It's worth a few hundred dollars I think.

>> No.8152499

>>8152484
>thinking
Liar

>> No.8152506

>>8152492
>wanting your books to look like videogame box sets

>> No.8152512

>>8152506
>a pair of simple black hardcover books is reminiscent of a video games box set

ok then europoor

>> No.8152514

stole a 1st edition of Women and Men last week so probably that

>> No.8152526
File: 83 KB, 1000x948, the-norton-shakespeare.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
8152526

I've got a bunch of preposterously expensive textbooks. Otherwise, it's the Norton Shakespeare.

>> No.8152529

>>8152514
>Women and Men
>valuable

I bet you stealing that thing is the first genuine transaction that book has seen in 20 years

>> No.8152534

>>8152448
does look gay

>> No.8152543
File: 169 KB, 407x584, 53851.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
8152543

>>8152448
Was on my shelf until i sold it .8oo of our english pounds

>> No.8152549

Only 1st edition I have is Sirens of Titan, which a friend gave to me, doubt it's worth anything. So probably the copy of Poverty and Progress I recently bought for about $30. It's one of only a handful of books I have that aren't paperback and second-hand.

I do have a pretty cool hardcover of Moby-Dick and another that is a small selection of modern American plays somewhere, but those probably aren't worth anything, either.

>> No.8152559

I'm thinking about buying the hardcover edition of American Psycho which is like $120-150. Ironically, a europoor exclusive.

>> No.8152561

>>8152559
If you're going to spend that much on a book, at least do it for a good one.

>> No.8152567

>>8152561
I have a sickness where I just buy hardcovers if they exist for a book I want.

>> No.8152581
File: 20 KB, 278x323, 1465661552731.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
8152581

>>8152448
>wasting hundreds of dollars on pretentious folio society editions

>> No.8152606

>>8152543
Interesting piece, perchance you're into occult?

>> No.8152718

>>8152606
perchance you're an idiot?

>> No.8152724

>>8152526
how much was the norton shakespeare

>> No.8152731

>>8152724
About 90 euros.

>> No.8152734
File: 2.63 MB, 4032x3024, image.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
8152734

If rarity counts at all for how expensive a thing is I'm guessing it might be this Masonic Heirloom bible I found at a thrift shop.

>> No.8152744

>>8152506
>thinking that video game box sets weren't imitating books

>> No.8152751

>>8152448
It's not 400 buck anymore, that's for sure. Limited editions are waste of cash, if bought for value retention.

>> No.8152757

>>8152751
Goes for >$1000 on abe.

>> No.8152764

>>8152744
Nope. They were imitating old cd and floppy boxes with proper manuals and cloth maps, and stuff like that.

>> No.8152788

>>8152757
Abe is a reseller with 'i wish' prices by individuals. If someone is asking 2000k for something, that doesn't mean he's getting that much.
Take it to a bookstore and you'll see its face value. But generally limited editions are baseball cards of publishing.

>> No.8152791

>>8152448
Did you read those bad boys? Or did you pick up a paperback daily driver for the trashin' and thrashin' of literary adventuring.

>> No.8152843
File: 109 KB, 640x1136, image.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
8152843

>>8152724
>>8152731
Jesus christ that's a brutal pricetag. Pic related in america.

>> No.8152872
File: 633 KB, 1640x1640, store_london_client_001_1510281640_id_1009376.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
8152872

>>8152448
on this subject
i'm sorry to say this wasn't me but there was a story recently that someone went into the Taschen store in London and bought a copy of every book they had in stock.

>> No.8152883
File: 330 KB, 502x500, taschen_campbell.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
8152883

>>8152872
i would quite like to own the book in pic related

as for myself i have mentioned on here before that i own three of the Folio Society Letterpress Shakespeares. those are probably the most expensive books i currently own.

>> No.8152885

the most expensive books on my shelves are anthologies I bought for school, and you're a pseud if you answer otherwuse

>> No.8152981

>>8152885
Don't kid yourself. Anyone materialistic enough to buy the physical editions of books is a pseud.

>> No.8153049

>>8152843
I got it for like 60 bucks off amazon the other day

>> No.8153060

>>8152448
I've got a first edition of Tristan Tzara's Approximate Man that I paid 100$ for.

