Lately I've been doing some work for my mother. She has, in her possession, a family Bible from her previous (now deceased) husband. It is a glorious large tome published in 1736. She was thinking she wanted to know what she could do with it.
Keeping it in her house is the biggest issue. She doesn't want to keep it there since she has that house shut up for a good deal of the year. So she asked me to help her goet it appraised which I did. I was able to locate a wonderful appraiser of antiquities and he gave me an honest appraisal and has offered to help my mother try to sell the books if she desires to do this. He has also helped me to understand this world a little better and has patiently answered all my questions.
Personally, I'd like her to see if she could find a museum or public library or someone in these fields who would have the proper facilities to care for of book of this stature and age. Ultimately, however, this will be up to my mother.
It's a beautiful day today, cool for August. Without a lot of plans, I'm thinking this will be a good day to be outside.
4 comments:
My oldest Bible is from 1871. It's not that big at all either. It's about 6 inches long, maybe 4 inches wide. Beautiful book. I like antique books a lot.
Austin
In my opinion this book has at least 3 values. First the date (was it published in United States?); second that it belongs to a family (even if it was from your mother's family-in-law), and third that a Bible is more than a book (even if you are not religious).
What are you going to do?
Is it any diference between the two images?
Sorry for the questions.
Marta, First it was published in Germany and is actually in German. My appraiser did give me three appraisals for this book. The appraisals are the Insurance Value (what it is actually worth), Retail Market Value (what I can hope to get should I decide to sell it privately), and Auction Value (what I can hope to get should I sell it at auction.
Mother hasn't decided what she wants to do yet. She does know that she doesn't want to keep it in her tiny rickety house that is closed up much of the year. She would like to sell it either privately or at auction, but my appraiser warns that it is very hard to sell a book like this and she won't get the price she wants. Though the book has substantial value, it is unlikely she will actually get much for it if she tries to sell it.
I would like to see her either lend or donate the book to a museum or libray or to an establishment that has the facilities to care for a book of this age and stature. This way, too, it can be shared with everyone. Her deceased Husband's family has no interest in it.
Thanks for the information. It's interesting to know more details about the Book. I'm a librarian but I'm not an expert on old books at all, specially in German (!).
Your idea is right. Certainly, goods sometimes are as dead weight, and this is one reason why I prefer flowers.
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