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Post by sloanrodgers on Jan 2, 2009 18:43:48 GMT -5
Wow!! Yesterday I was lucky enough to find and purchase Editor John H. Jenkins's invaluable ten volume Papers of the Texas Revolution, 1835-1836, which was published in 1973 by Presidial Press here in Austin, TX. I believe I paid a great price for my set, but because these volumes are so rare nobody wants to sell them and I have no way to gauge my purchase. Has any member seen Jenkins's Papers auctioned or sold in the last five years and if so what was the price?
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Post by Jim Boylston on Jan 2, 2009 19:44:11 GMT -5
Man, I'm jealous. Did you have to take out a second mortgage? Jim
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Post by TRK on Jan 2, 2009 19:45:06 GMT -5
You are indeed one lucky dog, RR.
I haven't seen a complete set of Papers of the Texas Revolution offered for sale for years. When the set was first being readied for publication in the 1970s, I received a prospectus from the co-publisher, Jay Matthews (I still have the sheet somewhere), but, although I was buying most everything on the Texas Revolution back in those days, for some reason I didn't jump on this set. I'm still kicking myself every few days for not getting it when the getting was good.
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Post by sloanrodgers on Jan 3, 2009 2:43:11 GMT -5
No second mortgage and I didn't have to kill anybody. Indeed, luck had a lot to do with it. I only went out on the 1st to take advantage of a deal on eye glasses. Eyemasters closed early for the holiday so I drove over to Half Price a little peeved. Usually I do not converse with the quirky overly pierced and tatooed salespeople at this store. However, on this occasion I started talking to an odd fellow with a red afro and red gotee. To my shock he was very knowledgeable on basic Texas history and directed me to their recent acquisitions. The book bombshell being the Jenkins's complete set. At one point as I turned to look for the wandering red-headed salesman, an older man with his wife walked up to look at the volumes. Their perceived interest made me panic and I quickly decided to buy them. While the couple were looking at Volumes 1 through whatever, I grabbed the bibliography (Vol. 10) and ran off to find the salesman and direct him to box them up. The couple looked at me a bit pissed, but I was not going to let them take the book discovery of the decade from me. I'm still curious as to what the Jenkins Papers are going for elsewhere. Did I really get them half price???
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Post by TRK on Jan 3, 2009 9:04:50 GMT -5
I'd have to look it up, but it runs in my mind that the ten-volume set sold for about $100 when first published. A full set was sold by a rare books auction house for $375 in 2005; not a terribly steep price at all, IMO, considering the relative rarity of the set, although some of the covers and/or spines were slightly cracked.
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Post by sloanrodgers on Jan 4, 2009 12:21:15 GMT -5
Ugh! I wish I could have gotten them for only $375, but don't regret buying them. I found a 2001 auction where they were listed with some spine damage.. They were expected to sell for between $500 and $1000, but I don't know what the final bid was on the volumes. I think some folks would pay a lot more. I talked to my mother, who used to work at the Old Barker Texas History Center. She remembers when these books were published and knew John H. Jenkins. She said that mostly libraries, archives and authors grabbed these volumes upon publication. She also stated they usually only appear at rare used bookstores and auctions when some author or historian dies. I guess someone's misfortune has added to my book fortune.
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Post by sloanrodgers on Jan 7, 2009 21:55:47 GMT -5
I talked to a cashier at Half Price the other day and believe that my Jenkins Papers Vols. did indeed come from a departed writer although I don't know who he was. The previous owner told the HP buyer that his author father had recently passed away and he needed to unload his personal effects. The buyer did not remember the writer's name and the son is sadly unaware of the value of his father's books. I really hate to profit from someone else's ignorance. ;D
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Post by alamonorth on Jan 13, 2009 16:12:42 GMT -5
Just in case you have more money to spend; when I was in Bexar in March I saw that Cheever books was selling a set of Streeter for around a $1000.
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Post by Allen Wiener on Jan 15, 2009 9:09:41 GMT -5
I've never even seen one. I just checked Bookfinder.com, eBay, and Amazon.com -- nada. Not one copy to be had. You're probably lucky to have gotten it at any price. As to the couple who were browsing -- you made the right move. Ya snooze, ya lose!
AW
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Post by TRK on Jan 15, 2009 9:19:26 GMT -5
I was just going through a file cabinet and found Jenkins Publishing Co.'s 1986 books-in-print catalog, and they were listing a complete, unused set at $185. RR, if I ever find that original prospectus for the set (I know I didn't throw it away--I never throw anything away ), I'll send it to you.
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Post by sloanrodgers on Jan 16, 2009 0:25:29 GMT -5
Cool and thanks pard. If anyone in Texas is interested, the wonderful Austin Book and Paper Show is this weekend at Northcross Mall. It's a must attend event for any book collector.
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Post by billchemerka on Jan 16, 2009 9:27:02 GMT -5
The bindings on my volumes, though, didn't hold up well over the decades. Volumes three, four and five got dry and brittle quite quickly. Similar experiences for anyone else who has had a set for at least a decade or more?
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Post by alamonorth on Jan 16, 2009 12:58:03 GMT -5
I've had my set since the mid 70's and they are holding out fairly well. My volumes 3,4,and 5 are a bit more worn than the rest but that is probably bcause they are the three we use the most. On another note I am glad that I picked up a hardcover copy of Alamo Images, because my paperback copy is rapidly falling apart. As a preventive measure, I am going to order another copy of Mark Lemon's book. One to admire and one to study.
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Post by TRK on Jan 16, 2009 18:53:04 GMT -5
Not to hijack the thread, but the paperback edition of Alamo Images was notoriously prone to falling apart almost immediately upon opening the book; I've heard that from different users. I have a copy of the pb and hc versions of the book, and always reach for the hardcover over the flimsy paperback.
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Post by billchemerka on Jan 16, 2009 22:31:26 GMT -5
Not to hijack the thread, but the paperback edition of Alamo Images was notoriously prone to falling apart almost immediately upon opening the book; I've heard that from different users. I have a copy of the pb and hc versions of the book, and always reach for the hardcover over the flimsy paperback. Indeed! The softcover version of Alamo Images had a notoriously weak binding. Once it was fully opend it fell apart. The History Channel used one of my copies years ago for a This Week In History episode and it was returned looking like something swept up from Times Square after New Year's Eve.
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