The Play's The Thing 1927 - £15.48 (inc del)

[pete9012S]

1927. 240 pages. No dust jacket. Terracotta cloth with gilt lettering. Large book. Illustrated by Alfred E. Bestall. Hinge cracked with noticeable foxing, tanning and handling marks. Dedication to previous owner at titles with dog-eared corners. Intermittent annotations with sheet music. Noticeable bumping, rubbing and scuffing to spine ends and to corners with noticeable rubbing, marking, scuffing and wear along edges and over surfaces.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/The-Plays-the ... SwFnFV-YSi" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This seems a reasonable price,albeit the book is in acceptable condition?

This alternative copy for £94.50 looks quite well thumbed too...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/THE-PLAYS-THE ... SwBahU8DR4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Tony Summerfield]

I have always believed that to be the 1st edition, Pete, and to the best of my knowledge I don't think it ever had a dustwrapper. The dustwrapper came on a later edition which had cloth boards like most other books of the time. I would have thought that was a good price, particularly with free postage as it is a large and heavy book!

[pete9012S]

Thanks Tony.I did think it was a good price,as initially I was looking at the following edition from Australia:

They state 1927? But the copy includes a dustwrapper.They still want $150 for it though!

*RARE* THE PLAY'S THE THING by Enid Blyton, Alfred Bestall (Hardcover/DJ, ND)

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/RARE-THE-PLA ... 1630707647" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Anita Bensoussane]

Unusual to see the original price of twenty-five shillings printed big and bold on the spine of the dustwrapper!

[Rob Houghton]

That does look a good price, Pete. World of Rare Books are usually quite trustworthy - I've bought a few books from them in the past.

[Katharine]

I paid £40 for my copy from a local bookshop. It is possibly in slightly better condition than the one you've seen Pete, but at £15.48, I'd say it sounds like a bargain, especially as that includes delivery.

[Rob Houghton]

Well, after several months deliberation - I finally bought this book! It was relisted many times and eventually 'reduced' to £14.48 with free delivery...so I thought it was a good opportunity to own this book, which I otherwise might not have wanted to buy, had it cost more money. I have a bit of spare money at the moment due to an inheritance, so thought I would go for it!

I'll let you know if I got a bargain or not when it arrives!!

[pete9012S]

Well done Rob.
Hope you have a wide letter box!

[Courtenay]

Good work, Rob — let us know what you think of it when it arrives.

[Katharine]

I hope you enjoy the book Rob. I think you've got a bargain at that price, I paid about double that for my copy. Although I haven't read all my copy yet, I've had a good look at it and the illustrations are beautiful.

[Rob Houghton]

Thanks all!

I'm mainly buying it because I love Alfred Bestall illustrations, Katharine - so I'm pleased to hear they are good ones! Trouble is - have I got a big enough bookshelf for it to go on!!

I just spotted another for sale - which doesn't look any better condition than the one I bought - and its almost £100, so hopefully I did indeed get a bargain!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/THE-PLAYS-THE ... 1605231205

[Katharine]

If you haven't, maybe your father could build you one?

[Rob Houghton]

good idea! Now I just need to find a spare wall!

[Katharine]

Well maybe an extension first, then a bookshelf?

[Courtenay]

I had friends in Melbourne who, once they had the means to extend their one-storey "concrete box in the suburbs" house, built a whole extra storey upstairs... entirely to house their library. So there's an idea for you, Rob.