Jim's Modern First Editions - How I Started Collecting BooksJim's been collecting modern first editions (books dating back a hundred years or from the 20th century) for years. He has many hypermodern books as well ... but the most valuable are his modern first editions of Faulkner, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Ian Fleming and many others. I asked Jim to write an article about how he got his start in book collecting. And I thought we would share it with you. Here it is. Jim's Book Collecting Story As a schoolboy in the 60's I read biographies of presidents, George Orwell, H. G. Wells and others. I started reading and collecting more in 1970's. Lewis Gizzard made me laugh and identify with my Southern roots. Others books I read and collected were modern first editions by Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Ian Fleming, F. Scott Fitzgerald and others. New authors I tried included Edward Abbey, Anne Rice, Richard Brautigan. I've read mysteries by John D MacDonald. I enjoyed Truman Capote, Eudora Welty , John Steinbeck, Ross McDonald, and Robert Penn Warren. I was not a smart or educated collector but, I did hold onto my books. I collected because I liked them. In the early 80's I moved to California and a few years later to the pacific northwest. This was where I learned what a first edition was and how important condition was and how to value books. Great independent bookstores like Powell's drew me like a magnet. It occupied more than a city block and was two stories tall. I could literally get lost in there for days. They have a rare book room that showed me the value of collecting. I started selling the books I did not want to keep like paperbacks and book club editions ... and when I bought books, they were 1st editions. When my grandmother passed, I inherited most of her books. Some authors acquired during the 80's that have appreciated in price and look good on my shelf today include: Since the early 90's I have been in Texas, but have been traveling to different cities for many years. I have been to hundreds of estate sales and many book stores. I like used bookstores best. I have visited at least 100 book shows in 10 states and been to several hundred signings. I am somewhat of a completest (this means he tries to collect all of a particular authors published books). I have selectively filled holes in my collection for many years. During the 90's I went after many older books and injured books. I found firsts by Hemingway, Faulkner, Fitzgerald and many others, often without dust jackets for $50 or less. In the last several years I've enjoyed showing my brother-in-law, my wife's boss, business associates and others how to collect books. I get them started with recent hypermodern books since they're less expensive and can be found in fine/fine condition. Jim has a large book collection and so two years ago he began selling books on ABE.com (Advanced Book Exchange). ABE is the largest of the book search sites. Jim has about two thousand books on ABE - modern first editions as well as hypermodern first editions. If you do frequent searches, you'll likely run into one of his listings. He sells under the name, Jim Bowling, Bookseller . Please take a look at his books. I'm always surprised at what he's collected.
|
