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Breaking: The Parts are Sometimes Worth More than the Whole - By Susan Halas Worn old atlas is ripe for breaking. The subject of breaking is one of the touchiest and most controversial in the book world, but if you handle printed material long enough you will certainly come across books and magazines that are already broken or ready to break. They come to you in pieces or so worn and ragged that if you don’t take them apart they will fall apart on their own. Look at this little 1839 mini-American atlas (see photo). It’s already missing a good 40 pages and what’s left looks so wretched that you’d think no one would want it. That’s where you’d be mistaken, because that atlas still has text, pix and maps on Africa, pre-Civil War America, and discoveries in the Pacific that are sufficiently interesting and graphic that they’re likely to find buyers by the page or section. I learned how to break from my Dad. In the 1950s he’d take me along on his buying expeditions. We’d often come back with fat semi-decayed volumes of Scribner’s, Century, Harper’s, and others of the late 19^th and early 20^th century books, magazines and journals. He couldn’t keep them all, so he took them apart and kept the parts he wanted. Work by Mark Twain, Bret Harte, Howard Pyle, Arthur Rackham, and Joseph Conrad appeared in those pages. There were also ads for beauty products, early autos, strange electrical devices, and travel to all points by train and much of it beautifully illustrated. A lot of what he broke came to me and most of it went on to new homes at decent prices. You can still buy many of those same books and magazines and often for very nominal sums. One reason is that almost all of those things are now available free in digital format on the internet. Another is the people who are selling them frequently haven’t a clue as to what might be of value or why. The truth is there’s still an avid core of enthusiasts who prefer the real thing, especially the real plates as they were first issued. Years ago I worked for another dealer who bought a broken set of the Harriman Expedition to Alaska 1901. He eagerly stripped the colored illustrations and folding maps and tossed the rest into the trash. I was right behind him fishing it out. He missed the photogravures by ES Curtis. Yes, the same Curtis who went on to take the celebrated pictures of Native Americans. It was lovely stuff with full plate marks tucked inside a picked over breaker and plucked directly from the rubbish bin. In those days there was no internet, you just had to know. Now that the internet is permanently with us my advice to buyers and sellers is to browse for what might be interesting digitally and then look for the issues or volumes to appear via eBay or Google.
Breaking: The Parts are Sometimes Worth More than the Whole - By Susan Halas Whistler Material. One of my favorite vintage magazines is International Studio. It was one of the premiere art periodicals of the early 20^th century. I recently bought a long shabby broken run thinking I’d resell them as bound volumes. I priced them at $12.50 each + shipping. Despite the multiple splendid color plates I had no takers. So I took the year 1903 apart and pulled out just the Whistler material (1903 was the year Whistler died and the issues were packed with articles and appreciations, not to mention high quality plates). Though it didn’t sell as a low priced book -- as a breaker the value went up substantially. Just the six pieces about Whistler realized $175. The parts really are sometimes worth more than the whole. I’m not the only one to tell you that the market is moving toward ephemera, and lots of ephemera is composed of the interesting bits of pictures and pages that come out of breakers. They are the canapés of print: small, delicious, uncommon and often sought after. While there may be dozens of copies of books around, frequently there are few or no copies of desirable ephemera cataloged (even though it comes out of those same books). National Geographic magazines from the 1930s are an example of how something quite common sometimes sells better in parts than as a whole. I’ve been surprised how well certain subjects from this period do. Not individual issues, just the disbound pages with the article(s) or ad(s) of particular interest. For example, the article on the Nomads of Central Asia published in 1936 recounts an arduous overland journey and has wonderful color plates by Jacovleff. I sold it not long ago for over $60. Not every NG is valuable or contains potentially valuable material. Some of it is pure drek and conversely, certainly some of the early ones are not breakers. But if you've got a stack of NGs, especially from the 1930s, when circulation dipped, you could do worse than to carefully take them apart, throw away the junk and put respectable prices on the truly interesting, hard-to-find, or scientifically or technologically valuable ones. These include early aviation, early exploration of the Poles, travels by auto through remote areas; early undersea research.... the list goes on and on. One book I found particularly useful in getting a handle on NG and its contents is THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY 100 Years of Adventure and Discovery by C.D.B. Bryan, Abrams 1987-1988. This is a big book, packed with information and particularly strong on the early years. There are hundreds of copies available on line. The cheapest ones go for a buck. Buy it, read it - it will help you make money on National Geographic by filling in the back-story and adding a lot of the details that will help to make your descriptions more accurate and readable. It also has a much about photography, photographers, film (including the coming of Kodachrome and the liberating influence of color and the 35 mm camera). I found the sections on aviation, undersea exploration and the early years of the magazine and its staff particularly helpful.
