when you mention the prices, I wonder if thats specific to the UK, where the book wouldve been a scarce import. In Canada and Australia it would be much more common (like all those midsixties PANs), that may be why its only worth $4- here.
I'll make a point of checking next time I see one, but I doubt anyone in Canada is asking hundreds of dollars (until you mentioned it!)
I’ve no idea what prices this would fetch on the Canadian market, there are obviously a lot more there than in the UK. As a comparison, over the years I’ve been here, I’ve picked up scores of American comics for just a few pesos each, these being left behind by American servicemen when they were based here. A couple of examples below…
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
That was a great idea for shifting the unsold paperbacks. A dust wrapper for movie imagery 'in the now' and the generic 'Fleming' cover on the paperback itself: the best of both worlds... and twice is the only way to live!
Critics and material I don't need. I haven't changed my act in 53 years.
Yes, definitely be worth a few quid. Comic values are highly dependant on what grade the are in but the Lois Lane one is catalogued at about £35 and the Weird Worlds at £8 - not too bad for paying the equivalent of about 15 pence each.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
One of the better known extras is the TB letter which was inserted into some of the 14th printing of the paperback (movie tie-in cover). I had a lot of these over the years and started selling at £20 and I think the last copy I sold went for £100 but prices would be £250+ nowadays. Be careful though, because there are a lot of fakes going around. The real ones should be on watermarked thin blue paper with blue ink writing and folded as pictured.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
I'd love to have one of those. I think the chance of coming across one in the wild is non-existent by now, but I used to look inside copies of TB in second hand bookshops! Happy days....
I have a complete collection of the World Distributors' Dr Who annuals. Here are some of the ones that fetch higher prices although I don't think that any are ultra-rare.
The 1970 so-called 'pink' annual (fifth image below) is probably the most sought-after but mine has a damaged spine at the top end. I'd be curious to find out about the significance of the price tag in my copy: it's unclipped but published blank (first image below)
My copy of 'The Invasion From Space' has most of its spine missing.
Critics and material I don't need. I haven't changed my act in 53 years.
@Shady Tree That’s a nice collection. The pink annual is the rarest but they do turn up pretty regularly. It’s actually the 1971 annual - the printed date on annuals always relate to the following year. Annuals were published in the September of each year, primarily for Christmas gifts, and in later years they were dated on most annuals for the following year to preserve shelf life. The unprinted price is interesting, I imagine it’s an export copy as British copies should have had the pre-decimal 12/6d printed in the price space. Annuals given as presents were often clipped which reduces the value considerably. There won’t be many British people who have never unwrapped an annual on Christmas Day.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
During the 22 years that Pan held the licence to print Bond books they only released one box set and this is highly sought after, nowadays. The rigid card box is the thing of value here, rather than the books themselves, although the “still-life” collection increases in value as the years pass by.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
I bought this Pan film tie-in edition of Thunderball last year from eBay for £6.00 as I didn't have that edition. When it arrived it came complete with the original Domino letter inside. There had been no indication of this on the listing. I knew it was the original letter as it was tanned slightly on the folds and it was on the correct watermarked paper. I sold it for £120 on eBay late last year. I now deeply regret selling the book and letter but sadly I needed the money at the time so I had to let it go. Hopefully I'll be able to find another letter some time but I may never be so lucky again.
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
I know. I kick myself about it now. Thankfully I'm in a slightly better position financially now. It's been a tough few years since 2020 with one thing and another.
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
I feel that, and I guess I understand where you're coming from financially. It is just, having given away or misplaced so many books in the past, I feel some of my history is now disappeared forever. I see those pages as memories and now I don't want to let them go. I can't turn back the tide of life, it's ebbing away, but I feel I have aided time in its ceaseless erosion, I simply am not as complete as I was.
By example, I once had this comic picture library book. I bought it in a jumble sale for 10p. On ebay it now goes for $126. I gave it and a whole collection away to a friend who had kids into second world war stuff. I don't know what happened to it. Those memories - those friends are gone - but I still remember picking this up and thinking "Wow, I must have this" and fishing for five 2p pieces to hand over. I was so excited. Strange the things you remember.
Guys, you may have noticed that I'm often a bit vague about exactly which editions of books (usually Bond books) I have boxed up in the attic. This isn't just senility kicking in- I'm sometimes deliberately vague about such matters to avoid reminding myself about precious memories in book form that I've lost through the years (moving house, divorce, etc) because it would make me sad to know that I once had a certain edition of a certain book but it's now gone. There's still plenty there, but many others have gone astray over the years. Possibly CoolHandBond, who's a similar age to me, will understand more than you youngsters. And yes, I once did have the Pan box he mentions above but that has definitely gone now- probably been gone for at least 30 years. 😁
I know exactly what you all mean and feel your pain. Items lost or sold with regret, live with us all. I sold off a lot of stuff before I moved here. I had already filled several boxes with collectibles and I just didn’t know where it was all going to go, so sell it I did. Looking at the items I did keep makes me sentimental for the items I no longer have - lots of regret for not sending more boxes. I still have a box of goodies in my daughters attic which I’m going to get round to opening on my next visit back to the UK. What’s in there I have totally forgotten!!
