What makes a good book appraiser? Experience, a willingness to admit what you don’t know, and a way to get in touch with someone who does. Today we’re talking about the wide range of appraisals the Brattle gets involved in—from casual evaluations at the shop to written reports for tax or insurance purposes. It’s usually easy to tell when a book has only literary or sentimental value (and people are often surprisingly happy to hear it), but things get trickier when the books turn out to be valuable and rare. We’ll also talk about appraisals that miss the mark, including one for a signed (by someone) copy of a first (Canadian) edition of a classic American novel.
Brattlecast #110 - A Historic Customer
In this episode Ken talks about meeting a customer who, turns out, has an amazing family history. This is a story that really illustrates the importance of treating people well, no matter what. Speaking of meetings, we’re always happy to get in touch with you, our listeners! Feel free to reach out with questions, episode ideas, or just to introduce yourself. Our email address is info@brattlebookshop.com; and you can find us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, we’re @brattlebookshop on all three.
Brattlecast #13 - Asked & Answered, Part 2
Ken frequently says, "every book came out in a first edition". In part two of our FAQs series, myths and truths about first editions are tackled. Which signatures are valuable? How prevalent is fraud? Ken also regales Jordan with amazing stories tied to valuable books, from J.D. Salinger to Pope John Paul II.
