The Book Buying and Collecting Thread

Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,644MI6 Agent
edited November 2020 in Off Topic Chat
As there are a good few book buyers and collectors here on AJB I thought that it was about time that we had an actual general book buying and collecting thread.

It's designed for the discussion of all aspects of book collecting from Bond to non-Bond and beyond.

I'm an avid book collector and love nothing better in my free time than perusing bookshops, antique shops, charity shops and the Internet in search of new and interesting titles to add to my collection which, like Goldfinger's gold stocks, is considerable.

I hope all of the book collectors and just general regular book buyers will come out of the woodwork and make this thread into something special. Hopefully we can learn some good tips and advice on the art of book collecting and can share some of our collection here. :)
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
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Comments

  • SilentSpySilentSpy Private Exotic AreaPosts: 765MI6 Agent
    I don't collect books but I try to get the collector's version of Bond books and the limited editions. There is a Bond folio or something like that version of Casino Royale that I'm getting next. It has new interior artwork and a few other details.
    "Better late than never."
  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,030MI6 Agent
    Brilliant idea, SM. -{
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,053Chief of Staff
    A few of my Bond books:

    AA_OLD_MAN_5.jpg

    aa_old_man_9.jpg

    AA_OLD_MAN_3.jpg
  • Golrush007Golrush007 South AfricaPosts: 3,418Quartermasters
    One of my favourite pastimes is browsing used book stores looking for early (ie 1950s/60s) Bond paperbacks. It is a most rewarding, and relatively inexpensive, avenue of Bond collecting. I am often surprised by how many of these old paperbacks there are in circulation still in South Africa. Most of my books have been acquired by regular browsing in local shops - in general I have avoided shopping online. I will try and post some photos of my collection here over the coming days.
  • minigeffminigeff EnglandPosts: 7,884MI6 Agent
    I have several of the 'Forgotten Voices' books that tell the story of various military campaigns through interviews with veterans, so you get a proper feeling of what it was like. It can be pretty harrowing, comical, heart warming and tragic.

    It's a good way to appreciate how fortunate you are.
    'Force feeding AJB humour and banter since 2009'
    Vive le droit à la libre expression! Je suis Charlie!
    www.helpforheroes.org.uk
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  • Mr_Sable_BasiliskMr_Sable_Basilisk BerlinPosts: 50MI6 Agent
    PHB17-700x460.jpg-{

    That's an awesome looking collection. May I ask what your field of interest is?
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,644MI6 Agent
    PHB17-700x460.jpg-{

    That's an awesome looking collection. May I ask what your field of interest is?

    Sorry, that picture was just purely for illustration purposes. It is not an actual photograph of my book collection. :)

    My field of interest in book collecting would be spy fiction (and fact), history, war books, Forteana, Law, Politics and Biography.
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,644MI6 Agent
    Just a little update post to say that I mean book buying generally as well as specifically collecting. Please believe me when I say that there's no snobbery here from me!

    I've amended the title a little bit to make it more inclusive. Sorry to give off any elitist vibe as that's just not me! :)
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • Mr_Sable_BasiliskMr_Sable_Basilisk BerlinPosts: 50MI6 Agent
    My field of interest in book collecting would be spy fiction (and fact), history, war books, Forteana, Law, Politics and Biography.

    Mine is History, Politics and Biography (British History from 1868-1997) especially late Victorian/Edwardian politics and 1950s/1960s. I also started recently to collect modern first editions (mysteries). But thats a very crowded field and can get really expensive.
  • ChriscoopChriscoop Belize Posts: 10,449MI6 Agent
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,644MI6 Agent
    My field of interest in book collecting would be spy fiction (and fact), history, war books, Forteana, Law, Politics and Biography.

    Mine is History, Politics and Biography (British History from 1868-1997) especially late Victorian/Edwardian politics and 1950s/1960s. I also started recently to collect modern first editions (mysteries). But thats a very crowded field and can get really expensive.

    Yes, I have a deep interest in British politics of the 1950s and 1960s especially. The 13 Years of Tory rule with Churchill, Eden, Macmillan and Douglas-Home in particular. It's nice that we share these interests!
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • Mr_Sable_BasiliskMr_Sable_Basilisk BerlinPosts: 50MI6 Agent
    Yes, I have a deep interest in British politics of the 1950s and 1960s especially. The 13 Years of Tory rule with Churchill, Eden, Macmillan and Douglas-Home in particular. It's nice that we share these interests!
    A period historians have extensively written about.
    And the relevant politicians, too. Macmillans 6 Vol. memoirs and Edens 3 Vol. just at the top plus three modern biographies each and Dutton appraisal of Eden. Even middle ranking politicians of this era tend to get a biography sooner or later. And "Suez" and "Profumo" as cottage industries. A lot to read and collect.
  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,030MI6 Agent
    One of the best selling series in my shop was a western saga called EDGE. Written by George G Gilman (a pen name for the prolific author Terry Harknett). 61 books were published by NEL in the UK and these were ultra violent stories tinged with Bond-style quips.

    In the first book Edge returns home after the American Civil War to his family farm only to find his younger brother has been savagely murdered. The rest of the story revolves around Edge seeking revenge. The rest of the series follows Edge's continuing adventures with a handful of books going back in time to his Civil War adventures. Gilman also wrote a further two western series about Adam Steele and The Undertaker. In a spin-off series of 3 books Edge meets Adam Steele.

