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Binding Errors and Mangled Pages

I received two emails recently about books damaged during production. Other than the misprints, the book is not missing any pages or falling apart.
Thank you for your time – Michael
Hello!
I have recently started selling books that were (kind of) inherited by me Dear Michael,
when my friend committed suicide. So, I have an eBay account and am To answer your ques-
doing pretty well. tions: is your book truly
I recently sold this trio of books and as I am boxing it up to be shipped, I damaged? Yes, it truly is
ran into an error. Not from me but from the publishers’ trimming department. damaged as several pages
One page was not trimmed as it appears to be folded in before getting were badly mangled when
cut. I was wondering what this was called and if it made the book worth it was bound. This is called
more value. a binding error and unlike
I have included a picture and before shipping this set out, I was really errors on coins and stamps,
hoping to find the answer to this. does not make the book
Thank you for your time and if I ever travel through, I would love to more valuable as it is more
visit your shop! common than you would
Sarah think. I am surprised that
Dear Sarah, with such obvious damage Example of mangled parchment
This is a printing or binding that the book was ever
error done when the book was offered for sale by the
being printed or bound. A sheet publisher. Is it worthless?
of paper was bent and so not No, it is not worthless, but
properly cut or trimmed when it certainly is not worth as
the book was being made. This is much as a copy that is not
more common than you might damaged. I would consider Example of mis-arranged pages
think and unfortunately does the damage fairly signifi-
not make the book more valu- cant even though it is “only” four pages out of the entire book.
able. In fact, in your case it may But as to what it is worth, I have no idea. Although I found
make it less valuable. This is numerous modern reprints available online, I did not find any original
totally unlike minor errors with copies to get an idea of the value of a damaged or undamaged copy.
coins or stamps which can some- Normally I would have expected to find the prices of other old copies
times be worth a small fortune. for comparison, but as I was not able to find any, that would seem
An example of pages folded into the to indicate that it is a scarce book and so a collector might think that
book prior to trimming Some typographical errors can having a damaged copy would be better than having no copy at all.
make books more valuable, but
not binding errors like the ones in your pictures – one is sort of like a I see that while you have clear photographs of the damaged pages,
dent in a new car! It is a curiosity, but in my experience, not a col- you did not mention the damage in your description of the book, so I
lectible curiosity that anyone would pay money for. would encourage you to also list the damaged pages rather than risk
Binding errors are usually discarded by the printer or publisher. having a disappointed or angry buyer.
Actually, when I have encountered this improperly trimmed corner In the description in your email to me you say that “the book is
in books I have bought, I considered it a nuisance, so I unfolded the not missing any pages” but considering how mangled the pages in
page and very carefully trimmed off the excess. question are, for all intents and purposes, it does have some missing or
Sorry! at least unreadable pages. Or possibly in other words, you are sort of
Jim D. saying that except for the pages that are missing, it does not have any
missing pages, or except for the part of the book that is damaged, the
book is not damaged.
Mr. Dawson,
I recently read the article by James Dawson titled “Mistakes in Books” With no guide as to value, it is in effect worth what someone will
(Journal of Antiques and Collectibles, Sept. 2003) and have a question. pay for it! And, as far as I can tell, it is currently the only original copy
I have a copy of an 1898 book that has two binding errors. Pages 617/ for sale on the entire internet, which is in your favor.
618 and 631/632 are not bound correctly and thus a reader is not able to Good luck!
read these pages. Jim D.
Is this book truly “damaged” and worthless?
I have it listed on eBay and if willing, would value your opinion of the Dear Jim, Thank you for your valuable feedback! – Michael
auction price. The book is old and has normal wear for a book this age.
James Dawson has owned and operated the Unicorn Bookshop in Trappe, MD since 1975, when he decided that it would be more fun to buy and sell old books and maps than to get
a “real” job. For a born collector like Jim, having a shop just might be another excuse to buy more books. He has about 30,000 second hand and rare books on the shelves, and just
about all subjects are represented. He can be contacted at P.O. Box 154; Trappe, MD 21673; 410-476-3838; unicornbookshopMD@gmail.com; www.unicornbookshop.com

50 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles