19th century book resource or forum?

I just started getting interested in 19th century books and was wondering if there are any websites or forums specific to the Victorian era? Also, is 19th century considered antiquarian in book speak? Perhaps that is why I have been unable to find many resources yet specific to 19th century, as they may lumped into antiquarian? Thank you.

 

19th century isn't too old, as books go - an 'old' book, to a high-end bookseller, is from the 16th century or earlier; "incunabula", or books printed prior to 1500 are generally quite desirable and collected just for their age, dating as they do to the dawn of mass-production. But 19th century would still fit in the broad category of 'antiquarian', as opposed to 'modern', or twentieth century+ books.

The most-collected Victorian era books, as far as I know (I mostly handle modern material), are the so-called triple-deckers, novels issued in three volumes, among the most interesting of which are Jane Austen, Walter Scott, and the Brontes; other valuable forms are the partworks of authors like Dickens & Trollope, a series of monthly pamphlets or parts, often ending in cliffhangers, sold cheaply, then usually issued as a book later; so you might see a dealer offering The Pickwick Papers "in the original parts" for startling amounts of money.

I'm not aware of any particular fora on books of the era, but Abebooks does have a general discussion here:
https://forums.abebooks.com/discuss...com/2?listmode=13&dbg=6&nav=messages&mobile=y
where you might be able scare up a conversation - maybe. Some of them are a bit squirrelly there. Abe's advanced search will also allow you to set dates as search parameters.

 

I think a lot depends on what your interest is, and how much high quality storage space you have. If you’re just interested, that’s one thing. If you’re hoping to fund your personal book collection by buying and selling, that’s another. If you’re hoping to do it as a business and make a profit, that’s going to involve an enormous amount of research!

Your time frame matters too. If you are in a position to hold things for 20+ years, that makes a huge difference.

 

Hello, thank you for the replies. I'm just interested in antique books right now, particularly 19th century American, but not for selling, or for establishing a large collection. Just to maybe collect a few that seem interesting. A couple years ago I became fascinated with Victorian Era photography. I occasionally still buy CDV's, Tintypes and Cabinets that catch my eye. While collecting old photos I've come across 19th century books that look interesting. Like old history books, occupation books, etc. I'm not much into fiction. But am a big history buff. Anyway, I thought there might be an Internet forum of people that collect mostly 19th century books. I'm interested in 18th century too, but most of the books I've seen from that era are out of my price range. But I would be interested in learning about American books, and bookmaking from those 2 centuries. Thanks again for the replies & links!

 

Ah, someone after my own heart
You will probably have better luck looking for forums on particular topics of interest, rather than by era. Among other things, many books have reprintings that aren’t particularly valuable now but are interesting and beautifully made.

 

Thanks for the "topics of interest" suggestion, I'll give that a try!

 

HI Jerry - I too am an antiquarian book collector. My passion is 18th and 19th century non-fiction. Started collecting in the mid 1980s. I currently have just under 500 volumes, after donating all the fiction to my alma mater. I will gladly help you in any way that I can, both here and off-line. Here's one of my tricks for internet buying. When I find something of interest, I do not rely on seller's descriptions...unfortunately a 50-50 shot at accuracy. Go out to https://www.hathitrust.org/digital_library and enter the title into the search bar. Select "full view" to see a scanned copy. Its great for flipping through a digital copy to help you decide whether or not to buy. My most recent buy was "Laying of the Cable", 1858, 1st edition by John Mullaly. The very first 1st internet - the laying of the first transatlantic telegraph cable, shortening US-European communication from weeks to minutes. Cool engravings of the cable laying ships and such. Old non-fiction can be kind of geeky but its never boring!

 

Jon L, thanks for the reply and link, I will try that link this weekend! Glad to hear I'm not the only person interested in antique non-fiction That "..Cable" book sounds like the type of book I'm interested in. I recently purchased my 3rd antique book "History Of The United States", by John Ridpath, 1877. Nothing too exciting but interesting none the less since it was written around the time of the centennial, so might have an interesting perspective as an historical reference book. I am a big history buff. I'm also just starting to look at 18th century books, on eBay, just to get a feel for what is available, sold prices, etc. just on that platform. Anyway, thanks again for the reply and link!

 

Oooo, cool!

 

Jerry -if you're interested in American perspectives of the times, you might want to look at political campaign books. Pre radio/tv/internet, presidential campaigns gave out sappy glowing biographies of their presidential candidates. In the 19th century, these books served 2 purposes. One was to provide sugary profiles of the man's character and their political positions on the issues of the day. Second, as most of the country was illiterate, it provided an avenue for an uneducated to hand off the book "...I just finished this, thought you might might like it...." as a way of putting themself in a positive light. This is one of the (many) niches I collect - and its still cheap ($5-30) for most candidates (of either party) 1850-1900. Don't buy the first one you find, there's lots out there at wildly varying prices. Look around!

