Valuable Angling Books

  • Thread starter Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)
  • Start date
R

Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)

Guest
I have been an avid collector of angling books for the past 40 years I guess. These days I own about 250 books that take up a major amount of space in my little house.

I sat down a little while ago and tried to put a value on them. I got the shock of my life.

+- ?10k!!!

I have been offered ?2k a few years ago for one of my books.

Let's see what you have got and I will attempt to put a value on them?

The value in old books is first of all rarity, condition, first editions or not, signed by the author or not and last of all strangely enough - content. Some of the most valuable angling books are actually lousy reads.
 
K

Keith Robinson 2

New member
Joined
Dec 23, 2005
Messages
0
Reaction score
0
Being a great fan of B.B. for half a century I to have collected a fair number of his works,most of which have been past on to my grand son,he has'nt read any yet,
being only 9 years old. But he does know of The little grey men,Brendon Chase et., but as yet is not aware of the value of the books. Browsing a few weeks ago I found
a site which gave the current prices of some of B.B.s work, my son has been informed and promised me they are now closely guarded,
The only one I have retained is Confessions
of a Carp Fisher, honey paste, alasticum
wire and the like of monster carp of 7lbs,
which will probably make the younger carp
men laugh, but they must remember that in the very early days a carp of such size
was a prize worth catching.
Read it lads, it's a well written book and
shows the high esteem in which the carp
were held,worth a bob or two as well.
 
GrahamM

GrahamM

Managing Editor
Joined
Feb 23, 1999
Messages
9,773
Reaction score
1
Keith, sorry mate, but could you stop hitting the return key after a few words. Just let the text wrap to the next line automatically.

Just hit the return key when you want a new paragraph.

Thanks,

Graham
 
R

Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)

Guest
If it's a first edition in the lousy paper they had at the end of WW2 it could be worth as much as ?1000.00 depending on the condition.

Is it signed Keith?

In those days carp were only stocked in a very few waters in England, mainly by Donald Leney of the Surrey Trout Farm at Haslemere. They were of the German Galacian strain.

Bernithan Court Lake (Redmire), near Llangorran not far from Ross on Wye was stocked ca 1932 by Leney with about 35 fish about 3 lbs in weight each. There was a mixture of commons and mirrors.

The stocking of what was termed: Leney's strain, took place all over England but only in a few waters. I have caught several genuine Leney stocked carp in my life, mainly from a small lake near Pateley Bridge in Yorkshire.

There are a few of the old Leney strain still alive today!
 
K

Keith Robinson 2

New member
Joined
Dec 23, 2005
Messages
0
Reaction score
0
Thanks for the info Graham, silly old Keith ain't I? it's arthritis in the hands they have a job to keep with the brain.
 
K

Keith Robinson 2

New member
Joined
Dec 23, 2005
Messages
0
Reaction score
0
Ron no such luck with the ?1000.00 book mine is a 1970 reprint by H.F.& G. Witherby of London, it's the one with the chapter recalling the correspondence with Walker.
In the 1962/63 freeze up a dozen or there abouts,big carp well killed at Dallington Lake,Northampton these fish were between 28 to 30 lbs plus, the mortalities were covered by the local newspaper ( The Chronicle & Echo ).A few apparently did survive.
 
R

Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)

Guest
That is probably worth about ?40 Keith.
 
K

Kevin Perkins 3

Guest
Ron

How about my 1st edition, signed copy of 'Pike and the Pike Angler' by Fred Buller, with d/w or Doomsday Book by same author, again 1st edition with d/w?

Got a few others (signed) but I will have to dig them out.

Also, I have an old book by Frank Buckland
where some pages have not been trimmed correctly, therefore are unopened. Haven't taken a stanley knife to them yet, not sure if it is best to keep them in this state, they are quite readable if you prise the pages apart....


Regards

Kevin
 
G

Gary Knowles

Guest
Quest for carp - Jack Hilton 1st edition, excellent condition.
 
K

Kevin Perkins 3

Guest
Barney

Is that really your book, or is there a 'Property of ......Library' stamp on the flyleaf.......
 