    The higher numbers in the series gain very high prices on the second hand market. I always thought it was perfect for a Clint Eastwood role and the series has been slated for production on a few occasions but has never made it to the screen as yet.
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,030MI6 Agent
    For those who like pulp horror then the books of Guy N Smith are required reading. It was Night Of The Crabs :s that made him famous and several sequels continued the saga. Basically giant sized crustaceans invaded the seaside and created terror in their Godzilla like trampling of towns. He also wrote several books of the nature unleashed type with various animals causing mayhem to the public. His first books were of a werewolf and are highly priced on the second hand market today. GNS was a huge seller for me in the day and I could never have enough of his books on my shelves.
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    :)) Yes, I read a few Guy N Smith's books. I think there was a few of the Crabs books. In my late
    teens. I was a big horror fan. In fact I think I still have a box of old horror books somewhere in
    the garage.
    Like all married men, all my stuff is in boxes in the garage. ;)
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • Golrush007Golrush007 South AfricaPosts: 3,418Quartermasters
    In addition to Bond books, my other reading and books collecting interests include:

    - World War II novels and true stories, particularly Royal Air Force stories.
    - Books on steam locomotives, particularly locomotives of the South African Railways.
    - Commando war comics, The Adventures of Tintin and Asterix books
    - I've recently started collecting PG Wodehouse books

    Here is a picture of my main Bond shelf:
    Bond_shelf.jpg

    This is what I would describe as the focal point of my Bond collection, the 1960s Pan Paperbacks:
    Pan_Paperbacks.jpg

    Some hardbacks. A mixture of first editions, book club editions and reprints:
    Hardbacks.jpg

    I also have this box of assorted paperbacks, including some of the 1990s Coronet editions which I really like:
    Random_box.jpg

    These are pretty much all of the Bond novels I have access to at the moment. I also have a complete set of the 2008 Penguin paperbacks with pulp-style cover art, as well as the first 10 paperbacks published in the Penguin Modern Classics range stored at my parents' home.
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,644MI6 Agent
    Very nice collection there, Golrush007. Thank you for sharing it with us. :) -{
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,030MI6 Agent
    Brilliant collection, Golrush007, thanks for sharing {[]
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Agreed it's always nice to view someone's congeries. -{
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,053Chief of Staff
    Congeries? You didn't like it when Connery wore them in NSNA!
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    :)) must have been his accent {[]
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,030MI6 Agent
    I'm off on holiday to Florida next month and it has reminded me of author Carl Hiaasen. He has written a score of novels all set in his native Florida. They are full of wicked black humour with glorious characters and fantastic plots. I can recommend all his novels but Lucky Dip and Skinny Dip are my favourites which deal with a lottery winner and a wife thrown off the side of a cruise ship respectively. Striptease was made into a film with Demi Moore and Burt Reynolds but does not do the book justice.
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • CoolHandBondCoolHandBond Mactan IslandPosts: 6,030MI6 Agent
    For boys growing up in the 60's and 70's westerns were probably a staple ingredient in their life. J T Edson wrote over a hundred westerns relating the tales of a group of cowboys called The Floating Outfit. Led by Dusty Fog his main allies were the giant Mark Counter and the mixed race The Ysabel Kid. Mixing both fictional and real characters Edson formulated a trusty series where the heroes always ran out the winners in the end. In total Edson wrote 9 series of books but most of them related to the Dusty Fog clan.

    Edson died in 2014 having lived his life in Melton Mowbray, England, which surprised a lot of people as they imagined him to be American. He paved the way for the group of authors nicknamed The Piccadilly Cowboys. Terry Harknett was the most famous of the 7 authors in this group who churned out over 300 westerns in series such as Edge, Adam Steele, Apache and Jubal Cade. The difference in style of these were that these were ultra violent tales but hugely collectable. These series of westerns were very good for me in my shop with very high prices being achieved for certain copies which were rare to obtain.
    Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
  • caractacus pottscaractacus potts Orbital communicator, level 10Posts: 3,907MI6 Agent
    Book collectors around Toronto might want to check out the Annual Fantastic Pulps Show & Sale this Saturday May 12th,
    in the basement of the public library at 239 College Street, just east of Spadina.
    Lots of old paperbacks as well as pulp magazines.
    A good place to find vintage editions of Fleming, Chandler, Philip K Dick, genuine Weird Tales with Howard and Lovecraft, all the good stuff.

    I've seen a few people lately asking where to even find old books anymore, all the used bookstores are closing, so I thought I'd pass this along.
  • Mr SnowMr Snow Station "J" JamaicaPosts: 1,736MI6 Agent
    Gymkata wrote:
    Proud to say that I have the full Ian Fleming Bond collection coming my way in the next week. I've never read the books before so I'm gonna give the whole collection a go.

    You probably won't need to be told this but from all accounts read them in published order.

    Just out of curiosity, did you choose a specific selection; design etc?
    "Everyone knows rock n' roll attained perfection in 1974; It's a scientific fact". - Homer J Simpson
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,053Chief of Staff
    Enjoy, Gymkata! In a way, I envy you having this before you.
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,239MI6 Agent
    Gymkata wrote:
    Proud to say that I have the full Ian Fleming Bond collection coming my way in the next week. I've never read the books before so I'm gonna give the whole collection a go.

    "You've not read any of the Bond books?"

    imgres.jpg
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    :)) :)) :)) -{
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • Charmed & DangerousCharmed & Dangerous Posts: 7,358MI6 Agent
    :)) :)) :)) - just to add one...

    IMG_1539.jpg
    "How was your lamb?" "Skewered. One sympathises."
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