Frederick The Great

I find it pretty time consuming to research books that I'm not familiar with. These pictured are a History of Friedrich II of Prussia also called Frederick the Great. They are 21 books published in 13 volumes from 1858 - 1865. Just looking at the picture it would be hard to tell that they are 144 to 151 years old huh? The top edges are marbled. The books are dark blue but the spines have been exposed to light over the years and it has turned them a teal blue/green. They have gold gilt design on the spine so they are very pretty little books.

When researching I have to look up information on the author, the publisher and the character or subject matter itself.

Turns out the victorian author of these books, Thomas Carlyle was quite loved/unloved/controversial throughout his years. These books were published by Baron Tauchnitz, an extremely popular publisher in the day. So much so that the New York times put an endearing ad in their paper on September 1st, 1895 (just after he died) commemorating all the good he had accomplished in his lifetime.

Frederick The Great was quite a character too. Many have written books about his rise to the throne of Prussia but Thomas Carlyle's exhaustive history of him is considered by some to be one of the greatest works of all times. Frederick didn't want the throne to be passed on to him. He and a couple of friends made plans to run away but his father caught them and made Frederick watch as one of his dear friends was killed for the crime. Frederick loved the arts, music, philosophy and was friends with Voltaire. He would have rather spent his time pursuing his interests but his father and fate wouldn't allow it.

As time passed and his father died, Frederick did take the throne and turned out to be one of the greatest military leaders, administrators, and cultural patrons of all time. I might get a chance to read these volumes and then again I might not. I listed them for sale on ebay this morning. I'm already feeling a little remorse that they might get bought and I might never get to read them. Time will tell!!! Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!

Today

What a great day! I finished reading the book about Angus this morning. (Wonderful book!!!) I had to do a few errands but since then I've been on this computer researching. You know how it is when you're on one web site and click a link to another and then another....

Well I found a good one for anyone interested in taking care of their books properly. It's also good for anyone wanting to know if their books are valuable. Go here and read the article if you're interested. http://www.go-bookworld.com/?page=shop/disp&pid=page_kindly&CLSN_2169=1240089575216974a9303d49d299390f

If you're like I was, you don't pay much attention to where you store your books. This web site will help you think carefully about how you treat your books from now on.

Books, like anything else we've bought have value. It only makes sense to take care of them and preserve them for later resell or for passing on to our next generation. As the web site I'm sending you to will tell you...."just because a book is old doesn't make it valuable to a book collector." It has to be in good condition too in order to really gain value as the years go by.

Okay, I'm off in another direction for now. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful evening!

The Book about Angus

This can't be avoided. As I'm working my way through older books I seem to want to hoard some of them to have a chance to read them before I try to sell them. Angus isn't that old yet. It was copyrighted in 2000 so only 9 years old now. But this tear jerking story is told from the Dog's perspective. The author (Charles Siebert) does an excellent job at making us humans think! Guys I like this book so much so far, I put up an Amazon link so that you might order it on the cheap! Amazon is a huge used book venue so that you can get what you want at a deep, deep discount. Just to compare my link, the book I'm reading right now still has the price on the dust jacket. It says $18.95 for the USA and $28.95 Canada. The Amazon link shows these starting at .01.....that's a penny plus shipping so you can't go wrong at these prices!

This little book is told from the dog's perspective. A young dog named Angus lies wounded at the edge of a dark wood. In the distance he sees the lights of his owners' cabin. As he starts the long valiant climb back to them, all the stirring sights, sounds, and scents of his brief but wildly episodic life begin to replay before him.

With Angus, Charles Siebert, (author) has performed a singular act of literary ventriloquism- the autobiography of a dog, a book that offers us a wry, poignant, ultimately redemptive view of life and death as perceived through the heightened senses of one very brave, winsome, unforgettable Jack Russell terrier.

Look, I joined the Borders reward club some time ago. I get coupons by email so that I can run over and get 20% to 40% off new books. I won't do much of that any more. Econonic times are harder now. Books that I got a coupon for and still paid $25 for....I can get used copies on Amazon much cheaper. You can too. But here's a tip that matters too.....If you have a local bookstore like Borders or Barnes and Noble, Books a million....see who they have as upcoming authors that will be doing a book signing in your location. If you want the book by that author, and you are willing to stand in line a little while to have the book signed, it could be worth a lot more than you invested in it 10 years from now just because the author signed it!

