AE Monthly

<b>Bonhams:</b> MANDELSHTAM, OSIP. 1891-1938. Autograph Manuscript, 2 pp, [Petersburg,] January 1913, entitled

Article Archives Search

AE Articles


Reference Books Can Help Set Value - Zoschak class earns a following in the trade - By Susan Halas Vic Zoschak of Tavistock Books. By Susan Halas Why do book dealers need bibliographies? Why do book buyers and collectors need them too? Aren't those things that only benefit librarians and archivists? Not so, says Vic Zoschak, 57, owner of Tavistock Books, an antiquarian bookseller in Alameda, Ca. He has gained quite a following with his annual class on using reference sources. Usually held in the spring, the free one day event will celebrate its seventh year in 2011. Space is filled on a first-come-first-serve basis and students arrive at his door from around the nation. Zoschak is a firm believer in the "knowledge is power" approach. He advocates the use of the reference tools as a way to help set market value. "I see a lot of people making the transition from just selling used books to the antiquarian trade." In his opinion learning how to make good use of reference works is the fastest way to make upward progress in the world of bookselling. "If people are going to spend serious money with you, they want the assurance you know what you're doing. One way to give that assurance is to cite a recognized authority." Accurate citation important That's where bibliography comes in - an accurate citation that you've actually looked up yourself from the appropriate source goes a long way toward establishing credibility. Perhaps more importantly, according to Zoschak, using and understanding the reference tools can go a long way toward setting accurate commercial value. "On the internet everybody looks like an expert," he said. "But frequently they're not. I've had people sell me books with bibliographic citations that they've copied from somebody else. They didn't check it themselves; they were wrong. This kind of mistake hurts their credibility. The way I see it, the customer can get his money back, but the dealer will have a much harder time getting back his reputation." The class is a fast tour through some of the basic reference works in Literature including Modern First Editions, Americana with an emphasis on California and the West, Children's Books, Hand-Printed Books, and On-Line Reference Sources. Answers three questions According to Zoschak students, dealers, collectors and librarians typically want the answers to three questions: 1. What is it? (usually edition, though not always). 2. Is it complete, i.e., all text, illustrations, maps, etc, present? 3. Why is it important?
Reference Books Can Help Set Value - Zoschak class earns a following in the trade - By Susan Halas "Bibliographies can help you answer those questions. That said, you should know that not all bibliographies are created equal. In some cases, one reference will do, but in most cases you'll have to consult more than one source. Sometimes, a reference is no more than a bare-bones list and its best utility is being able to say about the book in question it's "not in" a standard authority. "For example," he continued, "in a field like Science Fiction the work of EF Bleiler comes to mind. It's expected that a specialist will have such references. Few of us have the widely recognized expertise to say 'First Edition, complete as issued', as well as provide a commentary on why the book is important. Citing standard references when you make such a statement lends credence to your claim that the book is 'a first, complete as issued and important because....' "In other words, the first time you try to sell a book on the California Gold Rush to an important California library like the Bancroft, they probably won't recognize your name Joe Blow - Bookseller, but they will certainly know Gary Kurutz's California Gold Rush a Descriptive Bibliography of books and pamphlets covering the years 1848-1853. "Many sellers I see on the web cite references without knowing what they are, just copying another bookseller's description. In my opinion that's not a good idea. If that bookseller is in error, you're going to be in error, and ultimately it's your reputation that will suffer. "What if the customer asks you about the reference, and asks for a Xerox copy of the citation to accompany the book just purchased? You'll look less than professional if you can't answer the question and supply the proof." Check it yourself "My personal philosophy is not to cite a reference I haven't personally checked, either through consulting the reference in my own library, or getting a fax from a colleague, or heading over to the appropriate library and checking it there. In this business your reputation is paramount, and certainly not worth sacrificing by taking shortcuts. "Finally," he said, "be sure you know what parameters are encompassed by the bibliography you're citing. For example, the Pforzheimer Catalogue of Early Books in English covers the years from 1475 to 1700. On-line, I saw a listing for a 1702 English book saying, 'Not in Pforzheimer.' Well duh!" Arriving at commercial value So how do you arrive at a value for a given book? The method Zoschak uses is a series of questions and answers: "First, what do I have? After determining edition and condition, I note whether or not it has any special attributes, such as ownership signatures (author or otherwise) or publication specialty, for example, Advance Review Copy. "Next comes availability: Are copies currently available and in what quantities? If yes, how does this copy compare to those currently on the market? Who's at the high end... what are the copies like at the low end? "If no copies are currently on the market, then a determination of the book's sales track record is in order. I try to look at old bookseller catalogues, price guides, and auction records. With that information it's not hard to arrive at an estimated current market value.
Reference Books Can Help Set Value - Zoschak class earns a following in the trade - By Susan Halas "Finally, if the book in question has no history, at least as far as we're able to determine (recognizing that extremely few books have absolutely no market history), then questions on importance to society and an estimate of desirability are in order. "If we've arrived at this juncture, then the market segment interested in the purchase of the item is perhaps quite narrow or the book is quite rare. But either way, with an item not currently available, one is still able to establish the value by making a professional judgment given all that has been just described. Zoschak's next class is tentatively set for May 2011. The exact date will be announced through bookseller listservs. About Vic Zoschak Zoschak came to bookselling after a long career in the Coast Guard. In the mid-1980s he became an avid book collector with a specialty in the works of Charles Dickens. He started his rare book business 1989 with his Dickens stock as his base inventory, then teetered between a second career in bookselling or teaching English. Bookselling won out, and the rest, as they say, is history. He specializes in "anything in English" from a 1535 edition of Homer to contemporary Science Fiction. He's open "by chance or by appointment" at his shop in Alameda. "When your average book price starts at $125 you don't want to focus on walk-in traffic." Active in a variety of bookselling professional groups, he is a board member of the ABAA and also a member of ILAB and IOBA. Zoschak is a fan of Peter Howard, the well known Berkeley, California, bookseller, who has had a large influence on him. One other lesson he learned from Howard has been to 'pay it forward'. "Peter has done me a wealth of courtesies over the years, for which he rarely asked for 'payback'. As such, I try to do the same. When a young bookseller inquires of me about 'payback' for a professional courtesy, I say, thinking of Peter's example, 'Pay it forward.'" ---------------- AE contributor Susan Halas can be reached at halas@hawaii.rr.com She notes that a number of free handouts written by Vic Zoschak are available. They include: a basic reference book list, glossary, further reading, and an essay on evaluating a books for commercial value. If you would like to receive a copy of this material as pdfs send her an email with the word HAND-OUTS in the subject line.