>> No.8153061

>>8152981
t. poorfag

>> No.8153067

>>8152981

But anon how can we be sure that this other poster is an insecure poster who is deserving of sarcasm and derision? If he wants to arbitrarily declare that the line ends with "anthologies" then who are we to contest this? He might be absolutely right and none of this might have anything at all to do with a public effort to reassure himself and his fragile ego.

We simply can't be sure, anon.

>> No.8153179
File: 152 KB, 550x606, shobogenzo2.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
8153179

Paid ~$100 for it in 2011, now worth ~$2000

>> No.8153185

>>8152734
https://www.amazon.com/Holy-Bible-Masonic-Heirloom-Pub/dp/1556655150
>$50
Yeah alright, I'll give it to you, good find

>> No.8153202

probably some 60 euro catalogue of an art exhibition.

>> No.8153216
File: 41 KB, 387x499, tajik.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
8153216

Probably my Tajik textbooks.

>> No.8153222

>>8152981
I'm ethical so I support local anglican/catholic charities by buying books at their op shops and also at used book stores.
It's also much cheaper than buying digital books.

>> No.8153236

>>8152981

>muh PDF
>muh "pure content"

You're embarrassing yourself.
There's nothing more pseud than thinking you're so awesome you've transcended a book's physicality.
It's like babby's first pseud.

>> No.8153251
File: 31 KB, 500x400, 419UNCVikyL.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
8153251

Volumes 1-6 of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Costs $172 AUD.

>> No.8153274

$700 for a todd hido book

>> No.8153353

I bought this leatherbound copy of Ulysses for like 200$ but I can't remember from where.
I have a signed copy of a Stephen King book that's probably worth more but I got it for free

>> No.8153370

>>8152843
>$80
>for _all_ of Shakespeare
>expensive

>> No.8153616

>>8153251
>buying an outdated text

>> No.8153621

>>8152448
I have a couple of first edition Hawkes hardcovers. Though no one gives a shit about Hawkes so you could probably get these things for pennies online.

>> No.8153848

I'm something of a first edition addict.

I've got a first edition of Lolita that I paid 350 euro for a few years ago. Also paid $275 for a first english edition of Borges' Ficciones.

I'm waiting to pull the trigger on GR for $1,200 in hardback.

Greatest steal was a signed first edition of Stefan Zweig's Beware of Pity for $50.

Cheer up above poster -- I also have Hawkes first editions of both lunar landscapes and Lime Twig that currently run between $125-200 online.

>> No.8153866
File: 26 KB, 260x346, 51iwoTw4+BL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
8153866

$300. First edition.It's apparently signed by the author tho.

>> No.8153874

>>8153370

He was responding to the guy who paid 90 euros for the same book.

>> No.8153882

>>8152448

Probably the Norton anthology of theory & criticism but I'm not a book collector or anything- I almost exclusively buy paperbacks or read on my kindle.

That copy of moby dick looks cool but I'd never buy it tbqh.

>> No.8153886

>>8153866
is that a vhs tape for a 70s exploitation film what the hell is this

sorry anon don't think i'd even pay $10 for that

>> No.8153918

>>8153886

>is that a vhs tape for a 70s exploitation film

kek

>> No.8154070
File: 106 KB, 352x500, tumblr_m5htcjYlpT1qdw535o1_400.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
8154070

>>8153886
its a rare book by Robert Anton Wilson

>> No.8154120
File: 23 KB, 300x498, L'Image en Anglais pour Anon.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
8154120

>>8152448

This is the most expensive paperback I own. $30 US. If I could go back in time to the 1960s it would have been $1.95. It's yellowed, but I'm the first reader. Either that or previous owners were as fastidious as I am.

>> No.8154130

>>8152543
Why the fuck would you use the letter o for the number 0? Seriously, what the hell?

>> No.8154133

>>8152448
I've got some Nicholas Berdyaev books that were a bitch to find.

My cousin snagged a signed copy of Get Set A Watchman before Harper Lee died. Lucky fucker

>> No.8154136

>>8154130

What? I said I paid .8 double o's for that, or 1,6 single o's, what even is the currency where you live, you pigmy?

>> No.8154137

I have all the first-edition Murakamis, including pre-shitty-translation of hear the wind sing and pinball

idk, In Cold Blood first edition? Recognitions first-edition maybe?

>> No.8154146

>>8154136
I literally don't know what you're talking about. I use € atm but I've lived in the UK as well so I'm familiar with your £.

