Association Copies Earn Well-Deserved Attention

Last week Frida Kahlo’s copy of Edgar Allan Poe sold at auction for $24,000. Why was the rather tattered copy so valuable? Kahlo filled the book with artistic marginalia. The price of this book reflects the value of association copies, that is, books that are affiliated with a famous person or someone close to the author.

Frida Kahlo's doodles vastly increased the value of her copy of The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe.

Meanwhile Other People’s Books: Association Copies and the Stories They Tell details 52 presentation copies from 1470 to 1986. Published by the Claxton Club, the book includes beautifully written vignettes such as an essay recounting a book exchange between Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman.

So why all this fuss over association copies? Collectors value association copies for a variety of reasons. Association copies are more personal than signed or anonymously  inscribed copies, providing a glimpse into the author or owner’s life and environment. They can also illustrate relationships between the author and the author’s family, friends, and colleagues. Here’s a look at some of the notable association copies from our collection:

• Gerard M. Devlin, author of Silent Wings: The Saga of the U.S. Army and Marine Combat Glider Pilots During World War II, dedicated a first edition of the book to glider pilot Jim Sampson. Sampson then dedicated the book to his son.
• Umberto Eco inscribed a limited edition of Filosofi In Libertà for his bibliographer, James Contursi.  This is one of many different books Eco inscribed for Contursi.
• Both Cornelia Funke and her translator Anthea Bell inscribed an advance reader’s edition of Inkspell for award-winning author Shar Levine.
• Budd Schulberg inscribed a first edition of What Makes Sammy Run? “to two of his dearest friends in all this world,” Joaquin and Karin Godoy.
• Thomas Harris inscribed first editions of both Black Sunday and Red Dragon for the mother of a childhood friend.
• Numerous authors inscribed books to Betty Anderson, the legendary art director at Knopf during the late 20^th century.

From a lovely association copy of What Makes Sammy Run? by Budd Schulberg

Add comment August 17th, 2011

How a Signature Increases a Book’s Value

How much is a baseball worth? Maybe a dollar or two, right? Get that same baseball signed by Alex Rodriguez, and you have a collectible item. If that baseball happened to be a homerun ball, you’ve hit the jackpot!

Signatures and autographs in books work much the same way. The rarity of both the book and the signature help determine the value of a book.

Signatures v Inscriptions et Al

Not all signatures are created equal. In fact, signatures (autographs) and inscriptions fall into a few different categories.

• A book described as “signed” has a signature on a page of the book itself. It has no personalization, such as “To Susan.”
• If a book is “inscribed,” it is personalized, addressed to a specific person. If the person isn’t closely associated with the author, the inscription often isn’t considered to add too much to a book’s value.
• An association copy is usually an inscribed book that is addressed to a specific individual connected to the author.
• An autopen signature is  often seen with presidential materials. An autopen is a machine used for the automatic signing of a signature. Bottom line: it isn’t really a signature and doesn’t do anything to the value of the book.

Signatures naturally tend to be more common than inscriptions and/or association copies. Contemporary authors often do book signings when they go on tour, thereby increasing the number of signed books available and decreasing the value of signed copies.

Authenticating Signatures

Of course, only an authentic signature has value. Experts certify that a signature or inscription is authentic by comparing the handwriting to other known samples of the author’s writing. The authenticity of signed books and signatures in particular is the number one element of the trust a reputable seller of autographed books is hoping to establish and maintain with their customers.

Can you truly “certify” a signature?  Only if you have seen the author sign the book and if you never let the book out of your sight.  If you just see the signature, you can’t; nobody can.  You can rule out fakes but cannot do the opposite.  You can only confirm that it is highly likely for a signature to be authentic by comparing it with existing signatures.

For a number of signatures available for comparison purposes, see our collection of reference autographs and signatures.

Add comment July 6th, 2011