Reference Books Can Help Set Value - Zoschak class earns a following in the trade

- By Susan Halas

Vic Zoschak of Tavistock Books.

By Susan Halas

Why do book dealers need bibliographies? Why do book buyers and collectors need them too? Aren't those things that only benefit librarians and archivists?

Not so, says Vic Zoschak, 57, owner of Tavistock Books, an antiquarian bookseller in Alameda, Ca. He has gained quite a following with his annual class on using reference sources. Usually held in the spring, the free one day event will celebrate its seventh year in 2011. Space is filled on a first-come-first-serve basis and students arrive at his door from around the nation.

Zoschak is a firm believer in the "knowledge is power" approach. He advocates the use of the reference tools as a way to help set market value. "I see a lot of people making the transition from just selling used books to the antiquarian trade." In his opinion learning how to make good use of reference works is the fastest way to make upward progress in the world of bookselling.

"If people are going to spend serious money with you, they want the assurance you know what you're doing. One way to give that assurance is to cite a recognized authority."

Accurate citation important
That's where bibliography comes in - an accurate citation that you've actually looked up yourself from the appropriate source goes a long way toward establishing credibility. Perhaps more importantly, according to Zoschak, using and understanding the reference tools can go a long way toward setting accurate commercial value.

"On the internet everybody looks like an expert," he said. "But frequently they're not. I've had people sell me books with bibliographic citations that they've copied from somebody else. They didn't check it themselves; they were wrong. This kind of mistake hurts their credibility. The way I see it, the customer can get his money back, but the dealer will have a much harder time getting back his reputation."

The class is a fast tour through some of the basic reference works in Literature including Modern First Editions, Americana with an emphasis on California and the West, Children's Books, Hand-Printed Books, and On-Line Reference Sources.

Answers three questions
According to Zoschak students, dealers, collectors and librarians typically want the answers to three questions:

1. What is it? (usually edition, though not always).

2. Is it complete, i.e., all text, illustrations, maps, etc, present?

3. Why is it important?

Reference Books Can Help Set Value - Zoschak class earns a following in the trade

- By Susan Halas

"Bibliographies can help you answer those questions. That said, you should know that not all bibliographies are created equal. In some cases, one reference will do, but in most cases you'll have to consult more than one source. Sometimes, a reference is no more than a bare-bones list and its best utility is being able to say about the book in question it's "not in" a standard authority.

