Which old books are the most valuable?

There are not a few people reading books now, because there are more people reading novels, but fewer and fewer people reading paper books. Some old books that have been used for a long time are even thrown away as worthless things. So which old books are the most valuable? Let me take you through it.

1, hard copy. Some books, in addition to the cheap regular edition, have a limited number of hardcover editions or special editions. These books are beautifully printed with pen and ink, with large format, good paper quality and limited quantity, which is of great collection value. For example, the first printing of Paradise Lost translated by Zhu published by Shanghai Translation Publishing House was 1984, with a total of 46,400 copies, including 3,400 hardcover editions, which were even more exquisite. 1989 Qilu edition "Criticizing Jin Ping Mei with a New Carved Rust Image" has been highly praised by experts at home and abroad, because it has reached a new height in the printing history of Jin Ping Mei. Of course, it is even more precious to have a hardcover book that is not for sale. For example, The Legend of Charlotte translated by Fu Lei was first published in September, 1933, of which only 50 hardcover editions were printed, which attracted the attention of bibliophiles at home and abroad.

2. The first version. Most of the first edition books are printed and proofread by the author himself, which has always been valued by edition experts, so as to check the negligence of later editors. For example, the first collection of essays by the famous poet Cang Kejia was published by Shanghai Liangyou Fuxing Book Printing Company, which was first published on May 1939. There is also a study of novels in the Tang Dynasty by Chen Yinque's disciple Liu Kairong, 1947 business edition. The Wandering Story of an Orphan Girl, written by Harold Brent, translated by Wu Guangjian, first published by Shanghai Commercial Press in September, 1935, has become a treasure in the collection field.

3. Wrong copy. Sometimes, a book is called a special edition because of printing or binding errors. It's like a stamp collector buying the wrong ticket, and things are rare and expensive. For example, Selected Modern Prose edited by Mr. Zhao, published by Shanghai Beixin Bookstore 10 in early October, is divided into two volumes. The second volume is wrong. There is a book seal at the beginning: "Three rooms and ten thousand volumes".

4. Collect books. The so-called collection ticket book refers to a book with a collection ticket posted on the copyright page. The rise of China book tickets was in the 1920s and 1930s. Ye Lingfeng once said: "Leaving aside the book itself, just collecting it is as endless as collecting stamps." Overseas air tickets are very expensive. According to Dong, a book ticket carved by Eric Gill for his wife in the 1980s was priced at 90 pounds! For more information, please refer to the article Booking Tickets.

5. Version of ancient books. As time goes on, the longer these books are, the more valuable they are for collection. During the Republic of China, the price of Song books was fried to fifty or sixty silver dollars a page. This is recorded in 1942 Jo Yeo-jeong Antique Guide. In the early 1950s, the market of ancient books in Song and Yuan Dynasties was once in a downturn, and books in Ming Dynasty were sold by weight. This abnormal market is naturally a brief moment in the period of social change. Soon things changed. By the end of 1950s, books in Song and Yuan Dynasties had almost withdrawn from the open ancient books market. However, ancient books in the Ming Dynasty are not uncommon. At that time, the price of the book catalogue showed that the price of an ordinary Ming edition was only about five yuan. Should this price be commensurate with the social purchasing power there? Quot During the "Cultural Revolution", the collection of books in society was greatly destroyed, and the collection of books fell into extreme atrophy, and there was no market for ancient books. After the 1970s, ancient books gradually moved from internal sales to public sales, and few people were willing to collect them. Only in the era of reform and opening-up, when people are well-off, do they resume their appreciation and collection. The price of ancient books is also rising year by year. Nowadays, people are very lucky if they can buy a real Ming edition book for less than 1000 yuan.

These are the most valuable old books I have introduced to you. Generally speaking, the circulation is small, the world is few, the printing quality is high, and the collection value is high, so if you own these old books, you will make a fortune.