Photography Do's And Don'ts - How To Sell Books PHOTO GUIDE

One of the most difficult parts of selling a book (or any antique item in fact) is photographing it.

You want to show the all of the features as accurately and positively as possible.

The key to listing books on eBay is in showing every aspect of it through great photography.

Follow the guide below and you should manage to do just that.

The Photography Dont's:

Object position

Don't lay the book on it's side unless it won't stand up.

Even then try to prop it up from behind so that it appears to be standing.

Bad:

This one is better but again, photographing the book standing up is clearer and more professional.

Adequate:

The best way to show the book is to photograph it standing, with a light background and with the spine visible.

Good:

Background

Don't photograph the book against a dark or dirty background.

White walls or carpet suits best.

Try the bath, a kitchen surface or even on top of a washing machine for a clean and simple backdrop.

If all else fails you can try the back of a rug or laying a sheet.

Bad:

Good:

Focus

Focus is an important way to get your book to appear clear and realistic.

You want the writing on your book to be easily visible and any decoration to be bold and clear..

If it's blurry and out of focus then use your camera's Macro mode.

Try taking the photo in a well-lit room also.

If all else fails then flash can capture text clearly but be careful with it.

Keep trying until the photo looks clear - a buyer won't want to buy a book they can't see properly!

Bad:

Good:

Flash

Try taking photos of your book in a well-lit environment, with a lamp or light close by to accentuate the details of the book..

Only use flash as a last resort as it can be too harsh for photographing clearly.

It gives an uneven and unrealistic visualization of light and colour and isn't ideal for photographing books.

Bad:

Flash can be used well in some cases - try moving the camera further away and zooming in so the flash isn't too bright on the pages. You will often get a reflective section on shiny surfaces (colour pages or book covers) so beware.

Good:

The Photography Do's:

1. Exterior shot

If there's a Dust Jacket present then keep it on the book for the first photo.

1.5 Dust Jacket shot

If the book does have a Dust Jacket then try to photograph it completely unfolded on a flat surface so the buyer can see any flaws and you don't get caught out when describing the book.

2. Covers

If the book has a Dust Jacket then take a photograph showing the book without its cover.

Remember what I wrote about setting, lighting and focus.

3. Front papers

Now show the very first pages (Front papers or inside cover)

This isn't always important unless they are decorated nor interesting e.g A map.

4. Cover Details

If there are any nice details on the cover such as gilt patterns, a picture or nice font then show this - it can only help.

5. The Title Page

One of the most important photographs you can take is of the title page.

This gives buyers important information about the book - make sure the writing is clear.

6. The Print Details

Now take a photograph of the section that people often miss.

Most books will have a page behind the Title Page (or on the back of the title page) showing the publication details of the book.

This gives vital information to the buyer concerning the year and edition etc.

7. Sample Page

Now try showing a standard page to the buyer so they know what to expect.

Perhaps choose one with an illustration or take several photos if there are quite a few illustrations.

 Once you have taken all of your photographs check through to make sure they are accurate, clear and free from obvious flaws.

By displaying the details above of your book you will stand a much greater chance of selling for a higher value,especially if it is a rare or collectible book

Thanks for reading and please take a look at my other posts.

Email me if you need and help or have any questions;

vaugc002@gmail.com

Kay Nielsen - Fairy Tales and Illustrations - An Antique Books Guide

 

Kay Nielsen 
Danish Illustrator
1886-1957

Kay Nielsen is one of the world's greatest ever book illustrators.

Often ranked alongside Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac, Kay's artwork reflects the core principles of the Art-Nouveau movement and remains one of the finest examples of book illustration ever produced. The Golden Age of illustration, running from the 1880's to the early 1920's was a time when books became artworks and illustration was really transformed into an art form. Previously colour and black and white illustration could only be simple affairs with basic shading and creativity limited by the printing and engraving process.

