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Antique book collecting is a fantastic hobby. I love the moniker of "book hound," and this interest started for me part out of my own interests, and in part because of my parents. My parents loved antiques, going to estate auctions, and collecting glass and furniture. I loved old things, as well, but since books were always my passion, it made sense for me to start looking at first editions.

Before I became involved as a book collector, I always thought of antique books as being 400 years old and costing a fortune. You know, the kind of hobby far out of reach of the average book lover like me. When I started looking into book collecting, I realized that wasn't the case.

My first experience into becoming a book hound came after I bought two hardcover first edition books: "The Exorcist" by William Blatty, and "The Dragon" (a sequel to silence of the lambs) by Thomas Harris. I bought both from a used book store for $6 and tax. They were both first editions, first printings, with the dust jacket and in amazing condition. When I put them up on eBay after I was done and ended up with a $38 bid, I realized there was something going on I wasn't aware of.

So I did what anyone interested in book collecting would do: I looked around and found some books on book collecting. This was a great way to get me into book collecting, and if you're looking to start collecting antique books, I have some advice to help you out.

1) Definitely read up on it. There are so many things to consider from dust jackets to how much wear means what to condition, which determines value, and you can be a niche specialist, only collecting 18th and 19th century medical books, or you can collect whoever you like. Figuring out what you want to collect early is always a good idea.

2) If this is for pleasure, find some authors whose books are relatively available. Two of my favorites in this department are Sinclair Lewis and Upton Sinclair. They don't pop up often, but I've bought $200, $300, $500, and $750 first editions from these authors in good condition off of eBay for $50 each. Do some research, and collect who you like. That always makes it much easier!

3) Old doesn't necessarily mean valuable. I have several books from Mom's auctions that are from the 1920s, but money wise aren't worth anything. Then again, I love books with titles like "Moving Pictures," "Horseless Carriage," and "Aeroplane." Newer books are valuable. If you stumbled upon a true first edition of John Grisham's novel (which he self published), that book is worth over $5,000.

4) Enjoy the hobby. You have an excuse to stop at every garage, library, and estate sale you can find, to attend every weekend auction, to attend every flea market. Enjoy it!

The best deal I've found was a book I bought for $58 (including shipping and insurance) and turned around and sold for $775. The thrill of that has never worn off, nor has being able to take less valuable first editions of my favorite authors, and putting them on my shelf. If it's between a 1925 hardcover and a brand new paperback, give me the first edition any day of the week!

So I hope these tips helped. Enjoy!

Learn more about this author, Shane Dayton.
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