>> No.8154196

>>8154133
>Go Set A Watchman
Why the hell would someone get that book signed rather than To Kill A Mockingbird?

>> No.8154201
File: 493 KB, 1296x684, muh dick.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
8154201

>>8152448
...

>> No.8154202

>>8154136
That doesn't make any more sense.

>> No.8154213

>>8154196
I assume it might be when Go Set A Watchman was first released, I'm sure some outlets had the opportunity to sell signed copies at a higher price. The guy might not have had to meet Harper Lee to get it signed. You sometimes see these promotional editions appear on Amazon or whatever, depending on who the publisher/distributor is.

>> No.8154254

>>8152480
Why so expensive? I picked them up for £40 each last year

My dad is an antiques dealer so when I was a teenager I'd go with him to auctions and pick up books. I got one valued at Blackwells for insurance purposes [It's a mid 17th Century book on the history of Oxford] the other month and they said £1,500. I'll get the others done eventually but I presume they'll be worth quite a bit too.

>> No.8154262

I have a 1st Edition Ulysses.

AMA.

>> No.8154267

>>8154262
You can't prove it. :^)

>> No.8154272

>>8152448
why moby dick? are you a whaling enthusiast.

>> No.8154275

>>8152512
>a pair of simple black hardcover books costs 400$

>> No.8154283

>>8154267

Not a question.

>> No.8154292
File: 3 KB, 100x157, rodd.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
8154292

An anthropological account of the Tuareg, it´s called `People of the Veil` writting by Rennell Rodd.

>> No.8154435

>>8154201
kek'd

>> No.8154809

>>8152448
I spend $30 on the Everyman's Library version of War and Peace.
Pretty worth IMOTBHWUF

>> No.8154825

220 usd for my calculus book
>TFW

>> No.8154980
File: 24 KB, 886x336, ;(.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
8154980

>>8152448
£50 on a 1936 copy of Ulysses.

>> No.8155398

>>8152448
I always buy used books online or from charity shops and the only new book I have is Aristotle The Politics for £10

>> No.8156715

>>8152448

Can you post a picture of one of the illustrations?

>> No.8156730

>>8154262
How many chicks have you scored with that piece?

>> No.8156871

>>8153216
Why are you learning Tajik anon?
I'm genuinely intrigued.
Couldn't Russian achieve the goal of communication in Tajikistan with the added benefit of a lot more nations as well?

>> No.8156910
File: 412 KB, 542x750, tsukasa.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
8156910

Tsukasa Bullet by Tsukasa Jun.
It's an art book, but it counts, right?
It ran me ~100 USD, not counting shipping.

>> No.8157273

Nothing impressive just a bunch of scholarly texts in the $100 range. As well as >>8153251 which was $130 Canadian, but is a box set so doesn't really count.

>> No.8157325

>>8152529
Topkek sir

>> No.8157355

My $200 Latin/English edition of the Summa Theologica. 6 volume set rather than a single book but it's the most expensive purchase I've made on books

>> No.8157441

>>8152448
$20 dollars you're a fag

>> No.8157466

>>8154275
We dont have 15% unemployment and a currency devalued 50% in 2 years. $400 is nothing to me.

>> No.8157693

The Easton Press edition of the Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks, $175.

>inb4 pleb

>> No.8157917

>>8152526
any reason to get norton shakespeare over the pelican?

>> No.8157933

>>8153848
You're fooling yourself on those Hawkes prices. You can get a fine 1/1 signed Lime Twig for under $100. I recently purchased five fine 1/1 Hawkes books, ranging from the obscure (Whistlejacket) to the moderately popular (Second Skin) for about $7 each.

>> No.8157959

>>8152480
>Quantum Field Theory
Good luck friend, I'll keep you in my prayers

>> No.8157966
File: 103 KB, 700x700, cantbedoin.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
8157966

>>8152448

>spending $400 on a single book

Nigger I paid $400 for two entire antique hardcover sets of classic literature, and one of them includes Moby Dick. Shop around, senpai, God damn.

>> No.8157973

>>8157966

B-b-but Bloom!!

>> No.8158222

>>8157917
Different layouts. Whatever floats your boat.

>> No.8158276

i have a mint first edition of a collection of hart crane
it goes for around $300

>> No.8158815

>>8157973
it isn't even bloom, moron, it's harold beaver

which, yes, is even worse

>> No.8158857

First edition Crying of Lot 49.