With the invention of the new four-colour printing process, Kay Nielsen became one of the true illustration pioneers and produced an array of glorious dream-like colour illustrations for books ranging from Andersen's Fairy Tales' to the renowned 'East of the Sun and West of the Moon'. Characterized by haunting ethereal scenes with elegant costumes, exotic backdrops and fantastic creatures, his illustrations have gained such acclaim that a single illustration taken from one of his books can be sold and framed.

Now coveted amongst collectors, Kay Nielsen's few and sought-after books offer a glimpse into a time when days of work went into a single illustration and books took years to illustrated.  Perhaps because of the time care that went into the illustrations they still look beautiful today. Below I have selected two of Kay's best known books and I hope that this tribute illustrates the best of his work for you to appreciate. Each illustration could provide an essay's worth of analysis and description but I think that I will let the pictures themselves do the talking.

East of the Sun and West of the MoonIllustrated by Kay Nielsen
George H. Doran publishers
Circa 1914

Hans Christian's Fairy Tales
Illustrated by Kay Nielsen
Garden City Publishing Company
Circa 1920

An Antique Books Guide - Everything to do with collecting antique books PHOTO GUIDE

Here is a guide that I have created from personal experience of many different aspects of book collecting that can be useful to know. Ranging from signed copies to Fine Binding, this guide aims to help you start or add to your book collection or even just book knowledge.

I am by no means an expert but I have learned a little throughout the years and I have attempted to put that specific knowledge into this blog.

BOOK DEFINITIONS:

Antique pertains to books dating over 100 years old whilst vintage can be considered anything printed between 1930 and 1960

Retro could be considered anything later than 1960 to an extent. Please note that all of these are just loose bands.

Art Deco Book Cover

Here is an Art Deco cover - a classic William Morris style design. These designs are often floral and always striking with bright colours in bold design.

1910's Period Book Cover

Most likely a highly decorative form of Art Deco design, books like the copy below are highly collectible for the beauty of the design itself

Vintage Book Cover

Here is an Enid Blyton first edition from the 1950's and a classic vintage book

Fine Binding

Here is a classic example of a finely bound book.

Often with leather, calf or vellum edges and marbled covers, these books were expensive to produce, to buy and are to collect.

They are also often strongly bound even now and are the staple of Dark wood or classic libraries the world over

The Late Victorian Decorative cover

Here is a fine example of the late Victorian book cover.

With exquisite detailing and unique font giving a window into the book, these covers can be captivating and striking such as the example below.

Modern Gilt / Deluxe Cover

Here is a modern cover from the iconic Guild Publishing house. With an intricate gilt design and a faux leather effect cover this book appears to be far older than the 1970's publication it is

Art Nouveau Cover Book

Here is a classic art nouveau style cover, featured on the collectible Chiswick Shakespeare series printed between the late 1890's and  the early 1900's

Front/ Rear Papers (FFEP's)

Virtually every hardback book has a front and rear paper before the main text. Some are plain, others more decorated with a repetitive pattern such as many late Victorian publications, and others unique such as the classic Hobbit map.

Frontispiece

After the cover and the front paper comes the frontispiece.

Not all books have them but a good number of antique and vintage books do. Often in older books these are black and white illustrations but in rarer or more recent publications these can be in colour and really add to the presentation of a title

The First Edition Print Line

The first edition is something that any collector wants. Be it an antique book or a modern one, a first edition is a nearly surefire way to add value to the book.

Ending in a one, the number line can read differently on some books.

Older titles were only really given one publication or printing so first editions for some antique texts were rather easy to come by. Similarly modern first editions are a certain best seller so popular books such as the later Harry Potter books were given a large print run in first edition form meaning values for these are low.

The Dust Jacket

A dust jacket is and was a popular way to protect books. Many antique book after the 1900's were issued with such covers even when the covers were bold and decorative, purely to protect such designs.

Books of an age still with such dust jackets can double in value

Folio Society and the Slipcase

Firstly, some books comes with a dust jacket as seen above whilst others come with slipcases. These are often more recent and valuable or collected texts. 

Secondly, the Folio Society is synonymous with quality, being a publishers that reprints a great range of world famous texts 

Gilt edging or Gilding

Back to the externals of a book.

