What is your rarest book? With all the bibliophiles on here, we ought to be able to come up with some real gems.

I do not have many rare books yet. I would like to start collecting them, though. I have an old GNT (Westcott and Hort edition) from 1900. I also have a signed copy of F. F. Bruce's [i:f5cbe03f47]This is That[/i:f5cbe03f47]. I have some books that used to belong to J. I. Packer as well.

You?

Lon

First Edition 4 Volume Set of the Life of CH Spurgeon by His Wife & Secretary (c 1893)

First Edition of the Memoirs and Remains of Robert Murray McCheyne

c 1700 copy of Paradise lost by Milton

Spurgeon's Sermons 1862

Bound and Illustrated Pilgrims progress and Holy War c 1800

Isaac Watts Hymnal Revised dated 1830

A page from Foxes book of Martyrs c 1700, framed

An autograph of WB Sprague

A fragment of bone from... err.. no, not really!

And much more...

[Edited on 5-25-2004 by JonathanHunt]

[Edited on 5-25-2004 by JonathanHunt]

I have a World Atlas from 1917. The Panama Canal had not been built yet, but there are several maps showing the planned route of the "new canal". It also has a map of the "German Empire". Unfortunately, who ever owned the atlas before me did not take very good care of it, so it is in pretty bad condition. Some other cool stuff too, but I'm a Geographer, so of course [i:a3a92e7193]I[/i:a3a92e7193] think it's cool.

I also have an old copy of the complete works of John Bunyan (in one volume), but I don't remember the year off-hand.

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Seth Stark
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Biola University, Graduate Student, M.A. - Science and Religion
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Wow Jonathan!

Fighting back envy and jealousy!

Lon

Jonathan, are you taking any precautions against the books deterioration? I don't know anything about it. It just seems that over time deterioration would set in. Moreover, do you have insurance of some sort for the books? I think the webmaster has insured his library. A friend of mine has done the same thing for his library.

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Bobby Gawthrop, V.D.M.
licensed, ordained SBC, licensed PCA
Ph.D. student (Whitefield Theological Seminary)
"Every minister in those days had a V.D.M. degree: Verbum Dei Minister. When, therefore, I became a teacher of apologetics it was natural for me to think, not only of my Th.M. and my Ph.D., but above all of my V.D.M. The former degrees were but means whereby I might be true to the latter degree." Cornelius Van Til

All my books came from ebay folks. Some were bargains, some I paid a good price for in my more wealthy days. These days I can hardly afford a church magazine!

Do I have insurance? Not specifically. I have ample contents insurance with the books in mind, but owning them is a luxury. If the Lord saw fit to remove them from my posession I should be happy to replace them with modern reproductions at small cost. In future I may do this if they are financially viable to sell on.

I believe the Spurgeon biog is worth about 400-600 us dollars, but it all depends on who is buying, supply and demand, etc. If any thieves are reading this, its not stored at my home address, so don't bother coming down with your swag bags! LOL

I love old books... probably love them too much! I have never done anything specific to look after them yet. They are not excessively valuable otherwise I would have probably sold them as I am in worldly terms poor right now!

J

Unfortunately Jonathan has the benefit of being in England! I found a lot of little treasures when my wife and I were there.

I only bought one book, however. It was a first or second edition of Roland Bainton's "Here I Stand"...it is also autographed by Bainton. I got it for about $20 U.S. I don't know if it's rare or even valuable.

We also saw a lot of Cowper's poetry in a bookstore. It wasn't very expensive, and each edition was at least 100 years old. I was concerned if I bought any they'd get broken on the trip back to the U.S.

My wife has quite a few rare books she got from her mother, who got it from her mother, who got them from her mother....

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Toledo, OH

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