Money in old books and magazines?

[MountainExplorer]

The same lady I have been seeing and grabbing my old pots etc. From has old Bonsai books which I bought about 15 of them and she has a heap load more. She had a subscription to magazines that they don't make any more whic she has hundreds. Just curious?

Thanks peps,

Tim

 

[rockm]

Depends on the books and magazines. Some books can be worth considerable sums (if you find the right venue to sell). Most people put up for sale online are pretty run of the mill and common. Those are mostly worth only a couple of bucks, if you can unload them. Titles such as John Naka's Azalea book (and his Bonsai Techniques Vols 1 and 2) can bring some money --more if they're autographed. Bonsai Today magazines are great IF you have the earliest numbers--1-10 are popular and people pay for them. Other western bonsai mags (other than the ABS Journal and some BCI) are rather worthless...Japanese bonsai magazines, however, are always worthwhile because of the photos.

FWIW, I have found a lot of excellent old bonsai books in a great second hand bookstore here in the D.C. area. Apparently, the place has somehow tapped into the local bonsai community and buys up whole estate's worth of some pretty nice bonsai books and Japanese bonsai magazines.

 

[rockm]

Depends on the books and magazines. Some books can be worth considerable sums (if you find the right venue to sell). The stuff most people put up for sale online are pretty run of the mill and common. Those are mostly worth only a couple of bucks, if you can unload them. Titles such as John Naka's Azalea book (and his Bonsai Techniques Vols 1 and 2) can bring some money --more if they're autographed. Bonsai Today magazines are great IF you have the earliest numbers--1-10 are popular and people pay for them. Other western bonsai mags (other than the ABS Journal and some BCI) are rather worthless...Japanese bonsai magazines, however, are always worthwhile because of the photos.

FWIW, I have found a lot of excellent old bonsai books in a great second hand bookstore here in the D.C. area. Apparently, the place has somehow tapped into the local bonsai community and buys up whole estate's worth of some pretty nice bonsai books and Japanese bonsai magazines.

 

[MountainExplorer]

I'l take a pic of the books I bought in a little bit.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

About 1 book in 100 is worth money

Truth is that many people are getting out of books and liquidating their libraries... with the exception of old collectible titles. So if you have copies of "Western Living" bonsai books - they are worthless. If you have copies of bonsai books done by real bonsai masters, they might be worth a buck or two. The more specific the topic, usually the more valuable they are. General "bonsai" titles aren't as valuable as, for example a specialized book on Satsuki Azalea. Part of the problem is that many of the older books are simply outdated - they contain incomplete or inaccurate information. Additionally, many of the English books were produced in pretty large quantities... so they aren't that uncommon.

 

[MountainExplorer]

 

[Anthony]

The Koreshoff keep.

Judge the others by technical information.

The one by Paul Leisnewicz - Bonsai was supposed to have been written by
a ghost writer. Though he has a fine collection of purchased bonsai.

The older Japanese publications will have information on what their sand
was, or who used what, and why.

Google kind of killed the need for excellent photos, though do keep - The
Classic Bonsai of Japan if you get a copy.

If you see Bonsai from the Crespi collection, the pictures are large and good
for studying.
You tube fills you in visually on the backs of many trees in outstanding
collections as the camera moves.
Good Day
Anthony