Gilt edging or gilding is reasonably common on more expensive books of the past with great popularity found in the late Victorian period. To have a book gilded nowadays to such quality can cost hundreds of pounds.

Most antique books have a single edge that has been gilded - often the top. Some nicer books can have tripled gilding which means every visible edge is covered with the shiny gold dusting

Disbound

Below is an example of a book that is no longer bound.

This text is complete and almost as it was printed except for the fact that the binding - most likely glue - has loosened or weakened completely resulting in the text block being completely separate from the covers.

A reparation is needed but this can cost a lot of money so in most cases, such a book is best kept as a 'reading copy' i.e not to sell or collect!

A tipped colour plate (Dulac etc)

Plates are pages with illustrations, maps etc featured throughout some antique books.

Often these are illustrations and can add value to a book.

For example the illustration below is a colour plate painted by Edmund Dulac and is collectible by itself with some collectors separating and framing such images.

Look out for Arthur Rackham, Harry Rountree, Heath Robinson and Mable Lucy Atwell for collectible illustrators. 

Colour Plates

Colour plates are unique to each artist and also rare in pre 1890's books. In earlier cases such as early 1800's and prior, books with colour illustrations can fetch handsome sums purely due to the colour plates. 

Wood Engraving

Another type of illustration is the wood engraving.

Often more basic, more popular and more frequent, these illustrations can be found in many antique books.

Steel Engraving

The steel engraving is a more intricate, advanced form of illustrations often requiring thicker, stronger paper or card to print upon.

These are rarer than wood engravings, often full page and more valuable.

The Fore-Edge Painting

These rarities carry hefty prices but are truly valuable books.

By bending the pages of a book with a fore-edge painting you will suddenly find a miniature painting appear.

Please read my blog post on Fore-Edge Painting to find out more

http://anantiquebooksguide.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/the-fore-edge-painting-antique-book.html

Only copy available

By searching through book selling websites you can find out whether your book is common or rare and thus valuable.

In some cases there will not be any copies of your book for sale and this is something you can capitalize on if you choose to sell.

Vintage paperback

Some classic books can be found as a vintage paperback. Generally Penguin Books published these but there are other publishers too.

Look out for famous authors or books such as 'The ABC Murders'

The copy below sold for £20 despite the fact that the spine was coming away from the inside a little.

Illuminated

An illuminated book features a page or several pages of highly decorative writing, usually with gold/ gilt colouring.

These books are often valuable purely for the artistic value. 

Signed

The power of a signed book is quite impressive.

If you have a letter from an author or purely a signed copy then expect the value to rise far above the value of standard editions.

Collections/ Sets

A set or collection can be a valuable asset.

If you have a complete set, especially in early/ first editions then your books will be worth a lot. It is generally wise to keep such sets together to increase the value as collectors often look for complete collections as opposed to buying and searching for individual copies which can be time consuming and cost ineffective.

Leather/ Tooled Leather

If you have a leather bound copy of a book then it can be worth more than other copies in some cases. These are generally nicer editions.

The first of a set

The book below is the first Guinness World Record book to be published and is as such the most valuable in the series.

Look our for early or first in series such as The Philosopher's Stone in the Harry Potter franchise.

The book below is worth approximately £25

Famous for another book

If the author is famous for writing a certain book, early editions of their other books can still be valuable.

Take for example 'Rhyme? And Reason?' by Lewis Carroll.

Miniatures

A miniature book is quite a novelty and in some cases can be extremely collectible.
The smaller the better here although the book must have real pages to be worth much at all.
Bryce's Dictionary is one to look out for, being the smallest in the world.

Excessively Old

Books dating pre 1700 are almost always going to be worth at least £20 just for their age.
If they are in English then the base value is higher too.

That concludes this lengthy guide!

I hope that if you made it this far the post helped you in some way.

Please bear in mind that value can be subjective but the values or advice I have given has worked for me.

If you have any questions or need advice please contact me at vaugc002@gmail.com or feel free to comment, +1 or share.

Thanks for reading!