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
after giving away so many childhood collectibles in my twenties (years spent mostly living out of a backpack, lots of travelling and couch-surfing, not much money for storage lockers) Once I found real grown-up work, I started collecting again and vowed never to part with any of it ever again. As a consequence, I now have ~150 boxes I lug around from move to move, containing comics, music, books, dvds, and other such gold. Having moved so many times I still havent got round to unpacking since my latest move, but when I do open a box to see whats inside, those books are now all scuffed and yellowed and stained and twisted out of shape: these poor old paperbacks would be in much better shape if I had never bought them!
I haven’t done some Ace Doubles for a long time so here are three paperbacks with both covers…whoops, only one of them has enlarged so hope you can all see the others…
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
not really, but at least we get a good view of the lady adjusting her stocking. I'm sure thats most important to that books plot, unlike the detective questioning the suspect way in the background
reminds me, what was that movie in the 90s where the femme fatale kept crossing her legs while the cops questioned her?
James Bigglesworth, known as Biggles, is a daring pilot who with his comrades Algy, Ginger and Smyth battle those dastardly foreigners. Critics have often accused the books of racism and homosexuality (the racist terminology was par for the course in those days and needs to be viewed in a historical context and all the characters had at least one romantic liaison with a female) their adventures entertained generations of schoolboys from the 30’s to the 70’s. They are almost exclusively collected nowadays by nostalgic adults. Some of the rarer editions get good prices.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
I hadn’t read any until one time when I was off school in bed with mumps and my mother bought me a stack of paperbacks to read and in amongst them were a couple of Biggles books. I enjoyed them enough to seek out a few more. I had two very keen adult collectors who frequented my bookshop but general interest had faded a lot in the 90’s and beyond.
I will continue posting covers each week 🙂
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Comments
when you mention the prices, I wonder if thats specific to the UK, where the book wouldve been a scarce import. In Canada and Australia it would be much more common (like all those midsixties PANs), that may be why its only worth $4- here.
I'll make a point of checking next time I see one, but I doubt anyone in Canada is asking hundreds of dollars (until you mentioned it!)
I’ve no idea what prices this would fetch on the Canadian market, there are obviously a lot more there than in the UK. As a comparison, over the years I’ve been here, I’ve picked up scores of American comics for just a few pesos each, these being left behind by American servicemen when they were based here. A couple of examples below…
I'm guessing these would be worth a lot more in the UK and possibly Europe?
https://www.ajb007.co.uk/discussion/comment/1057745#Comment_1057745
That was a great idea for shifting the unsold paperbacks. A dust wrapper for movie imagery 'in the now' and the generic 'Fleming' cover on the paperback itself: the best of both worlds... and twice is the only way to live!
Yes, definitely be worth a few quid. Comic values are highly dependant on what grade the are in but the Lois Lane one is catalogued at about £35 and the Weird Worlds at £8 - not too bad for paying the equivalent of about 15 pence each.
One of the better known extras is the TB letter which was inserted into some of the 14th printing of the paperback (movie tie-in cover). I had a lot of these over the years and started selling at £20 and I think the last copy I sold went for £100 but prices would be £250+ nowadays. Be careful though, because there are a lot of fakes going around. The real ones should be on watermarked thin blue paper with blue ink writing and folded as pictured.
I'd love to have one of those. I think the chance of coming across one in the wild is non-existent by now, but I used to look inside copies of TB in second hand bookshops! Happy days....
https://www.ajb007.co.uk/discussion/comment/1054041#Comment_1054041
I have a complete collection of the World Distributors' Dr Who annuals. Here are some of the ones that fetch higher prices although I don't think that any are ultra-rare.
The 1970 so-called 'pink' annual (fifth image below) is probably the most sought-after but mine has a damaged spine at the top end. I'd be curious to find out about the significance of the price tag in my copy: it's unclipped but published blank (first image below)
My copy of 'The Invasion From Space' has most of its spine missing.
@Shady Tree That’s a nice collection. The pink annual is the rarest but they do turn up pretty regularly. It’s actually the 1971 annual - the printed date on annuals always relate to the following year. Annuals were published in the September of each year, primarily for Christmas gifts, and in later years they were dated on most annuals for the following year to preserve shelf life. The unprinted price is interesting, I imagine it’s an export copy as British copies should have had the pre-decimal 12/6d printed in the price space. Annuals given as presents were often clipped which reduces the value considerably. There won’t be many British people who have never unwrapped an annual on Christmas Day.
During the 22 years that Pan held the licence to print Bond books they only released one box set and this is highly sought after, nowadays. The rigid card box is the thing of value here, rather than the books themselves, although the “still-life” collection increases in value as the years pass by.
