What makes a book a rare book?

Some people in the world are concerned about collecting rare books. It has become a passion for them. Whether you are a rare book collector or not, it is important to have a strong understanding about what makes a book rare. Then you will be able to get your hands on such a book and enjoy the maximum possible returns offered to you at the end of the day.

What makes a book a rare book?

If a certain book has a limited supply when compared to demand, you can think about calling it as a rare book. In most of the instances, people tend to call first editions of the books as rare books. That’s because a limited number of books are published in the first edition. 

Publishers tend to do this in order to save expenses. They print a limited number of books and see how the demand for those books will be. If the books have a high demand, publishers will go ahead and publish more books. However, they will not come under the first edition. Hence, first edition books are quite difficult to find . 

Another important factor that contribute towards rarity of a book is the age. It is true that not all the old books are rare. However, some of the books are valuable and hard to find. You can think about calling them as perfect examples for rare books. There is a high demand among people to purchase such books as well. 

Factors that make different book categories rare 

Now you have a basic understanding about what a rare book is all about. While keeping that in mind, you need to take a look at the factors that make different book categories rare.

Children’s books 

Children’s books are generally rare. That’s because these books aren’t sent into library archives in most of the times. When you take a look at the children’s books, you will also notice that they have broken bindings, torn bindings and additions to the original wok such as crayon marking. These conditions make children’s books rare. 

Poetry books 

You can find poetry books belonging to numerous categories. Out of them, certain categories are rare. When you take a look at the total number of books that are being sold out there in the world and compare them with poetry books, you will figure out that the poetry books are accumulating only a small fraction. In fact, book publishers don’t tend to publish lots of poetry books . However, the overall value of a poetry book is dependent upon the author and the need that collectors have to get hold of the work created by the poet. Some of the poems are unknown. Such books are valuable as well. 

Signed books 

Books that have the sign of the author are a perfect example for rare books. That’s because the authors don’t tend to sign all the books that they publish. However, some people are lucky enough to get the signature of the author at the time of purchasing the book or at a later stage. 

Some of the authors tend to go ahead with promotional tors across the world. Along with that, they tend to sign the books that are available for sale at bookshops in numerous countries. On the other hand, they tend to attend publish gatherings such as book fairs as well. Then they get the opportunity to meet the buyers in person. While selling the book, they often tend to leave their own signature. 

Cookbooks 

Cookbooks are quite similar to children’s books. That’s because you will not be able to find cookbooks in libraries. They are published only for intended use. On the other hand, people tend to use cookbooks when they are preparing the recipes. 

Hence, they will be exposing the cookbooks to the cooking process and ingredients. For example, people who use cookbooks will tend to touch them with wet hands. This alters the condition of cookbooks. As a result, the cookbooks become rare. They act as a unique representation of the relationship that people have along with cookbooks as well. Due to the same reason, there is a high possibility for the cookbooks to get into the collectible editions .

Final words

Now you have a clear understanding about the definition of rare books. In the meantime, you should also understand that professional collectors and booksellers tend to pay their attention to two prominent factors at the time of making the decision whether a specific book is rare or not. 

First factor out of them is the total number of copies that are available for purchase. Then they take a look at the potential buyers available to purchase that book. By taking this into consideration, you can also determine rarity of books. 

. don’t tend to publish lots of poetry books