Starter Packs FOR SALE!

I received the following press release from a gentleman in the UK with a pretty good idea:

Collecting rare books can be daunting for newcomers to the trade. Often it is difficult to know where to start, and building a coherent collection can be pricey. Even seasoned veterans in the trade find that building a collection with the right angle and with longer term investment value can be challenging. With this in mind, a well-known rare book trader in London has started putting together small starter packs of rare collectible books. These collections present a package of books that follow a particular theme and are selected with the new collector in mind. The concept was initially thought up by Ilka Rauch, the head of the Modern Literature department at Bernard J Shapero Rare Books.

With a keen eye for the beginnings of a modern rare book collection and years of experience helping her customers source books for their particular collections, she felt that newcomers to the book collecting world were often put off by the complexities of the trade. One of the most difficult starting points is building a themed collection and knowing which items are likely to build the collection's overall value. Many beginners start out simply wanting to adorn a shelf with a colorful collection of rare books that symbolize their status and that capture their own life philosophies.

The hardest part about building a collection like this is that it requires individually sourcing a number of books that tie up a theme. Bernard J Shapero has provided already sourced and themed collections with an eye to catching a growing market of new book collectors starting out and trying to build their collections with as little effort as possible. PDF catalogues of the items in each collection are currently available on their website at http://www.shapero.com/. Current starter collections include a Mountaineering collection, Science-Fiction collection, a Modern Women collection and selected works illustrated by renowned 1940's artist John Minton.

Thanks
Kindest Regards
Rowan Puttergill

I think the general idea of the concept is great. I remember when I first started collecting books; I would collect paperbacks with different covers, different editions, etc. I have learned just how fast you can spend money on things you don't really need. With this program, you have experts who will take your information and help you along the way. Great. Simply great!

My advice to new collectors: Collect what you love. Ultimately this is your book shelf. Collect books that you enjoyed reading; don’t collect the books that look better or books you might not appreciate later. And the best advice I can give - books are NOT the stock market. Do not think that because a book sells for a lot of money now, that it will only gain in the future. There are several instances where that is true, but not ALL instances.

In the future, I will post a topic on the dependency of rising prices. But until then, take a look at that site, and feel free to contact them with any questions.

Happy reading -
Kenny