An educational and informational site about rare, old and antiquarian books.
Alternative type investment mutual funds are often pitched as providing decent returns that are not tied to the fate of stocks or bonds. But getting the right asset mix to deliver on both of these goals has proven quite difficult. Alternative fund strategies, in addition to providing diversification, cushion stock-heavy portfolios by reducing volatility. During […]
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Up until recent times, financial advisors have been reluctant to recommend “alternative” types of investments in collectibles, such as rare books, to their customers. Primary concerns circle around the factors of illiquidity, additional costs for storage, insurance, transportation and fraud. The lack of standard quantitative performance measurements comparing the long term returns of financial instruments such as stocks, bonds, […]
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Towards the end of last century, antiquarian book dealer William S. Reese presented his much publicized view of “The Rare Book Market Today” at Brown University. In this historical retrospect beginning with the depressed years prior to World War II, 1945 was picked to be the year of the greatest buying opportunity, since rare books […]
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Rare books are collectibles and the month of April brings capital gain, estate or gift tax considerations to those of us residing in the United States. Whether you have decided to sell off parts of your collection or bequeath it to an heir, Uncle Sam wants to know. Failing to manage valuable asset holdings properly […]
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One does not have to look too hard or too far back to get a glimpse of the effects of an economic crisis. The most recent crisis in the Euro zone and the near collapse of the banking system in the US are still impacting our lives. But try to find witnesses of the 1929 […]
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It is not uncommon for people with book collections to harbor concern towards the new generation’s lack of interest in picking up a hobby such as rare book collecting. The old assumption that a collection would remain in the family and that the family’s “library” would accumulate with each generation is sadly a thing of […]
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Rare books, like other collectibles such as art, fine wine, coins, gemstones and baseball cards, belong in the class of investments called hard assets. These tangible assets are considered by many to provide a safe haven from the stock and bond market and more recently the real estate market downturns (real estate is also considered a […]
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Today it is father’s day and everybody is looking for a gift, a special gift, to give to his/her father. But fathers have everything. So the question is what to buy for the special father. We dare to suggest: Give him a rare book. Rare and precious books are always appreciated by all fathers because […]
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The collection of old and rare publications such as books, magazines, and newspapers has many loyal friends. The reasons why one deals with collecting rare books varies and are certainly different from person to person. The large group of rare book collectors reads everything, especially old editions which have been exhausted and have become unavailable for many years now. Some of the rare books […]
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The Stock market is not the only market where one can find “blue chips’’. Also equities, bonds, and mutual funds are not the only forms of investment securities. Similarly, auctions are not just for government bonds. The rare books, personal files of important persons and old and rare magazines consist, for a rather limited number of people, […]
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