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This section is to help advise on which kinds of authors to watch out for and which ones to avoid when it comes to reselling. I will be highlighting one author in each Bookologist newsletter that you could look out for in your travels to buy books. Please feel free to write in and disagree with me or give your opinions. Please also email me and nominate authors you think should be included. By working together, we can perhaps compile a good list of authors that would sell well in your book business.
Edgar Allan Poe (1809 -1849)
Edgar Allan Poe has always been one of my favourite authors. All my life, I seem to have been interested in authors that died young and who passed away before they reached their full potential in life. Writers who died young seem to have had a touch of genius in them that was not fully exploited or appreciated. I firmly believe that Poe fits into this category. He joined the army and after he was discharged, he went into a life of writing and publishing. He self-published his first book Tamerlane in 1827, paying for the whole project out of his own pocket. He died at the age of 40 in circumstances that are still unclear and spawned a multitude of theories about how exactly he died. But he left behind him a legacy of books and poetry that have lived on and will continue to live on in people's minds. Who hasn't heard of books such as "Murders in the Rue Morgue," "Fall of the House of Usher" and poems such as "The Raven"?
"Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visiter," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more."
The problem with selling old literature is that since the copyright on the books has now expired, the material is available on the Internet and anyone can download it for free. You only have to look as far as Project Gutenberg to download any of Poe's work without charge. But despite the Internet, there will always be traditionalists like me who appreciate a good book of Poe's work in their hands instead of having to read from a computer screen. So booksellers, don't give up hope yet! Not everyone can afford hand-held computers.
Prices for Poe's work varies. Books on eBay are going for between $50 to $100, but older versions of Poe's books can go for hundreds or even thousands of pounds, Euros or dollars, especially first editions in good condition. Poe also signed some of his books and he actively toured and promoted his work, so any book with a Poe signature is bound to be even more valuable and highly sought after.
Related Web Sites
http://www.eapoe.org/works/index.htm - the Edgar Allan Poe society
http://bau2.uibk.ac.at/sg/poe/poe.html - the work of Edgar Allan Poe
http://www.poemuseum.org - The Edgar Allan Poe museum
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