Bookzing Book Description Blog2008-08-19T21:14:49ZMichael ElmerCopyright 2008, Michael ElmerSPHPBLOGHow would you describe this set? Prepare for the BookZing Book Description Contest.------------------------------------------------ Title: Mushrooms in Their Natural Habitats Vol. One & Two
Author: Alexander H. Smith
Illustrated by: William Gruber
This ground breaking set is of historical importance because of the extensive content and the photographer's fame.
Alexander Hanchett Smith (1904 - 1986) for many years the dean of American mycologists probably named more valid species of mushrooms than anyone except Lewis David von Schweinitz and Charles Horton Peck. He now has a biography on the website of the University of Michigan herbarium.
William B. Gruber was a renowned photographer and inventor of the View-Master
"It all began in 1938 when William Gruber, a piano tuner by trade and a stereo photographer by hobby, invented the View-Master. Soon after the idea took shape, Gruber created the first View-Master viewer and introduced it in Portland, Oregon in 1939. However, it wasn't until the following year at the 1940 New York World's Fair that many Americans had their first View-Master viewing experience. "
Volume 1 of this set consists of 626 pages of text, primarily dealing with the problems of mushroom identification and keys for groups illustrated. Red cloth boards are in very nice condition; internally clean with a slightly cocked spine. Volume 2 is a box disguised as a book, lined with purple velvet, two cubbies, and snaps closed. Nestled in one cubby are the elusive 33 reels of color stereo-photographs and the other the coveted View-Master. The reels are enclosed within a smaller book and have been well cared for. One light lens has a worn out tab, else wise this vintage Sawyer's View-Master is in nice condition. Female end of snap is missing on box. A must in any mycological library and a rare find with reels.
Michael Elmer 109 Grand Ave., Bellingham, WA 98225 (360) 733-6272, info@michaelsbooks.com
]]>http://bookzing.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry080120-2217572008-01-21T00:00:00Z2008-01-21T00:00:00ZIncas in Peru -- printed in Welsh --Signed/inscribed by author --1915by Eluned Thomas 4 3/4" x 7 1/3" Published by: Evans A Williams Cyf, Caerdydd, 1915 SIGNED. Very Good -No dustjacket Green decorative hardcover. Text in Welsh about the Incas in Peru. Photo on frontispage is same as the design on front board, and book has several other illustrated pages, all in b/w.ffep has label in Welsh, and under it "Eluned Thomas" and an inscription in Welsh. Spine a little bumped & rubbed, tiny tear on ffep.
Traite Complet De L'Art Du Dentiste, Apres L'Etat Actuel Des Connaissances, Nouvelle Edition, Avec Un Atlas de 40 Planches by F.Maury Published by: Librairie Des Sciences Medicales, Paris, 1833 Verry Good - No Jacket Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall Binding: Three-Quarter Leather Notes: A Complete Treatise on the Art of Dentistry According to the Current State of Knowledge by F. Maury, Dentist at the Royal Polytechnic School, New Edition with an Atlas of 40 Plates. Previous owner's name in pencil on front pastedown and ink inscription (E Wildman March 2nd, 1836) on page 1 of text, stamp (Dr. E. Wildman, 1205 Arch Street, Philadelphia) on title page. Marbled green cloth boards, 3/4 brown leather. Foxing throughout. Spine has 5 raised bands, gilt titles. 578 pages Binding is tight. Covers scuffed and rubbed, leather worn through to boards on corners of fore edge and corners of spine. Plates (Litho de Benard) show facial structure, teeth and jaws in various states, pliers, needles, brushes, saws, files, and other tools. Includes glossary, bibliography, and description of plates. Text in French.
Item No: 10721 Price: $750.00
Keywords: Language, Medical, Dentistry, Teeth, French
The binding: two photos showing condition.
The Title Page
This Book containes 40 plates. I have posted 5 of these plates as examples.
Michael Elmer 109 Grand Ave., Bellingham, WA 98225 (360) 733-6272, info@michaelsbooks.com ]]>http://bookzing.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry080106-1714272008-01-07T00:00:00Z2008-01-07T00:00:00ZDescribing Books- Beyond the Basics-part-2Let your creativity and knowledge flesh out the description. This is why I developed the Book Description Builder at www.bookzing.com as a tool for booksellers to provide help in building descriptions.
