Featured 1705. That's Pretty Old But Not An Easy Read!!!

I found this book in one of the many boxes I have inherited from my Grandparents. I started to read it, however, it's pretty heavy going. I'm not sure where my Grandparents got it from..... I'm curious to know if there is a market for this type of book. Not sure yet if I will sell or not. I actually enjoy just smelling the book. I know that sounds weird but there is something magical about the smell

 

Someone thought enough of it to put it in a custom box. Haven't tried to look it up, but from the title I'm guessing you've got something there. Note that it's the 10th edition. Obviously popular in its day.

 

It's a type of ghost story I think....

 

From an Abebooks description:
"First published in 1705, Daniel Defoe's convincingly matter-of-fact account of Margaret Veal's ghostly visit to an old friend went through numerous editions; it appears here as the stated eighteenth, serving (as did most later printings) as a preface to the Christian's Defence against the Fears of Death. Legend has it that Defoe's retelling of a ghost story then in circulation was meant as a boost for flagging sales of an edition of the Defence, although current scholarship is skeptical of that tale. Drelincourt's pious work sold quite well both before and after Defoe's addition, at any rate, and was often recommended as a gift for mourners."

So the ghost story is by Daniel Defoe (Robinson Crusoe), but it's little more than an addendum to the main text.

 

Interesting. @moreotherstuff I don't think I will try and read at night time. It's quite creepy.

I found this on Wikipedia...
The Apparition of Mrs. Veal is the most famous example[7] of a well-established genre at the time, that of the "apparition narrative", which flourished in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.[8] The genre had similarities to later ghost stories and gothic fiction, but differed from both in its philosophical starting point. The subject of "apparitions" was not necessarily regarded as supernatural – a category that was still evolving at the time – nor were they taken to be spirits of the dead, a concept which contemporary English Protestant writers (not least Defoe himself, in his History and Reality of Apparitions) strongly rejected.[9] They were taken to be literally "appearances" in which "a spirit may vest it self with Flesh and Blood", as Defoe put it; a form with apparently solid substance but no actual person present.[10]

 

The ghost story was originally published anonymously as a pamphlet, which would probably be worth as much, if not more. It's attributed to Defoe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apparition_of_Mrs._Veal

 

How do I go about finding out a ball park value? I have looked online but can only find recent editions.

 

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Se...lyadded=all&sortby=1&sts=t&tn=apparition veal

Others are better at book searches than I.

 

I believe @2manybooks' partner is a bookseller.

 

He is out splitting firewood today, but I will bring it to his attention this evening. I agree with @moreotherstuff that it has enough significance that someone protected it with the custom box. You don't see those every day. It is too bad that the initial title page is missing.

 

It should be very interesting to hear what he says.

 

I can't help, but I got Deja Vu when I read this post. I must be losing more marbles as the days go by. Nice find.

 

how is the box so clean, but the book looks like it was read on horseback thru a rain storm , every week for 200 years...??

 

New box for an old book.

 

a box...made to order...with printing....made to size....with stitching and ribbon...
Who does that ???

 

People who think the book is valuable enough to warrant the protection and the expense. Some books are, but it's not a guarantee of the book's value. The most expensive copy of this currently on AbeBooks might not be worth the expense from a retailer's perspective, but an owner might feel differently.

 

My Grandmother!!!! I'm sure it was her. My Gran had all sorts of airs and graces. Don't fall off your chair @komokwa but having a quick rummage around before I went to work this morning I found another one!!!! I'll share this evening

 

She also very much believed in the preservation of history

 

More...tracey......u took it to mean personal......
I'm asking .....where would one go to make a box like that ??

Any makers marks on the box ???

 

THUD !!!!!! OUCHY !!!!!! .