I saw this on Amazon for about 50 quid a few years back and thought, "Nah, I've got those books." Silly me.
I bought this Pan film tie-in edition of Thunderball last year from eBay for £6.00 as I didn't have that edition. When it arrived it came complete with the original Domino letter inside. There had been no indication of this on the listing. I knew it was the original letter as it was tanned slightly on the folds and it was on the correct watermarked paper. I sold it for £120 on eBay late last year. I now deeply regret selling the book and letter but sadly I needed the money at the time so I had to let it go. Hopefully I'll be able to find another letter some time but I may never be so lucky again.
@Silhouette Man the things we do
I know. I kick myself about it now. Thankfully I'm in a slightly better position financially now. It's been a tough few years since 2020 with one thing and another.
I feel that, and I guess I understand where you're coming from financially. It is just, having given away or misplaced so many books in the past, I feel some of my history is now disappeared forever. I see those pages as memories and now I don't want to let them go. I can't turn back the tide of life, it's ebbing away, but I feel I have aided time in its ceaseless erosion, I simply am not as complete as I was.
By example, I once had this comic picture library book. I bought it in a jumble sale for 10p. On ebay it now goes for $126. I gave it and a whole collection away to a friend who had kids into second world war stuff. I don't know what happened to it. Those memories - those friends are gone - but I still remember picking this up and thinking "Wow, I must have this" and fishing for five 2p pieces to hand over. I was so excited. Strange the things you remember.
Guys, you may have noticed that I'm often a bit vague about exactly which editions of books (usually Bond books) I have boxed up in the attic. This isn't just senility kicking in- I'm sometimes deliberately vague about such matters to avoid reminding myself about precious memories in book form that I've lost through the years (moving house, divorce, etc) because it would make me sad to know that I once had a certain edition of a certain book but it's now gone. There's still plenty there, but many others have gone astray over the years. Possibly CoolHandBond, who's a similar age to me, will understand more than you youngsters. And yes, I once did have the Pan box he mentions above but that has definitely gone now- probably been gone for at least 30 years. 😁
No, make that 40. 😂
In fact, it might be .... I've said enough.
@Barbel @chrisno1 @Silhouette Man
I know exactly what you all mean and feel your pain. Items lost or sold with regret, live with us all. I sold off a lot of stuff before I moved here. I had already filled several boxes with collectibles and I just didn’t know where it was all going to go, so sell it I did. Looking at the items I did keep makes me sentimental for the items I no longer have - lots of regret for not sending more boxes. I still have a box of goodies in my daughters attic which I’m going to get round to opening on my next visit back to the UK. What’s in there I have totally forgotten!!
@CoolHandBond Thanks for the information on this. Yes, I always loved unwrapping annuals at Christmas time, from 'Dandy' to 'Victor' to 'Dr Who'.
then there's the opposite problem.
after giving away so many childhood collectibles in my twenties (years spent mostly living out of a backpack, lots of travelling and couch-surfing, not much money for storage lockers) Once I found real grown-up work, I started collecting again and vowed never to part with any of it ever again. As a consequence, I now have ~150 boxes I lug around from move to move, containing comics, music, books, dvds, and other such gold. Having moved so many times I still havent got round to unpacking since my latest move, but when I do open a box to see whats inside, those books are now all scuffed and yellowed and stained and twisted out of shape: these poor old paperbacks would be in much better shape if I had never bought them!
I haven’t done some Ace Doubles for a long time so here are three paperbacks with both covers…whoops, only one of them has enlarged so hope you can all see the others…
not really, but at least we get a good view of the lady adjusting her stocking. I'm sure thats most important to that books plot, unlike the detective questioning the suspect way in the background
reminds me, what was that movie in the 90s where the femme fatale kept crossing her legs while the cops questioned her?
N24 has told.me that it's "Basic Instinct".
It would certainly be enough to distract Boris Johnson anyway.
Monarch Books had good covers usually. Very collectible.
wow
They definitely believed in the approach that sex sells in those days.
James Bigglesworth, known as Biggles, is a daring pilot who with his comrades Algy, Ginger and Smyth battle those dastardly foreigners. Critics have often accused the books of racism and homosexuality (the racist terminology was par for the course in those days and needs to be viewed in a historical context and all the characters had at least one romantic liaison with a female) their adventures entertained generations of schoolboys from the 30’s to the 70’s. They are almost exclusively collected nowadays by nostalgic adults. Some of the rarer editions get good prices.
No nostalgia for me there this time, I'm afraid. I never read any Biggles stories: for some reason they never appealed to me.
(Please keep posting covers!)
I hadn’t read any until one time when I was off school in bed with mumps and my mother bought me a stack of paperbacks to read and in amongst them were a couple of Biggles books. I enjoyed them enough to seek out a few more. I had two very keen adult collectors who frequented my bookshop but general interest had faded a lot in the 90’s and beyond.
I will continue posting covers each week 🙂