B

Big Swordsy :O)

Guest
How about my 1st edition, signed copy of 'Pike and the Pike Angler' by Fred Buller, with d/w or Doomsday Book by same author, again 1st edition with d/w?

BIG BUCKS......I guess for the pair, both 1st, both signed, in good nick,?500- ?750 maybe more
 
R

Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)

Guest
Kevin,

Pike and the Pike Angler signed 1st edition.

Have you got it insured.

Anything between ?250 and ?500.

I would like to see that book by Frank Buckland before making an estimation. Could be worth as much as ?500.

Quest for Carp - 1st Edition Barney, if it was signed you might get ?250 for it. As it is, say ?100.

That's about right Lee, but the books will require examination by an expert
 
N

NottmDon

Guest
Well Ron how about

"Advanced Coarse Fishing" by a bloke called "Graham Marsden"

only the second edition I am afraid to say but nonetheless one of the 'better' angling books in my collection.

Have a couple of books "The Perch Fishers" and a barbel book 1st edition by West & Miles.
Its nice to know that people value these books so highly but its not the reason I purchased them in the first instance.
More a thirst for angling knowledge, and you cant put a price on that I imagine.
 
GrahamM

GrahamM

Managing Editor
Joined
Feb 23, 1999
Messages
9,773
Reaction score
1
Sorry Don, not worth much. Luckily for me there were a lot of copies sold, two editions and a reprint in both hardback and paperback, so there's a lot out there somewhere which devalues them.
 
Murray Rogers

Murray Rogers

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 17, 2005
Messages
1,274
Reaction score
6
Location
herts/bucks border
I've got loads, just like you Ron, when they were coming out in a very limited number i was buying em straight away.

Sold all me Carp ones though a couple of years ago on e bay when the prices got to big to ignore.

I still have some very rare ones (old) 1 of which I've not been able to find to much about. It's by one of the Hardy's, but i haven't got the relevent details in front of me as i'm in India until Sunday. I would be interested in selling if the price was right. Will forward details.
 
R

Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)

Guest
It's strange, but as I have said, some of the best ever books on angling are not worth a great deal. The reason is that due to demand, lots were printed.

What often happens is that a fairly short print run is done on a book. If it sells well and quickly, it will go for a second, third or even a forth impression.

The most valuable books are those that only had a first edition.

However find a first edition of some of the great classics and you have gold. For example a hard back, signed, first edition of Casino Royale by Ian Fleming went for ?30,000 recently.

The most valuable recent angling book is "Casting at the Sun" by Chris Yates. Find a first edition that is signed and it can be worth ?2000 DEPENDING ON THE CONDITION!!

One of the most poignant aspects of a book's value depends on whether the author is dead or not. If the author dies, a book can virtually double in value. For example the book: Angling Memories by Tag Barnes, doubled in price on his death.

By the way, if you get the author to sign your book for you, get the signature done with a fountain pen in black ink, not a ball point.

Never a pencil.
 
Mark Wintle

Mark Wintle

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 10, 2002
Messages
4,480
Reaction score
842
Location
Azide the Stour
Ron,

I think you are getting a little carried away on "Casting at the Sun". Usually signed, fine copies circa ?250; unsigned fine around ?200. The relatively high price drew out a lot of copies.

I picked up a first edition of Deepening Pool a few months back at ?3!
 
R

Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)

Guest
Mark,

I saw a first day cover, signed, going in a Cambridgeshire bookshop for ?1800 recently. There must have been something special about that book. That's where I got my rough price from.

You are right about the unsigned copies. ?200 will get you a decent one.

?3 for the Deepening Pool - First edition???

You lucky devil!

Whoever sold you that made a hell of a clanger didn't he?

Another problem with books is that a certain copy will sell for a high price. All of a sudden, the price drops as other people put their books on the market as Mark says.

Two books that will command large prices in future will be "The Walker/Stone Letters" and the Biography of Richard Walker, both by Medlar Press. These books are being limited to only about 1000 copies each. I have my name down for both.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top