So your money saving, and money making strategy is this: Buy used books through Amazon. Then, get the schedule from your local book stores of who's coming to town to sign books. Then buy their book first edition and first printing if you can, stand in line and get their autograph. It will be worth your investment later to have the author's signature!

You can go through any Amazon link to get to Amazon (just like my link here to the Angus book.) Once you're at Amazon, you can search any other book or any other Amazon department that you want to. It's the same Amazon with the same prices no matter how you get there! I go over to my friend's link at http://www.simplecookery.blogspot.com/ whenever I order through Amazon. She's an affiliate for Amazon just as I am. She orders through my link when she orders anything there. We each get a few pennies when we order that way. I encourage everyone to become an affiliate/ associate with Amazon. If you have a blog...why not? It's a way to make a few extra bucks on the side!

Look, there's even a grocery link to Amazon. We're all trying to save money on groceries now-a-days! I've put up a link to the grocery department for you to browse through too. We're all trying to think of ways to earn extra money. If you save money ordering anything through my Amazon link and I earn money by having you click on my link,,,it's a win/win situation.

Well, I got off my original subject of Angus. It really is a great little book. You might enjoy it if you have some time to read. Take care and thanks for visiting my blog!

There's More than one Market for Civil War Stuff

This Post is short and sweet about the market for civil war items. I've been testing this for about 6 months now. I had a "fine" large, framed, portrait of Abe Lincoln that I advertised for sale on Craigslist for $175. I had responders that told me they had bought an Abe Lincoln just like mine for $65. (They were trying to get me to lower my price.) I wouldn't go lower. I didn't sell it on Craigslist. When I opened my booth at the antiques mall, the owner told me to price my Abe Lincoln in a range of $225 - $275. I sold it there. (In that range) Big Difference!

The antique mall owner also told me about a rule of thirds. "Pay a third, expect it to take another third to market the item for sale, and the final third is your profit." So if you are thinking of selling an item for $270 dollars....only pay $90 for it. Expect that it will cost you $90 to market or promote it. Then the final $90 will be your profit for all the work you put into it.

I'm working with items right now that are from an inherited estate so the rule of thirds doesn't fully apply except for what I need to learn while selling antiques and collectibles. I didn't have to buy these items for a third. But if you want to be an antique dealer you will need to keep this rule in mind.

I will write more later about going through estates. I will give you as many tips as I can learn along my way too. In this day and age, we all need money saving tips and a few investing tips that we can afford.

If you are trying to sell something on Craigslist then ask yourself how fast you need money. If you don't need it right away, you may have something worth hanging on to for awhile. Don't just buckle because someone emails or calls you and offers you a third of your asking price. If you are however motivated to sell an item to get it out of your way...by all means...let it go. Count the cost. If you are moving and the item would cost you more to haul than to keep....then let it go. Thanks for reading! Hope it helped! Kathy

I'm learning new things

I haven't posted for a few days because I've been getting set up with a new booth at a near by antiques and collectibles mall. I managed to get the storage unit cleared out and so far I like the mall. I've sold lots of art work and to my surprise....several books.

I had always heard that Abraham Lincoln and Civil War stuff was popular but I didn't know that people would fight over who gets it!!! My first round of books that I tried to display didn't even get to sit on the shelves. They were bought first! (Tells me that I must have priced them too low.) This is a lesson that I learned and will share with you all. If you have Abe books or civil war books,,,,price them high first. If they don't sell then gradually come down in price.

Another surprise I had was just how many books Ms. Annie had bought as first editions! She was smart in her book buying! I will go into more detail later when I have some more time. But for right now I have hungry children that are waiting for ME to feed them. (My adult children starving!) Sad huh?

I will take some more pictures to share with you of some of the books I've found. Lots of interesting stuff to share. Until then, have a wonderful week and thanks for reading! Kathy