Breaking: The Parts are Sometimes Worth More than the Whole - By Susan Halas Work tools for breaking. Another useful and inexpensive book that will help you with understanding and valuing commercial paper is: ADVERTISING IN AMERICA -- the first 200 years by Charles Goodrum and Helen Dalrymple 1990. This is also a big book and also inexpensive. It is not specifically about magazines but it does gives a very good overview of products, brands and artists that are noteworthy often easily found in magazines. Remember not all old paper is valuable. When eyeing a stack of NGs consider that once past the mid-1940s you're looking at a magazine that had circulation of over 2 million copies a month, so the chance that any of it will be scarce, decreases proportionally. Taking these and other magazines apart either individually or as bound volumes is not easy. It’s time consuming and it has to be done carefully. I like to work in batches of five or ten at a time. My tools include drop cloth, pliers, small screw driver with a broad flat thin tip, clear plastic page protectors with 3 holes that open at the top, soft pencil with a soft point, sharp utility knife and steel edge ruler to trim the disbound edge. If small repairs are needed I like Filmoplast, a matte finish almost invisible archival tape. If you’re going to interleave any of the sheets be sure to use an acid free paper, and please: No scotch tape. Put the drop cloth down because there will be lots of old glue, paper chips and nasty fragments of old staple tips. You do not want to get these into your hands, feet or posterior, your carpet, upholstery, floor or the feet of your pets -- very unpleasant. Before you start taking the magazines apart, go through each one with your soft pencil and put the date on the first page of every article and on every page of the ads lightly and unobtrusively in pencil. If you’re dealing with NG or any magazine of that era there’s usually a staple or sewing. With NG the staple closure is underneath the back cover. Remove the back cover, then gently pry up the staple tips using the thin flat edge of your screwdriver and straighten them with pliers so they point straight up or break off. Turn the magazine over, remove the front cover. Then gently start lifting the staple up from the front until enough is up to pull out with the pliers. This is harder than it sounds and it has to be done carefully and slowly. If the staple won’t come out - don’t gouge the paper, grab it with the pliers and rock it back and forth until it breaks. Then gently take the pages off and separate them into piles. Toss the stuff you don't want. Save the other material and put articles into individual sleeves and insert into three ring binders. Keep your broken parts in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight and avoid areas that have big changes in humidity. Check your binders at least once a year for bugs and other critters. After you catalog them stick a copy of the description into the sleeve.
Breaking: The Parts are Sometimes Worth More than the Whole - By Susan Halas Politically incorrect material is collectible today. It helps to know what you’re looking for. In addition to some of the categories already mentioned I’ve always got an eye out for racial and other now politically incorrect stereotypes especially in the ads and not just in National Geographic. For example, in the first decade of the 20^th century it was thought uproariously funny to ridicule “Votes for Women.” LIFE, a vintage humor magazine of the period, even held a contest in 1909 asking the writer to state reasons: “Why I Would Not Marry a Suffragette” and offering a substantial cash prize to the winner. Time moved on, funny or not, now women vote, and those old ads have a market value today. Likewise images depicting other outdated stereotypes are also collectible be they Asian, Latino, American Indian or Black. Anyone interested in popular portrayal of women and minorities in America will find it amply if unconsciously documented in the pages of vintage magazines. As late as the 1960s you’ll find ads for well known manufacturers describing the “girls” in the typing pool and all the miraculous increases in speed and productivity that can achieved by equipping those “girls” with the latest and greatest office machines. Then it was ad copy, today it’s a collectible documentation of long running gender bias. Taking a book or magazine apart is only the first part of getting it ready to sell. The real art is in writing the description. It has to be short enough that someone will read it all the way through, and long enough that it covers the main point of interest. It should put the emphasis on what’s desirable, unusual or unique about the item, but it also acknowledges the presence of library stamps or perfs, marks of a prior owner, other stray marks in a young hand, old labels, ragged edges, what’s on the back (usually unrelated) and specifically state if it’s complete or lacks pages, plates or maps. Even if you only save one article it’s a good idea to also save the cover and the table of contents. If you’re familiar with the author or subject mention that it predates X or is earlier than Y, or perhaps it was really the true first Z. Don’t fail to mention it is in exceptionally nice condition, or conversely if in wretched shape but the only one you’re ever likely to see. Put in enough information that the buyer can be sure of what’s offered, but not so much information that he can locate a cheaper copy. The list of what not to break is endless, at the top of mine is don’t break digest size vintage science fiction magazines containing important installments by well know authors. Keep the issues whole and try to get all the installments. Some of the best known and most desirable science fiction appeared first in these magazines and as the 20^th century rapidly recedes it is harder and harder to find all the parts in nice condition and when you do the value increases proportionately. It’s difficult to fit all there is to know about breaking into a short piece. Suffice to say you can sometimes turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse, and if you’ve got the time and patience to find the good material, it can be financially worthwhile. ------ Reach Susan Halas at: wailukusue@gmail.com