 

Jon L, thanks for the tip. Are there any websites/resources that are dedicated to campaign and other antiques books like that? Your suggestion sounds interesting. Unfortunately eBay can feel a bit like the wild west when searching for rare and antique books I really need to find some more resources for finding online places that sell antique books, so I can learn and see what is available, and for pricing. I have using biblio too.

 

Have you checked all the reference sites posted at the top of this forum? There’s some good stuff there.

Another thing one can do is peruse thrift stores. They will often have 3rd or 4th (or even 10th) editions of books, printed in the early to mid 1900’s. Of course, that indicates prior editions that might fit your criteria. This gives you the opportunity to really see a book in person before you look for it online or in a fancy shop. It can mean you have a less valuable reading copy, and can keep the precious somewhere safe.

I also feel obliged to point out that books become antiques because someone kept them safe. Don’t ignore good books that aren’t quite as old as what you’re looking for - they often make reference to earlier works that might interest you, you might enjoy them, and they may become a future treasure.

In the early 90’s, over the course of a few months I found first editions of half a dozen Stephen King books to give to a friend who was a fan. I never paid more than $2 for any of them. That stack would be worth a pretty penny now!

 

Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America is a major professional association in the U.S. They also include a "Browse and Shop" link for buying and selling. I believe one has to be a member of the association to sell there, but anybody can buy there. Here is their main website: https://www.abaa.org/

"Antiquarian" is the preferred word that professional booksellers use... not "antique." But it doesn't matter here in this forum! Just mentioned as a point of interest.

 

The resource list at the top of the forum is a good start. Here's a trick to cut through the chaff to get to the wheat. Lets say you're looking for campaign books of Ulysses S. Grant. You know he was elected in 1868 and re-elected in 1872. Using the bookseller site's search function, put in "Ulysses" and "Grant" in the key word field. Put in "1868" in the year published field (campaign books were only published in the election year). Hit search and see what comes up. Repeat with the year "1872". If you want general biographies as well, date range 1865-1880. There's LOTS of Grant stuff out there so its still quite affordable, unlike other campaign books covering Lincoln or William Henry Harrison. Feel free to private message me for a deeper discussion. Good hunting!!

 

And as Born2it correctly observes, thrift stores are great. Don't know if its a covid thing, but lately people seem to just dump books from grandma's attic rather than put any effort in selling them en masse to booksellers. Books seem to be an afterthought here in the electronic age. :^(

 

Thank you, I forgot about the resources pinned to the top of this forum! And thanks for the tip on advanced searches on sellers websites, I used that tip today! Also, I'm now using the abaa link about as much as biblio. Lastly, I'm at that point where I'm researching possible areas of interest for collecting some antiquarian books. I feel comfortable now in the 19th century, so I now need to do more research on 18th century books. I think it would be cool to own just one American book from the 1700's, on a topic of interest! Thanks again for the replies and suggestions!

 

Just from a personal point of view, you might find it interesting, and not too expensive, to look at some books published in England to see American events from an outside perspective. One of my first acquisitions was a Univeral Magazine from 1775 describing the Battle of Bunker Hill (I think they called it the Battle of Charlestown) from of course the English perspective, along with a sketch map of "The March of the Colonials", showing Lexington and Concord. Whenever I could I bought volumes of the monthly magazines of the colonial and revolutionary periods, and having spent part of my childhood in the US, but the rest of my life in England, it was really interesting to see how things were viewed at the time, and how they later became remembered in history. Many English people sided with the American struggle, and wanted them to gain independence and then get back to trade as normal. "The Annual Register" is an annual summary of the events of the year, covering many years, and inexpensive because it has no illustrations. I think you can find digitized copies of many series of magazines such as The Gentleman's Magazine online now, as well as others. In the nineteenth century, if there are any volumes of Punch magazine available in the US, have a look at the ones for the Civil War period. Amongst all the obscure forgotten British topics in there, there are fascinating cartoons on the American conflict, not at all flattering of Abraham Lincoln. The publication only redeemed itself with a moving poem on his death. If you lived in the UK you would find much material.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I remember once when I was researching a 18th century American politician I came across The Gentleman's Magazine as a source. At that time I believe I was looking for a different perspective on an American Revolution event. I think I even looked for a copy via our local libraries ILL. I will keep that magazine in mind. Thank you for the suggestion!

 

Here's a campaign book I just picked up for 1892 election. Covers both party's nominees plus the political issues of the day. Ex-President Grover Cleveland defeated incumbent President Benjamin Harrison in the rematch election. 656 pages, 100 photos/illustrations, $16 including tax and shipping.

 

That is very cool, plus looks like a great price! I'm trying to narrow my focus and have been researching Gen. William T. Sherman as a possible focus as he was a CW soldier, politician, adventurer, etc. My great, great, grandfather served under him during The March, so that too adds some attraction. I was thinking of starting with one of his memoirs as I'm interested in his thoughts during the march. Although, perhaps the passage of time between his memoir and diary may have skewed some of his thoughts. Not an uncommon thing as you age Thanks for sharing, I've been watching some campaign books and trade cards on eBay to become more familiar, since your suggestion!