Collecting Books

Last month the Ninth edition of Left Coast Crime invaded the Hyatt in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  As usual it was a scintillating gathering of mystery writers, fans, book dealers and even a few editors and agents.   The primary purpose of the gathering is to schmooze with an emphasis on crime writing; how it’s done, why we do it, why we read and collect it.

I happened to end up on a panel on book collecting with John Dunning a long-time bookseller as well as honored author, and George Easter, a bookseller who also publishes the mystery fanzine "Deadly Pleasures".  In an hour we barely managed to scratch the surface of this huge and thorny subject but a few ideas seemed to stand out in everyone’s mind, and I’d like to recap them here.

Unless you read only one book a month, used paperbacks, books you find abandoned in public waiting rooms, or are exceedingly wealthy, you almost have to think like a collector instead of simply a reader.  The price of a new hardcover is such that most of us have to consider it an investment rather than an amusement.   Book dealers have pretty much educated their customers to the idea that only a first printing of a first edition will be worth a premium down the line (or even fetch back its retail price).

Having bought a first edition the reader wants to get the book signed, if possible, but not personalized.  Put plastic over the dust jacket, and never write your name in the thing, let alone use one of those filthy blind stamps that destroy the book forever.  Treat the book with care so it looks the same as the day you bought it.  These things don’t guarantee the book will ever go up in value, only that it won’t go down unnecessarily.

There is general agreement that limited editions have to offer something more than the trade edition with a signature to be worth anything.   Publishers’ limiteds are often the trade edition with a signature page and/or a slipcase minus the dust jacket.  They seldom go up in value.  There are a few "publishers" out there who take trade books, rebind them with a limitation page (usually without a jacket) and sell them as collector’s items.  They are seldom much sought after.

When a publisher like Dennis McMillan issues a limited edition it is in a significantly different form from the trade issue. Different binding, award winning jacket design, foil embossed endpapers, better quality paper and cloth, slipcase, multiple signatures, often introduced or with a foreword or afterword by another author.   In other words, you get something special which will increase in value.

On the other hand, rushing out to pay a premium for a book SIMPLY BECAUSE THE PUBLISHER ONLY PRINTED A THOUSAND COPIES can be the height of foolishness.   The publisher only printed a small number because that was all the book warranted.   If at all possible try to read the book before you invest.  For every "Eagle Catcher" there are two dozen "Bonita Faye"s and you wouldn’t want to wish that on your worst enemy.

It will always appall me that the first book of a second-rate mystery writer fetches more money than the majority of the classics of American literature.  A copy of "Indemnity Only" costs more on today’s market than "Huckleberry Finn."  Ten years from now (twenty at the most) Paretsky will be a forgotten novelty.  But for a lot of you, as for me, trying to outguess the book market is not unlike outguessing the stock market and risks a lot less money.   If you buy with reasonable care you may never strike it rich, but you won’t lose much if anything.

The formula is simple:  Buy first editions in good condition and keep them that way.  Hunt around a little to find recent books of value at bargain prices.  Buy extra copies of proven winners to use as trading material.   Don’t pay a premium for junky books just because they are in short supply.   Try to stick with authors you really like, new or old, because you get your money’s worth in the reading and the future takes care of itself.  It is still fun to discover a worthy new author before the pack.

East of A by Russell Atwood (Ballantine, 1999), first mystery, is a refreshingly original outing.  The murder, never that important to the story, isn’t even discovered until the middle of the book.   Sometime investigator Payton Sherwood interrupts a mugging in the East Village one night and becomes the victim.  The damsel in distress he stuck his neck out for comes back to steal his watch.  So much for good deeds.  With slender evidence to work from, he seeks the mystery girl in the worst neighborhood in Manhattan.

Rhode Island Red by Charlotte Carter (Serpent’s Tail, decorative boards, 1997).  This  first mystery by Carter, features the first adventure of a character you’re not likely to forget—Nanette Hayes is a tall, thirtyish, very black-skinned busker.  She has a master’s degree in French, an even sexier black girlfriend who makes her living as an exotic dancer, a voice she carries around in her head she calls Ernestine, and a saxophone she plays on the streets and subway stations of Manhattan.  (That’s the busker part—street musician.)

Not surprisingly with her attitude, she has boyfriend troubles, but her immediate problem is the dead man on her kitchen floor (just to make things fun he’s an undercover cop). Her encyclopedic knowledge of classical jazz—music and musicians—doesn’t seem to be of much help.  Carter writes with a sprightly style, sexy vernacular, and intelligent point of view.  This book hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves.

Crossroad Blues by Ace Atkins (St Martins, 1998) is a first mystery that gets its energy from classical Mississippi delta blues and the legendary Robert Johnson who may or man not have sold his soul to the devil in order to get his guitar licks. Academics and mobsters, musicians and just plain freaks are in a race to find some master discs that may or may not be hidden in a sharecropper’s shack.  There’s an albino black man, an ex-football player, a sexy female blues guitarist, and an album full of secretive old bluesmen.

Nick Travers needn’t be an ex football hero (though that’s better than a current football hero) but he’s otherwise a pretty interesting guy and more than average competent to keep himself alive.  This is a really good read and a promising debut novel that has been getting some attention.

Thirteenth Night by Alan Gordon (St Martins, 1999) is another interesting debut.  The writing has more wit and style than the routine even if the mystery is not particularly compelling.   The thing that makes it interesting is its positioning as a sequel to Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (referring to the nights of Christmas for those of you who have forgotten) using his characters, but making a detective of the court jester—or fool—Feste, of the brotherhood of fools.

Gordon designed the book so the reader needn’t be recently familiar with the Bard’s play, but it would make the text somewhat more delicious.   He further elaborates on the historically elusive Fools Guild which may have existed in the middle ages.  During the age of Crusades some mysterious fraternal organizations were organized and wielded a lot of behind the scenes political clout.   The February Mystery Collector’s Bookline chose it for their Hypermodern Bookshelf.

ernie@buffalomedicine.com

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