Do later editions or printings ever become valuable?
The quick answer is, sometimes. For collectors, first edition, first printings are preferred because they tend to hold greater value. However, there are cases where later editions and printings of a book come to garner great value as well. This can be particularly true in the case of historical works (including travel and exploration narratives), where subsequent additions may come to include updated, improved and/or additional information, including maps, illustrations and other important materials not contained in preceding editions. Some subsequent editions of fictional works may also increase in value over time, though this occurs with less frequency than works of non-fiction. An example of this phenomenon can be said to have occurred with the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, including The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, all of which sold sluggishly for the initial decades following their publication but exploded in sales during the 1960s as a result of growing popular interest i
Related Questions
- 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?
- Early editions of The Royal Book of Oz say that it was written by Baum, but later ones say it was written by Ruth Plumly Thompson. Whats up with that?
- How much has been changed in later editions?
