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No problem, I thought, I will search the internet for answers to all my questions. Sadly, that was not the case. I found information on the terminology used to describe the condition of books, "Mint, Fine, Good" etc., but I was very surprised that there was little information for "would be" collectors of Wainwright books. I wanted guidance on how to recognise a first edition, as this can be a very difficult task indeed, especially to newcomers. How many books did AW write? What should I pay for a first edition? What is a first edition? What are reprints and later impressions? What does price-clipped mean? All these questions, and more, I found difficult to find answers to. Eventually, after a lot of detective work, I found answers to most of my questions. It was hard going but I found one or two people in particular who were very helpful in pointing me in the right direction, and offering advice on what to look for when purchasing Wainwright first editions. I soon discovered that one of the most important considerations to look for are condition of the book and, to be most collectable and therefore most valuable, that it still has the original dust jacket and that it has not been price clipped (where the price of the book has been cut away)! This latter point can be essential when trying to identify a true Wainwright first edition as quite often this is the only way that it can be done. For the reasons mentioned above, I thought it would be helpful to set aside a few pages on my site for other would be collectors of Wainwright books. I must make it clear that I am not a book dealer or an expert in any way but rather a collector who has acquired limited knowledge along the way and is more than happy to pass on that knowledge to others. Having said that, if you have a Wainwright book for sale I would always be glad to hear from you! I do not claim that the Bibliography is complete (although I will do my best to make it so), that I can answer all of the above questions, or that the Guide to First Editions is a foolproof guide that will prevent you from buying a later impression when you thought it was a first edition! Just use it as it is intended, a ‘guide’, and if it helps you in some way then it will have achieved what I intended it to. The Bibliography also has links to images of the book covers which I add, as and when I obtain them. If I can assist further then I am always happy to hear from you. Just e-mail via the link situated on my home page. Happy collecting.
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First editions of Alfred
Wainwright's books have become more collectable over recent years, and prices
paid to acquire them have risen accordingly. When I first started to collect AW's books, I knew little about book collecting or the terminology used to
describe the condition of books, which was not an ideal situation to be in
because I did not know whether I was paying too much for a particular copy or
indeed, if I was getting a bargain!