As mentioned before, not all first editions are valuable. But just why will someone pay $15,000 or more than $100,000 for a first edition of a book that looks just like all the later printings?
The answer is simple. Collectors of first editions want a copy of the book, as it appeared to the world for the first time, before anyone knew what it was or how important it would become. That is the simplest and sanest way I can describe the mania for first editions in any field of book collecting. There is an excitement and a sense of stewardship in hunting and owning first editions of famous books.
