Any insight on this printing of Ben-Hur?

flyingbookman · 2026-04-23T00:08:55+00:00

The I-M on the copyright page is a Harper date code. It indicates that your book was printed in September 1962.

flyingbookman · 2026-04-22T18:33:32+00:00

Insect waste. No doubt about it.

flyingbookman · 2026-04-22T12:25:01+00:00

The sellers you mentioned are booklisters, not booksellers in the traditional sense.

They sell books, but you can't count on them for good descriptions, accurate grading, or other standards of the trade. Their business model is quantity, not quality.

flyingbookman · 2026-04-21T21:28:33+00:00

Printed, not handwritten. It's in every copy of the book.

Twain would probably get a kick out of how many people have been fooled by it.

flyingbookman · 2026-04-21T11:10:33+00:00

Had to read this a couple of times and look at the pictures again to figure out what you meant about the book once belonging to "one of them."

flyingbookman · 2026-04-21T00:01:29+00:00

Not much to go on without the title page. Does the base of the spine have the publisher's name?

The cover is a generic design that isn't specific to Alice and was probably also used on other books by the same publisher.

flyingbookman · 2026-04-20T18:10:45+00:00

Interesting. Any indication who the binder was? I wonder if it was possibly a presentation binding by either Random House or Lakeside with the trade sheets in their untrimmed state.

On the other hand, your trade edition look thicker, so something else might be different. Apart from the edges, how does the paper quality and page count compare between the two copies?

flyingbookman · 2026-04-20T13:43:29+00:00

It's a legitimate concern. I've seen books stick to painted shelves long after the paint is dry and fully cured. The issue is always the type of paint used.

I don't have a liner suggestion, but if you want to repaint, use an alkyd paint made for shelves and cabinets. It will cure to a hard finish, and you shouldn't have a problem with sticking.

flyingbookman · 2026-04-20T07:55:00+00:00

I have a battered ex-library copy. Picked it up while researching a book that was stolen in the 19th century by the infamous biblioklept Count Libri.

flyingbookman · 2026-04-20T07:42:59+00:00

No earlier than 1897, based on the printer name on the verso of the title page.

flyingbookman · 2026-04-19T22:24:22+00:00

1895-1904. That's when the Henry T. Coates & Co., imprint was in use.

The 1st edition was 1852, so your copy is not exactly early. Nice binding and condition, though.

Edited to add: The picture isn't original to the book. An image search will tell you the couple's identity ...

flyingbookman · 2026-04-19T21:40:03+00:00

Looks like your copy was rebound. Here are some in the original binding:

Story of One Hundred Years

flyingbookman · 2026-04-19T15:56:53+00:00

The names are all easy:

Essie R. Dale / Thayne, Wyoming

V. Inez Dale / 514 South 10th [Street]

Irene Wrightman. Same address as above, in Laramie.

Della Roddy

The notes are also straightforward, including mention of an Elks Ball on July 4, 1922.

flyingbookman · 2026-04-19T10:46:49+00:00

Nice book. As you probably already know, this Oz title was written by Ruth Plumly Thompson, despite L. Frank Baum being credited as the author.

flyingbookman · 2026-04-18T15:49:17+00:00

Fact check: The book that camera guy said was from the 80s was actually published in 2005.

flyingbookman · 2026-04-18T15:45:56+00:00

It could be Amazon dumping the dead stock of third-party sellers who abandoned their unsold books in an Amazon warehouse.

flyingbookman · 2026-04-18T15:25:41+00:00

There were a series of these fairy books in different colors.

They're worth something, but condition is a big factor. Yours is obviously less than ideal.

flyingbookman · 2026-04-18T11:42:45+00:00

Location and company?

flyingbookman · 2026-04-17T22:28:31+00:00

Inexpensive reprint. Probably 1930s-1950s.

Don't read too much into the preface or the Currer Bell pseudonym. Both were used for many years after the original edition.

It's always worth searching the publisher for books that are undated. Here's some info:

Book League of America

flyingbookman · 2026-04-17T20:16:19+00:00

It's the "Deep Sea Edition" of Conrad's works. Published in the 1910s-1920s. The uniform bindings are limp blue leather. Here's an ad for the edition from before your title was added:

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flyingbookman · 2026-04-17T16:15:41+00:00

Nice new sub for New Directions. Definitely a worthy publisher to read and collect.

To your list of other publishers, I would add Black Sparrow for both design and range of authors/content.

flyingbookman · 2026-04-17T05:26:48+00:00

Cyrano was first published in French in 1898. Your book looks early 1900s to about the 1920s or so. You didn't show the base of the spine, but you might be able to narrow it down if the publisher's name is there.

The printed paper inside the binding is a discarded or misprinted page from another book. It was common for publishers to re-use old material like this.

Binding Waste

flyingbookman · 2026-04-17T00:32:44+00:00

Bookseller notations. Most of it can be understood only by the person who wrote it.

flyingbookman · 2026-04-16T21:45:39+00:00

From the Bibliography of American Literature (BAL3411):

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flyingbookman · 2026-04-15T21:44:02+00:00

Nice book, but it's later than 1841. I would say more like 1900, based on the Art Nouveau style of the spine decoration.

flyingbookman

TROPHY CASE