Published 1730... what would you do?

[bookcellartasmania]

Hi Bookies,

I've been procrastinating over what to do price-wise and selling-wise with the following very old book and hope you have some good ideas...

"Several sermons: chiefly upon practical subjects, many of which were preached before Her present Majesty, when Princess of Wales: by her chaplain in ordinary, the late Reverend Nicolas Brady, D.D., rector of Clapham, and minister of Richmond in Surrey". Hardcover (cloth; stained, and front cover falling off), faded gilt on spine, contents published 1730, just the 2nd from a 3 volume set.

Presumably the Princess referred to was Caroline, the wife of PoW who became George II.

I can only find Print on Demand versions available commercially; any other copies are in libraries.

Thoughts?

[judy-oz]

Think of President Lincoln's first name, shorten it, add books and either dot com or dot co dot uk, and all will be revealed. 

[federalbookcollectibles]

There would be a number of factors when developing a theory of price: condition, subject matter, completeness etc.

From your description there are a few problems - the cover is falling off, its a book on sermons and it is only a part set. To repair the book is a not insignificant cost, the subject matter might only appeal to a small market and it will be difficult to find matching volumes.

You can always send an email to an Antiquarian bookstore in England - they may not be able to give you a price sight unseen but they will usually advise you if it is a desirable title and whether it would be worth repairing. I have recently binned a number of books from the 1700s as the condition was too far gone for the title - the hand shakes a little but I still sleep at night 🙂