You should bring all you know about the book and make it into a persuasive story. Research the author, explain their importance to the field, why should we buy this book, interesting facts, where it fits in scheme of things, why you are exited to be offering this book to the world. Anything could be a hook that will grab a potential buyers interest, the bibliographies it is listed in, the scholars that reference it in their work, the critics that have reviewed it, the story can be a living piece of history that should not be overlooked.
Read the catalogs of the great booksellers of the past and present, auction catalogs can be a good source for ideas and inspiration. The Americana Exchange at www.americanaexchange.com is a great source for research and a subscriptions are reasonable. I have found Bruce McKinney to be knowledgeable and well connected within the field. Their AE Monthly is well worth reading as soon as it appears.
Building relationships with booksellers with different specialties can be one of your best investments. I value the relationships I have built and spend time keeping them fresh.
Michael Elmer Michael's Books www.michaelsbooks.com ]]>http://bookzing.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry071124-2023152007-11-25T00:00:00Z2007-11-25T00:00:00ZDescribing Books- Beyond the Basics-part-1Every seller will include about the same things in about same order, sometimes even filled into your listing automatically from the ISBN or another source. Where you can really shine and stand out is describing the book in front of you. Knowing about books at this point is crucial the parts of a book can be learned from reference books
BOOK COLLECTING TERMS ILLUSTRATED at http://www.mywingsbooks.com/ has great photos of books in graded conditions.
AB Bookman's Weekly condition codes or variations are still the standard that most knowledgeable booksellers follow and going back to reacquaint yourself with them occasionally can be very helpful. We offer a pdf of this code that can be printed out along with our book condition checklist at http://books.descriptionbuilder.com/http://books.descriptionbuilder.com/Book_Condition.pdf Print out our book condition checklist and go through a book you want to describe point by point and you will get a much more complete appreciation of the condition. Good habits make better descriptions. Don’t forget to note the good points about the book or you will make it sound worse than it actually is. I have described books after noting all the faults and barely recognized the book from my description. Describing the features of the book as well as the defects can balance the description.
]]>http://bookzing.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry071121-1325302007-11-21T00:00:00Z2007-11-21T00:00:00ZDescribing BooksThere are as many ways and methods as there are booksellers. I thought I would write about my process. Select a book to describe. Whether it is something you’ve had for a while or recently acquired. If you're new at describing start with something you know about or are interested in researching. You can use existing software that has fields for the basics and add everything else into the notes or description field. Homebase and Booktrakker both use the “Notes” field. Bookhound uses the "Description" field. You will want to describe accurately but persuasively.
The Basics
1. Author and Editor or Illustrator (if present) 2. Title of book. and Subtitle. (if present) 3. Publisher's name and location (city and state, plus country if not USA). 4. Copyright year. Year published, if different from copyright year, or if copyright year is not shown. Library of Congress year, if copyright year is not shown. 5. Edition and printing history. 6. Binding format (hardback with/without dust jacket or paperback). 7. Condition. AB Bookman's Weekly industry standard condition codes and our book condition checklist are available at http://books.descriptionbuilder.com/ 8.“Notes” or "Description" This is where you really SELL the book. Let your creativity and knowledge flesh out the description. This is why I developed the Book Description Builder at www.bookzing.com as a tool for booksellers to provide help in building descriptions.
Other Things to List:
Number of pages. Pre-text pages, supplemental pages, or other pages, such as: index, appendix, photos, illustrations, or bibliography. Size of book. Table of contents. Quotes or blurbs from dust jacket. Description of book's contents, plot, or topic. author's biographical information.
Ask yourself “Why would someone buy this book.?” and use your answer to build your description.
Some things that can increase the value of a book:
Author signature or inscription Edition of the book: First, illustrator, limited or special edition. Provenance or a history of ownership (famous or notable past owners including notes by a known person) Collectible bookplate. Bookseller stamps labels Errata Sheets. Ephemera. related to the book laid in or for sale stand alone Media and current events, the ebb and flow of public interest related to the subject matter,
I welcome your comments on this blog let me know what you want to see. Michael Elmer Michael's Books www.michaelsbooks.com
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