“Individuals with old books or manuscripts in their possession often wonder how to ascertain the value of such material. Unfortunately, there is no single reference work or “price guide” which can be relied upon to provide the current values of antiquarian books, nor is there any simple way to explain in a few words how such values are determined.

The value of a book is affected by a variety of factors, including the intrinsic importance of the work, its scarcity, and collectors’ interest in it. In general, the books most sought after are great works in the humanities and sciences, usually in their first editions.

The value of a particular copy of any given book will be further affected by many other factors: its condition, its binding, its provenance, and the significance of any inscriptions it may contain. The evaluation of manuscript material, including letters and signatures of well-known people, involves still other considerations.”

………from the ABAA Membership Directory

The Private Library has made carefully written, well documented appraisals of books and libraries ranging from several hundred to over one million dollars to the satisfaction of both insurance companies and the Internal Revenue Service.