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The Weed & the Winter Solstice
The rare first edition pictured above -- hard cover, saddle
stitched, 407 pages -- was manufactured by Haddon Craftsmen of
Bloomsburg, PA. The black and white dust jacket design is from
the ground-breaking New Age classic Earth Ascending by José
Argüelles.
FRIENDLY CITY PUBLISHING still has a few copies in inventory.
These are curently available at the modest collector price of $888
per copy. All are in fresh-from-the-printer condition. All have the
dust jacket with the design by José Argüelles. All are signed by
the author. FLAT SIGNED! And numbered. Number one (1)
belongs to First Lady Michelle Obama.
If you are new to book collecting as a long-term investment, here
are 7 points you need to know:
How to Invest in Rare Books I) Buy first editions Books can be a reliable investment of increasing value if you know what to look for. First editions by and large are the rarest and most valuable. Book collectors always look for first editions because they can never be exactly duplicated. Whether the book is a recognized classic or an undistinguished who-done-it a limited first edition -- especially when signed by the author -- can be financially rewarding. The market price of first editions, as for original works of art, is governed by the law of supply and demand. Prices appreciate in value over time. Investments in collectible first editions steadily increase in value, immune to bubbles and recessions. The very best time to turn away from professional dealers and turn to private collecting is now -- when the value of stocks and real estate are collapsing. The most lucratively promising place to turn to can be the small publisher. 2) Look for copies in fine condition: A 'fine' copy means a copy as close as possible to the condition it was in when first published. A worn, well-thumbed book can be ten times less valuable than the same book in mint condition. Library stamps, tears on the dust jacket, or wine and coffee stains drastically reduce the market value. Always buy the best you can afford. 3) Look for books with the original dust jacket. "It is particularly important," Simon Roberts, a book expert in London writes, "to pick up a book with its original dust jacket if possible. Many first-edition hardbacks came with a dust jacket that over time was lost or destroyed." A limited first edition with the original dust jacket can sell for 10,000 times as much as the same book without the dust jacket. And Lopez, on Alibris, tells us that a new dust jacket "can make the difference between a $35 first edition (unjacketed, so-so condition) and a $7500 first edition (jacketed, book and jacket both in fine condition." 4) Look for an author's first works. First works usually sell for the highest price. The Weed & the Winter Solstice, is the author's first work, although his run-away best seller Swifter than Eagles: Bill White and the Battle of Athens, 1946, was published before it was, The Weed & the Winter Solstice is his first work. See "About this Novel." 5) Look for copes that are flat-signed. 'Flat signed' is a term introduced by Stephen King. It means that the author's name was written in the book by the author. Author signatures can be duplicated and pasted or stamped into a book. These are called 'inscribed' books. They have a lower market value than flat-signed copies. All first edition copies of The Weed & the Winter Solstice offered for sale on this website are numbered and flat-signed by the author. 6) Should you invest in a paper-back? If you can't afford a first edition why not a paper-back edition of the same book? The paper-back edition of The Weed & the Winter Solstice -- the edition with the full-color iconic cover pictured of the marijuana bud and the all-seeing eye -- is still available for only $134.00 a copy. That edition is dedicated to Stanley Kubrick, who, before his untimely death, expressed an interest in the motion-picture possibilities of The Weed & the Winter Solstice. The few remaining copies of the paper-back edition are also flat signed. Second hand copies of that edition have been offered on the web for $99 per copy. But those are second-hand copies at best and are not signed by the author. 7) Consider your purchase as an investment A copy of a book that has never been sold can be ten times more valuable than a second-hand copy of the same book. Limited first editions have the nighest value. Limited first editions can be counted on to increase in value. The author's non-fiction novel SWIFTER THAN EAGLES, for example, was sold for $15 per copy when first published; Amazon recently offered a second-hand copy of SWIFTER THAN EAGLES for more than $639. We have one new copy of SWIFTER THAN EAGLES left. |
