In article >,
Bob Pastorio > wrote:
>I got this on a mailing list I subscribe to. It was forwarded by one
>of the subscribers. Looks like an, um, interesting read. And only
>$200. <kof>
>Dr. Doran, "TABLE TRAITS, WITH SOMETHING ON THEM"
>New York; W.J. Widdleton, Publisher: 1865.
>Hardcover. 5.5"x8.25", 489 pages; publisher's brown ribbed cloth;
>covers with some soil and rubbing, tips bumped; endpapers creased;
>some internal soil; 1" stain on rear endpapers extending slightly into
>the last few pages of text. [04922] $200.00

In other words, a fairly ratty copy.

I have a fairly long experience with the used book trade. This is
just the sort of dishonest pricing that one finds more and more,
especially among American dealers. The fair value of the edition you
list, which is neither the first English nor the first American
imprint, probably is about twenty dollars, perhaps as much as forty
dollars in a very competitive market.

If you are interested in the text for its own sake, for the purpose
of research or scholarship, the easiest method of acquisition is to
order it through interlibrary loan at your local public, college,
or university library. You can then photocopy the entire work, if you
like, since copyright considerations no longer apply. At least thirteen
publicly-accessible collections in the United States have this particular
imprint:


Table traits with something on them.
Doran, Dr.
1865 English Book 489 p. New York, Widdleton,

Title: Table traits with something on them.
Author(s): Doran, Dr. 1807-1878. (John),
Publication: New York, Widdleton,
Year: 1865
Description: 489 p.
Class Descriptors: Dewey: 641.01
Accession No: OCLC: 3522131


The entire work, from title page to back board, should amount to
about five hundred pages. At seven cents per photocopy, and two
book pages on each photocopy, your cost will be about $17.50.

Of all nineteenth-century imprints of this book, there are about
seventy copies available through interlibrary loan in the United
States and Canada> Among them are the more valuable first English
edition:

**
Table traits, with something on them.
Doran, Dr.
1854 English Book 2 p. 1., [iii]-iv, 547 p. 19 cm. London, R. Bentley

Title: Table traits, with something on them.
Author(s): Doran, Dr. 1807-1878. (John),
Publication: London, R. Bentley.
Year: 1854
Description: 2 p. 1., [iii]-iv, 547 p. 19 cm.
Standard No: LCCN: 12-31907
Class Descriptors: LC: TX631
Accession No: OCLC: 5257762
**

The first American edition:

Table traits. In two volumes.
Doran, Dr.
1854 English Book 2 v. plates. 23 cm. Boston, Francis A. Niccolls &
company

Title: Table traits. In two volumes.
Author(s): Doran, Dr. 1807-1878. (John),
Publication: Boston, Francis A. Niccolls & company
Year: 1854
Description: 2 v. plates. 23 cm.
Note(s): Half-title: Table traits, with something on them./ "Edition
de luxe, limited to one thousand copies."/ Title page printed in brown
and gold.
Class Descriptors: LC: TX631
Accession No: OCLC: 16864761

and several others.
**

If you wish to purchase a copy for your own collection, ABEBOOKS,
one of several online booksearch services. lists eighteen available
copies, with some, indeed, at inflated prices. Among those at
reasonable cost may be mentioned:

Doran, Dr.
Table Traits with Something on Them
New York: Redfield, 1855. hardbound. Very Good cond (light stain to
top of first 5 or 6 pages) size: demy octavo (hinges cracked;
extremities & joints rubbed or shelf wear or fraying).
Price: US$ 20.00

Doran, Dr.
Table Traits With Something On Them.
NY Redfield 1859. Spine torn, front hinge broken, 489p.
Price: US$ 25.00

Doran, Dr.
Table Traits with Something on Them.
Redfield [New York]:: , 1855. Fair. First American Edition,
Ex-Library. Octavo. 489 pp., 6 pp. adverts. Brown cloth, spine
missing, boards detached. Library markings on title page, inside front
& rear boards. Not pretty to look at, but perfectly useable. This is
the American Edition of a 1854 London publication.
Price: US$ 25.00

and

Doran, Dr.
Table Traits with Something on Them
New York: Redfield, 1855. Cloth. No Jacket. First Edition. 12mo -
over 6 3/4" - 7 3/4" tall. This is a good reading copy of this vintage
classic. There are some marks and stamps from previous owner on front
endpapers, some light staining and darkening at extremities, and a
weakened front hinge; otherwise a solid copy with pages free of
foxing, binding still intact.
Price: US$ 25.00


Collecting cookery books is quite fashionable just now, and
unscrupulous dealers abound. Anyone thinking of an acquisition should,
at a minimum, do the following:

Check online union catalogues to determine the work's availability
in libraries. OCLC's FirstSearch can be searched in almost every
library, RLIN's EUREKA service also is readily available in many places.
If fifty, sixty, or more copies of an imprint are in known holdings,
you may conclude that the item is not particularly scarce or rare.

Check ABEBOOKS, BIBLIOFIND, and several other online booksearch
services. You may well find the work for which you are searching
at a quite reasonable price. In any case, you probably can get a
good idea of the fair market value of all but the rarest titles.


--
Regards, Frank Young
703-527-7684
Post Office Box 2793, Kensington, Maryland 20891
"Videmus nunc per speculum in aenigmate... Nunc cognosco ex parte"