If any of you have a spare $116,ooo sitting around, you can purchase an impressive collection of books. The Fine Books Company recently listed a collection of all the Hugo and Nebula Award winners for Best Novel on ABE Books. Here are some details from the site:
The listing includes 126 books covering 82 titles (many titles won both awards), and 95% of the titles are signed or inscribed, and in fine or better condition. When a paperback is the true first edition, then the first hardcover is also included. In some cases, US and UK hardcovers have been included where the paperback is the true first.
Not surprisingly, this is a featured item at ABE. I wish there were more details in the listing as to which signatures they have, not that I could buy this collection, but, given that many of the authors have passed on, that could also explain the price tag we’re seeing. With an average of almost $925 a book, you hope that you’re getting something unique, but it seems clear that you would be.
A few highlights “include Starship Troopers and Strangers in a Strange Land, both of which are signed or inscribed by Robert Heinlein,” states David Aronovitz, from The Fine Books Company. “However, arguments might be made that signed copies of both A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller and A Case of Conscience by James Blish are even scarcer to locate.”
I like that the listing for the books is titled: ”For the Wealthy Science Fiction Enthusiast Who Has Nothing.”
