Rare Book Monthly
What we can learn about book collecting from Joel Munsell
The Munsell indicia on an example of fine printing.
I have also been watching for Munsell items on eBay. So far it's a very thin and unpredictable market. The few items that have shown up have tended to be priced with high minimum bids. This doesn't make any sense. What is the difference between a Munsell imprint listed on ABE for $100 and an eBay listing for the same book with a $100 minimum bid? The eBay listing is, comparatively speaking, nonsense. Since when do auctions start the bidding above the high estimate? The answer is you can do this only when bidders are uneducated and unaware. This may sell a few items but it hurts the collecting field long term.
One of the intriguing aspects of Munselliana is that it allows a "postage stamp" approach to book collecting. Conventional collectors go in every conceivable direction because most areas or disciplines have few bounds, a dealer invention that keeps their inventories in front of a collector's eyes. Other forms of collecting, such as stamps and coins, assume that the total number of items is fixed while the quality is variable. Start a coin collection and you'll see what I'm talking about. Some collectors impose strict limits on themselves but for the majority of collectors the boundaries never get set and their collecting focus tends to follow their dealer's inventory rather than collection logic. The Munsell material is very fixed and can be collected as an entire group, by period, subject or form. However you approach it there are clear parameters. And because the printing quantities are available for half of the titles, a collector can gauge the likelihood the other half will come up by comparing their appearances and prices to items with known quantities. It's work but interesting and entirely possible. In short there is enough information to pursue the goal of completeness in this field and to do so with a degree of knowledge that leaves you independent of outside opinion and suasion. You can absolutely know this field.
As to what else can be learned I suspect that there are other, equally interesting ways to collect in the book field where there are clear limits and these limits can be understood by collectors. Such information empowers collectors, builds confidence and perhaps brings a few new adherents into what is a very challenging field.
Whether anyone cares to join me in this specific pursuit, the search for Munsell imprints, is another matter. In this one subject area I find the history of the Hudson Valley, the history of printing and the future of book collecting. As the announcer used to say at Monticello Raceway during summers in the 1960's: ladies and gentlemen, it'ssssssss the trifecta!
Would you like to look at a spreadsheet of the Munsell material that was recently available on ABE? Click here
To search all the listings in Bibliotheca Munselliana in the AED
To go to ABE directly to see what is available today click here.
Do you have un-catalogued Munsell imprints? Click here say YES or here to say NO.
If you would like to comment on the availability or non-availability of Munsell material click here: Munsell Message Board Postings.
