What is the value of a 1864 Websters International Dictionary?
The “value” of that work, and of any book, is precisely what a willing buyer will pay a willing seller. For that reason, the asking prices vary widely, depending on such factors as which printing it is of the stated edition, the nature and condition of the binding, the condition of the inside pages, what the seller hopes to realize from the sale. Without consideration that you may have a treasure that is defined by some esoteric characteristics that create a high demand, the dealers’ online offering prices for dictionaries of that general description are, at the moment, about $130 to $350. If such a volume had boards that were slightly loose, with bumped edges and with outside lettering slightly worn, a binding that was generally tight, an inside inscription by a previous owner, with pages that were unmarked and in good shape, but with brown spots throughout, I, for one, would find that range much too high. But others who may crave such an edition might pay even more.
