F

ormanyof us,booksarea
source of greatpleasure.
Huntingdownafirst
edition orsignedcopyof
yourfavouritenovel and
beingabletoholditinyourhands
andadmireitwheneveryouwant is
aparticularjoy. Certainrarebooks
canalso beworthatidysum,soit’s
understandable that youmightwant
to turnyourcollector’spassioninto
analternativeinvestment.
PomHarrington, ownerof
antiquarianbookdealersPeter
Harrington, describesrare booksas
a“passioninvestment”thatisideally
pursuedfor theloveofbooksrather
thanmore traditional money-
makinggoals. “I thinkit'sagood
choiceofwords,” hesays.“There's
noquestionthat wecan lookat the

What makesa

book collectible?

Howtostart

bui ldingyour

rare book

collection

historyofhowtherarebookmarket

haschangedovertheyears.Lotsof

thingshavegoneup.Somethings

havegoneuptremendously.There's

beensomeverystronggrowth.But

it'salsosubjecttofashion.”

Oneofthedrawsofinvestingin

rarebooksisthattheyaretangible–

youcanholdtheminyourhands

andenjoythem.“It's notjust adigit

ontheendof thebalance sheet,”

says Harrington. He takesgreat

pleasure in showingguests hisRoald

Dahl collection,particularly the

author’s firstbook, with an

inscriptionto Dahl’s belovedmother.

“I buyRoald Dahl becauseIthought

they're undervaluedasmuchas

anythingelse,” heexplains.“I

happento thinkRoald Dahl will be

greatin20years time.Idid start

buying 20 yearsago, mindyou.”

Sowhat makesabookrare–and

valuable?Unsurprisingly,the

scarcity anduniqueness of thebook

is key. Firsteditions andoriginal

bindings,andsignatures or

inscriptionsbytheauthorora

famousowner arefactors that can

makeabookmorevaluable. For

instance,afirst edition ofDavid

Copperfieldmightfetcharound

£1,5 00 ,butacopysignedbyCharles

Dickenscouldsellforover£ 10 0,0 00.

Completenessisalsovery

important.“Ifit'smissingaleaf,

missingapage,itreallydestroysthe

value,”saysHarrington.Hewarns

againstgoingforacheaperbut

inferiorcopyofadesiredbookand

thinkingyouare gettingabargain.

“Youknow,itcould bea17thcentury

edition ofDonQuixoteinEnglish–

andI'veseenthisdone. Yo ucanbuy

abeautifulcopyfor £5,0 00 andI've

watchedsomeonegoandpay

£2,5 00 foracopythatwas beatenup

andeatenbyadogor something.

Whenit comestosellingit, it's notso

easy.But thebeautifulcopy, sure,no

problem.Oftenpeoplehavetolearn

thehardway.”

Thewildcardinterms ofthe

valueofrarebooksis desirability.

Trendschange, andwhile research

andskill maysometimes helpin

stayingaheadofthem,therewill

alwaysbeanelement of luck.Itcan

besurprisingwhat can affect

demandforabook. Evengeopolitical

events cancomeintoit–theunrest

in theMiddle Easthas seen a