Breaking: The Parts are Sometimes Worth More than the Whole

- By Susan Halas

Worn old atlas is ripe for breaking.

The subject of breaking is one of the touchiest and most controversial in the book world, but if you handle printed material long enough you will certainly come across books and magazines that are already broken or ready to break. They come to you in pieces or so worn and ragged that if you don’t take them apart they will fall apart on their own.

Look at this little 1839 mini-American atlas (see photo). It’s already missing a good 40 pages and what’s left looks so wretched that you’d think no one would want it. That’s where you’d be mistaken, because that atlas still has text, pix and maps on Africa, pre-Civil War America, and discoveries in the Pacific that are sufficiently interesting and graphic that they’re likely to find buyers by the page or section.

I learned how to break from my Dad. In the 1950s he’d take me along on his buying expeditions. We’d often come back with fat semi-decayed volumes of Scribner’s, Century, Harper’s, and others of the late 19^th and early 20^th century books, magazines and journals.

He couldn’t keep them all, so he took them apart and kept the parts he wanted. Work by Mark Twain, Bret Harte, Howard Pyle, Arthur Rackham, and Joseph Conrad appeared in those pages. There were also ads for beauty products, early autos, strange electrical devices, and travel to all points by train and much of it beautifully illustrated. A lot of what he broke came to me and most of it went on to new homes at decent prices.

You can still buy many of those same books and magazines and often for very nominal sums. One reason is that almost all of those things are now available free in digital format on the internet. Another is the people who are selling them frequently haven’t a clue as to what might be of value or why.

The truth is there’s still an avid core of enthusiasts who prefer the real thing, especially the real plates as they were first issued. Years ago I worked for another dealer who bought a broken set of the Harriman Expedition to Alaska 1901. He eagerly stripped the colored illustrations and folding maps and tossed the rest into the trash.

I was right behind him fishing it out. He missed the photogravures by ES Curtis. Yes, the same Curtis who went on to take the celebrated pictures of Native Americans. It was lovely stuff with full plate marks tucked inside a picked over breaker and plucked directly from the rubbish bin.

