Welcome to Rare Books Insider for March 22nd, 2022 – FREE Edition.
Each week we give you the scoop on undervalued, mispriced and hidden gems in Alternative Investing.
Table of Contents
This year in Rare Books
It continues to be a tough 2022 for rare books on fractional markets as the index continues to slide with no bottom in sight.
Books are now undervalued by an average of 14%, so there are some bargains to be found.
Last week in Rare Books
Fractional Marketplaces
A tough week for Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, which slid another 39% last week. It’s now trading at just 40% of its inferred value.
Shakespeare and Grimm weren’t spared last week – both are now off over 30% for the quarter and are trading well below market price.
On the other end of the spectrum, Orwell’s Animal Farm was up 2% on the week and is now trading at over 3x its market value.
The market here is fairly nonsensical, but there are opportunities if you’ve got dry powder.
This week and next week in Rare Books
Fractional Market IPOs
Rally brings us two IPOs this week.
’71 THE GODFATHER SCREENPLAY
- Market Cap: $13k
- Inferred Value: $10,500
- Drop Details: 3/24/22 on Rally
- Our View: [INSIDERS ONLY]
(Do yourself a favor and watch The Godfather again. Just reading through the script a bit gives me chills)
HELLEN KELLER 1892 BOOK (INSCRIBED TO FRANCES CLEVELAND)
- Market Cap: $15k
- Inferred Value: $10k
- Drop Details: 3/22/22 on Rally
- Our View: [INSIDERS ONLY]
Fractional Secondary Markets
Moby Dick trades for the first time this week on Rally. It looks like it’s going to open flat, while FMV dictates it should shed perhaps 10% to 15%.
Issac Asimov’s I, Robot also trades for the first time, and it looks like it’s going to pop around 10% to $8,750. FMV is closer to $6k.
Auctions
Bonham’s has a banger coming in April featuring Albert Einstein’s Doctoral Diploma, but their auction this coming week is no slouch.
Probably the most compelling lots are a pair of Ian Flemming’s Bond first impressions, both playfully inscribed to his secretary, Una:
- Goldfinger (estimate $20k to $30)
- From Russia with Love (estimate $20k to $30)
It seems a shame to break up the set, so I hope someone picks them both up.
Rally has a pristine copy of Goldfinger inscribed to his mentor William Plomer. It’s currently trading for around $48k.
For fans of children’s books, a massive collection of Maurice Sendak first editions and ephemera is also up for auction. It includes an inscribed first edition copy of ‘Where the Wild Things Are’, along with several other signed works.
Estimates are £20,000 – £40,000. If you can’t afford the whole lot, Rally has a comparable copy of the book trading for $13k on their secondary market.
Limited Editions
There is a wide variety of compelling opportunities this week.
I’m not sure if this has been available for a while, and I’ve just not clocked it, but this Dune limited edition is a work of art. I’m personally bullish on books with a cult following, and if you can’t have a Dune first edition, something like this is a great Plan B. Limited to 500 copies, it’s signed by Sam Weber, the illustrator.
If your’e into Dune, there’s a decent chance you’ll also be a fan of Brandon Sanderson’s many, many works.
He’s currently running a Kickstarter releasing four “secret novels” + swag boxes. It’s currently raised over $31m from a $1m goal. $480 plus shipping will get you the lot. The books are all unsigned, which I thought was a bit odd.
These books may or may not get published later, but if not, this will be the only opportunity to buy the works before they hit the secondary market. Whatever comes in the swag boxes could also fetch a hefty price on eBay etc, down the line.
And now for something completely different.
If you’ve not read anything by Edna O’Brien, perhaps now is the time to begin. The much-lauded Irish writer’s latest novel, Girl, is available now as a signed limited edition of 155 copies. The Guardian calls it a “masterclass of storytelling.”
It tells the first-person story of a girl abducted by Boko Haram in Nigeria, following her traumatic journey as she becomes a mother herself and witnesses untold horrors. It’s £125.
