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Warmly Inscribed: The Joyful Adventure of Collecting Signed Books
A truly bookish hobby
There are more types of book collectors than you can count, but there is one thing nearly all of them love: owning books signed by their favorite authors. Often, a volume signed by the author is the most treasured part of their collection; owning a book that the writer held in their hands (if only long enough to scribble their autograph) gives a sense of connection between novel, writer, and reader that goes beyond the story contained within the covers. At least in part because of this, collecting signed first editions has become a specialty within the book collecting community which has exploded in recent times.
Before going into specifics about signed books, a few brief words on book collecting in general are important, as they affect the value and desirability of signed books as well. With nearly any collectible (and books in particular) condition is always key. A book in poor condition is almost never valuable, and for modern editions the dust jacket must also be pristine. Furthermore, first printings of first editions are generally the only ones of interest to the collector. Simply check the copyright page for the words “First Edition” at the bottom and/or a number sequence starting with a “1.” Finally, when speaking of first editions and first printings, this always…