In those days there was no internet, you just had to know. Now that the internet is permanently with us my advice to buyers and sellers is to browse for what might be interesting digitally and then look for the issues or volumes to appear via eBay or Google.

Breaking: The Parts are Sometimes Worth More than the Whole

- By Susan Halas

Whistler Material.

One of my favorite vintage magazines is International Studio. It was one of the premiere art periodicals of the early 20^th century. I recently bought a long shabby broken run thinking I’d resell them as bound volumes. I priced them at $12.50 each + shipping. Despite the multiple splendid color plates I had no takers.

So I took the year 1903 apart and pulled out just the Whistler material (1903 was the year Whistler died and the issues were packed with articles and appreciations, not to mention high quality plates). Though it didn’t sell as a low priced book -- as a breaker the value went up substantially. Just the six pieces about Whistler realized $175. The parts really are sometimes worth more than the whole.

I’m not the only one to tell you that the market is moving toward ephemera, and lots of ephemera is composed of the interesting bits of pictures and pages that come out of breakers. They are the canapés of print: small, delicious, uncommon and often sought after. While there may be dozens of copies of books around, frequently there are few or no copies of desirable ephemera cataloged (even though it comes out of those same books).

National Geographic magazines from the 1930s are an example of how something quite common sometimes sells better in parts than as a whole. I’ve been surprised how well certain subjects from this period do. Not individual issues, just the disbound pages with the article(s) or ad(s) of particular interest.

For example, the article on the Nomads of Central Asia published in 1936 recounts an arduous overland journey and has wonderful color plates by Jacovleff. I sold it not long ago for over $60. Not every NG is valuable or contains potentially valuable material. Some of it is pure drek and conversely, certainly some of the early ones are not breakers.

But if you've got a stack of NGs, especially from the 1930s, when circulation dipped, you could do worse than to carefully take them apart, throw away the junk and put respectable prices on the truly interesting, hard-to-find, or scientifically or technologically valuable ones. These include early aviation, early exploration of the Poles, travels by auto through remote areas; early undersea research.... the list goes on and on.

One book I found particularly useful in getting a handle on NG and its contents is THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY 100 Years of Adventure and Discovery by C.D.B. Bryan, Abrams 1987-1988. This is a big book, packed with information and particularly strong on the early years. There are hundreds of copies available on line. The cheapest ones go for a buck. Buy it, read it - it will help you make money on National Geographic by filling in the back-story and adding a lot of the details that will help to make your descriptions more accurate and readable.

It also has a much about photography, photographers, film (including the coming of Kodachrome and the liberating influence of color and the 35 mm camera). I found the sections on aviation, undersea exploration and the early years of the magazine and its staff particularly helpful.

Breaking: The Parts are Sometimes Worth More than the Whole

- By Susan Halas

Work tools for breaking.

Another useful and inexpensive book that will help you with understanding and valuing commercial paper is: ADVERTISING IN AMERICA -- the first 200 years by Charles Goodrum and Helen Dalrymple 1990. This is also a big book and also inexpensive. It is not specifically about magazines but it does gives a very good overview of products, brands and artists that are noteworthy often easily found in magazines.

Remember not all old paper is valuable. When eyeing a stack of NGs consider that once past the mid-1940s you're looking at a magazine that had circulation of over 2 million copies a month, so the chance that any of it will be scarce, decreases proportionally.

Taking these and other magazines apart either individually or as bound volumes is not easy. It’s time consuming and it has to be done carefully. I like to work in batches of five or ten at a time.

My tools include drop cloth, pliers, small screw driver with a broad flat thin tip, clear plastic page protectors with 3 holes that open at the top, soft pencil with a soft point, sharp utility knife and steel edge ruler to trim the disbound edge. If small repairs are needed I like Filmoplast, a matte finish almost invisible archival tape. If you’re going to interleave any of the sheets be sure to use an acid free paper, and please: No scotch tape.

