Toni Morrison

Born in 1931, Toni Morrison’s contributions to American literature have been profound.

In 1993, Morrison won the coveted Nobel Prize in Literature. That was secured with her novel, Beloved which was published in 1988 (which also won Morrison the Pulitzer Prize). Her novels are richly detailed novels about African Americans and their quest for life.

Her first novel, The Bluest Eye, published in 1970 (at the age of 39), started Morrison out on the right foot of writing. Then, the book was regarded as controversial and was not the most remembered novel of the year. Today, the book is a modern classic taught at universities around the United States.

After The Bluest Eye, Morrison went on to publish Sula, Song of Soloman, Tar Baby, Beloved, and Jazz. With those novels, Morrison became one of the most important American writers as well as a voice for African and African Americans. From her novels she has won National Book Critics Circle Award and been nominated for The National Book Award as well as winning the Pulitzer and Nobel Prizes.

In more recent years, Morrison has published a series of children’s books with her son, Slade. She has also published two novels titled, Paradise and Love. Both novels are not regarded as highly as Morrison’s writing that took place in the 1980’s and early 1990’s, but they are still respected books by any means.

Morrison’s value to a collector is disputable. Some, myself included, find that books signed by Morrison are not as sought after as they should be. Sometimes you can find signed copies of Morrison books for under $50. That is truly unheard of for a Nobel Prize winning author. She does hold the bar when it comes to earlier titles and signed copies of Beloved.

With The Bluest Eye, first printings, unsigned, can sell for close to $3,000. Signed copies have sold for close to $10,000. The main reason being that Morrison was unheard of in 1970. Most of the first printings went to libraries and subsequently destroyed after sometime. Morrison didn’t really make a huge impact on the literature world until 1977 with the publication of Song of Soloman, so by then, all of her earlier titles were not in the best of condition. Even today, a signed first printing of Sula can demand close to $2,000.

Beloved is the favorite title to have signed by Morrison. The caveat to that is that there are many out there. The value can depend on the current market demand. I have seen a signed copy sell for $100 as well as $860. She does not do many book signings, and when she does, the rules are very strict that Morrison will only sign the current title that she is promoting. I have known once instance in the past 7 years where she has signed back titles.

To me, Morrison’s signature is indisputably recognizable. There have been many frauds floating around eBay and other online selling forums…but for the most part, since Morrison’s recent titles are fairly cheap when signed, it’s not worth the effort. But even worse, the back titles are so expensive unsigned that the risk is also not worth the effort.

In May of 2006, a group selected by the New York Times decided that Morrison’s Beloved is the best book published in the last 25 years. Keep that in mind when buying.