"For example," he continued, "in a field like Science Fiction the work of EF Bleiler comes to mind. It's expected that a specialist will have such references. Few of us have the widely recognized expertise to say 'First Edition, complete as issued', as well as provide a commentary on why the book is important. Citing standard references when you make such a statement lends credence to your claim that the book is 'a first, complete as issued and important because....'

"In other words, the first time you try to sell a book on the California Gold Rush to an important California library like the Bancroft, they probably won't recognize your name Joe Blow - Bookseller, but they will certainly know Gary Kurutz's California Gold Rush a Descriptive Bibliography of books and pamphlets covering the years 1848-1853.

"Many sellers I see on the web cite references without knowing what they are, just copying another bookseller's description. In my opinion that's not a good idea. If that bookseller is in error, you're going to be in error, and ultimately it's your reputation that will suffer.

"What if the customer asks you about the reference, and asks for a Xerox copy of the citation to accompany the book just purchased? You'll look less than professional if you can't answer the question and supply the proof."

Check it yourself
"My personal philosophy is not to cite a reference I haven't personally checked, either through consulting the reference in my own library, or getting a fax from a colleague, or heading over to the appropriate library and checking it there. In this business your reputation is paramount, and certainly not worth sacrificing by taking shortcuts.

"Finally," he said, "be sure you know what parameters are encompassed by the bibliography you're citing. For example, the Pforzheimer Catalogue of Early Books in English covers the years from 1475 to 1700. On-line, I saw a listing for a 1702 English book saying, 'Not in Pforzheimer.' Well duh!"

Arriving at commercial value
So how do you arrive at a value for a given book? The method Zoschak uses is a series of questions and answers:

"First, what do I have? After determining edition and condition, I note whether or not it has any special attributes, such as ownership signatures (author or otherwise) or publication specialty, for example, Advance Review Copy.

"Next comes availability: Are copies currently available and in what quantities? If yes, how does this copy compare to those currently on the market? Who's at the high end... what are the copies like at the low end?

"If no copies are currently on the market, then a determination of the book's sales track record is in order. I try to look at old bookseller catalogues, price guides, and auction records. With that information it's not hard to arrive at an estimated current market value.

Reference Books Can Help Set Value - Zoschak class earns a following in the trade

- By Susan Halas

"Finally, if the book in question has no history, at least as far as we're able to determine (recognizing that extremely few books have absolutely no market history), then questions on importance to society and an estimate of desirability are in order.

"If we've arrived at this juncture, then the market segment interested in the purchase of the item is perhaps quite narrow or the book is quite rare. But either way, with an item not currently available, one is still able to establish the value by making a professional judgment given all that has been just described.

Zoschak's next class is tentatively set for May 2011. The exact date will be announced through bookseller listservs.

About Vic Zoschak
Zoschak came to bookselling after a long career in the Coast Guard. In the mid-1980s he became an avid book collector with a specialty in the works of Charles Dickens. He started his rare book business 1989 with his Dickens stock as his base inventory, then teetered between a second career in bookselling or teaching English. Bookselling won out, and the rest, as they say, is history.

He specializes in "anything in English" from a 1535 edition of Homer to contemporary Science Fiction. He's open "by chance or by appointment" at his shop in Alameda. "When your average book price starts at $125 you don't want to focus on walk-in traffic." Active in a variety of bookselling professional groups, he is a board member of the ABAA and also a member of ILAB and IOBA.

Zoschak is a fan of Peter Howard, the well known Berkeley, California, bookseller, who has had a large influence on him. One other lesson he learned from Howard has been to 'pay it forward'.

"Peter has done me a wealth of courtesies over the years, for which he rarely asked for 'payback'. As such, I try to do the same. When a young bookseller inquires of me about 'payback' for a professional courtesy, I say, thinking of Peter's example, 'Pay it forward.'"

----------------
AE contributor Susan Halas can be reached at halas@hawaii.rr.com

She notes that a number of free handouts written by Vic Zoschak are available. They include: a basic reference book list, glossary, further reading, and an essay on evaluating a books for commercial value. If you would like to receive a copy of this material as pdfs send her an email with the word HAND-OUTS in the subject line.