Put the drop cloth down because there will be lots of old glue, paper chips and nasty fragments of old staple tips. You do not want to get these into your hands, feet or posterior, your carpet, upholstery, floor or the feet of your pets -- very unpleasant.

Before you start taking the magazines apart, go through each one with your soft pencil and put the date on the first page of every article and on every page of the ads lightly and unobtrusively in pencil.

If you’re dealing with NG or any magazine of that era there’s usually a staple or sewing. With NG the staple closure is underneath the back cover. Remove the back cover, then gently pry up the staple tips using the thin flat edge of your screwdriver and straighten them with pliers so they point straight up or break off. Turn the magazine over, remove the front cover. Then gently start lifting the staple up from the front until enough is up to pull out with the pliers. This is harder than it sounds and it has to be done carefully and slowly. If the staple won’t come out - don’t gouge the paper, grab it with the pliers and rock it back and forth until it breaks. Then gently take the pages off and separate them into piles. Toss the stuff you don't want. Save the other material and put articles into individual sleeves and insert into three ring binders.

Keep your broken parts in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight and avoid areas that have big changes in humidity. Check your binders at least once a year for bugs and other critters. After you catalog them stick a copy of the description into the sleeve.

Breaking: The Parts are Sometimes Worth More than the Whole

- By Susan Halas

Politically incorrect material is collectible today.

It helps to know what you’re looking for. In addition to some of the categories already mentioned I’ve always got an eye out for racial and other now politically incorrect stereotypes especially in the ads and not just in National Geographic.

For example, in the first decade of the 20^th century it was thought uproariously funny to ridicule “Votes for Women.” LIFE, a vintage humor magazine of the period, even held a contest in 1909 asking the writer to state reasons: “Why I Would Not Marry a Suffragette” and offering a substantial cash prize to the winner. Time moved on, funny or not, now women vote, and those old ads have a market value today.

Likewise images depicting other outdated stereotypes are also collectible be they Asian, Latino, American Indian or Black. Anyone interested in popular portrayal of women and minorities in America will find it amply if unconsciously documented in the pages of vintage magazines. As late as the 1960s you’ll find ads for well known manufacturers describing the “girls” in the typing pool and all the miraculous increases in speed and productivity that can achieved by equipping those “girls” with the latest and greatest office machines. Then it was ad copy, today it’s a collectible documentation of long running gender bias.

Taking a book or magazine apart is only the first part of getting it ready to sell. The real art is in writing the description. It has to be short enough that someone will read it all the way through, and long enough that it covers the main point of interest.

It should put the emphasis on what’s desirable, unusual or unique about the item, but it also acknowledges the presence of library stamps or perfs, marks of a prior owner, other stray marks in a young hand, old labels, ragged edges, what’s on the back (usually unrelated) and specifically state if it’s complete or lacks pages, plates or maps. Even if you only save one article it’s a good idea to also save the cover and the table of contents.

If you’re familiar with the author or subject mention that it predates X or is earlier than Y, or perhaps it was really the true first Z. Don’t fail to mention it is in exceptionally nice condition, or conversely if in wretched shape but the only one you’re ever likely to see. Put in enough information that the buyer can be sure of what’s offered, but not so much information that he can locate a cheaper copy.

The list of what not to break is endless, at the top of mine is don’t break digest size vintage science fiction magazines containing important installments by well know authors. Keep the issues whole and try to get all the installments. Some of the best known and most desirable science fiction appeared first in these magazines and as the 20^th century rapidly recedes it is harder and harder to find all the parts in nice condition and when you do the value increases proportionately.

It’s difficult to fit all there is to know about breaking into a short piece. Suffice to say you can sometimes turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse, and if you’ve got the time and patience to find the good material, it can be financially worthwhile.

------

Reach Susan Halas at: wailukusue@gmail.com