| Bidding on antiquarian books at live online auctions is | | | | is to the benefit of both the seller and the purchaser |
| sometimes a bit difficult. That's because unlike many | | | | since you don't want to get ripped off by a fake and |
| other objects that you might want to bid on, you are | | | | the seller doesn't want to get stuck selling for much |
| relying on the seller's description rather than actually | | | | less than an object is worth. Therefore, it's worthwhile |
| seeing the books for yourself. So how can you tell for | | | | to check the reputation of the auction house holding |
| certain that what you are getting is the real thing and | | | | live online auctions to make sure that they deal in such |
| not a clever (or not so clever) fake? Well, just as with | | | | objects regularly. |
| a traditional auction, there are a number of techniques | | | | Look for Telltale Details |
| that you can use and they all involve being a careful | | | | While it's always harder to find details when looking at |
| observer. Here's what you need to know in order to | | | | photos as opposed to the actual object, most people |
| make an informed decision about purchasing such | | | | selling antiquarian books understand that condition is |
| books online. | | | | everything and they will take lots and lots of pictures. If |
| Look at the Auctioneer's Reputation | | | | the book is a 19th century volume, look for the |
| While it's always important to check on any auction | | | | inevitable yellowing and damage to the spine that will |
| you are working with to make sure that they are | | | | have occurred. It was during the 19th century that acid |
| reliable and that they don't have reports of complaints | | | | paper, which is cheaper to make, started to take off, |
| against them with the Better Business Bureau, here | | | | and is known to not last long. That's why books from |
| we are talking about something else. Antiquarian books | | | | the 17th century can appear almost brand new (acid |
| are a fairly unique thing to be involved in the selling of. | | | | free paper) while books from a little over 100 years |
| While you will often find 19th and early 20th century | | | | ago look like they're falling apart. |
| books for sale from generalized auction houses, older | | | | Learn About Markings |
| antiquarian books can be quite rare and are not likely | | | | In addition to these, it pays to educate yourself about |
| to be offered by your friendly auctioneer who was | | | | marks that should appear in various books. For |
| last week offering up wax figurines of angels from | | | | example, if you were looking at Jewish books from |
| some sweet old lady's house. | | | | Eastern Europe from the 19th century, they would likely |
| Now, we're not saying it can't happen. Maybe the | | | | have a mark from the Czar's censor saying that the |
| sweet old lady happened to have a family Bible that | | | | book was approved. Without the mark, the book may |
| was handed down for the past 300 years. However, | | | | have been published underground. However, more than |
| typically when something like this is offered for sale, it's | | | | likely you should look for other live online auctions |
| sold by a specialized auction house that knows the | | | | selling similar objects since it's probably a fake. |
| market and knows what these things are worth. This | | | | |