I always enjoy stories like this one. It makes me excited for the other hidden secrets that shall reveal themselves in time. 110 years ago a man named Charles H. Hackley donated a stack of books to his local library. The library Incorporated the books into their collection and then shelved them, storing one book, already 50 years old in a glass storage case on the library's second floor where rare and fragile books were kept where it was eventually forgotten. "In 1999, library personnel started going through the books in that case, [and] discovered the Book of Mormon." According to the Muskegon Chronicle, "It was one of 5,000 books printed in 1830 by Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, after he said an angel named Moroni guided him to gold tablets documenting the teachings and lives of ancient tribes." The book is likely to fetch around $70,000. Talk about a gold mine!
Ever wonder if you have a valuable book hidden in the far reaches of your attic or basement. It is possible. Many of the rare books that come on the market today are books were simply overlooked for a few generations. But how to know?
A great place to start is by reading a small publication found on the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section site called , Your Old Books. It will teach exactly what makes a book rare and how you can go about figuring out the potential value of your item. The number one rule: demand that is greater than the supply. You could have the only copy of a book in existence, but if no one wants it...well, then no one freakin' wants it.
If you read through this document and you are still convinced that you might have discovered a gold mine, then its time to start doing some research. Sites like ABAA.org and abebooks.com, can give you an idea of how many copies of a book are currently being offered for sale.
If you are now nearly willing to bet your pets life that you have a book that could pay off all your students loans and still leave enough money for a down payment on your dream house, then its time to contact a book seller. Don't bother going to your local library, it is against the law for them to tell you how much your book is worth.
Good luck, and be sure to report back to Luminous when you strike gold.
5 comments:
Will the local library get to keep the 70,000 bucks? I hope so.
Or are they going to keep it in their collection because of it's rarity? That doesn't sound all that Local Library-ish, but I don't know.
I stole a singed copy of a first addition of Leaves of Grass, from my friend elasah, its worth is 85 billion dollars. I am going to buy bank of america.
bank of america is a sinking ship. keep leaves of grass.
to answer your question czf,
yes, the library will get to keep the money from the sale. when items are donated they (usually) come with a deed of gift, making the item fully the institutions to do whatever they want with.
also, anonymous...you should bring that book over sometime...
I find the last paragraph from www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94822349&ft=1&f=1032 this article in your sidebar deeply satisfying.
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