Date: Fri 03-Sep-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: JAN

Quick Words:

Booth-Library-book-sale

Full Text:

Books Sale Will Be A Trove For Book Collectors

(with cuts)

BY JAN HOWARD

Cookbooks and books on Vietnam and other military topics are among the

thousands of books offered at the 24th annual Booth Library Book Sale

beginning Saturday, September 4, at Bridgeport Hall at Fairfield Hills.

Cookbooks

Cookbooks are beginning to attract interest as collectibles, according to

Gloria Palmer, who has been helping out with the annual book sale for eight

years.

Her forte is cookbooks. "I enjoy cooking and baking, and perusing cookbooks,"

she said. When she was given a collector cookbook recently, she started

reading up on them. "There aren't many reference books for collector

cookbooks. By looking through the cookbooks and handling them, I've picked up

a seventh sense about them.

"Our book sale didn't have collector cookbooks early," Ms Palmer said. "People

were not geared to looking for them, but they are starting to get interested."

Also beginning to attract interest are cookbooks created by towns or

organizations as fund-raisers, she said. "I get them from all over, even out

of Connecticut."

To determine if a cookbook is collectible and its value, Ms Palmer refers to

four reference books. Age is one factor. Books that are old are collectors,

such as two that were published in the late 1800s. Also of value are books

written by well-known chefs, such as James Beard, or by famous cooking

schools, such as Betty Crocker.

Condition and availability also help determine a book's value. "Betty

Crocker's "Big Red" you don't see too many of," Ms Palmer said. "And when you

do see them, they're stained or badly torn."

A Boston Cooking School cookbook has a value of $100, she said. Writing on the

book adds to the "flavor" of the book, she added.

Supply and demand also affect the value. If there are few available, the value

could be higher.

Cookbooks for children are hard to come by, she said. There are about 1,000

cookbooks offered in the sale this year, including many collectible ones, such

as The Spice Cookbook from 1964; Margaret Rudkin's Pepperidge Farm Cookbook ,

a 1963 first edition, which is highly collectible; Myra Waldo's Round the

World Cookbook , 1954, which is signed "to my two guinea pigs, to Gerry and

Gene;" a 1959 edition of Blueberry Hill , signed by Elsie Masterton; and the

1954 first edition Westinghouse Cookbook signed by Betty Furness.

There are many collector books, but if they are badly worn or stained, Ms

Palmer reduces the price. For instance, the Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook ,

"The Big Red," could have a value of $48 to $58, but if it isn't in good

condition, the price is reduced.

New this year is the "Used but Abused" section. "All are collector books that

have been priced from $3 to $5, depending on value," Ms Palmer said.

Books About War

Books about the Vietnam War are becoming highly collectible, and this sale

includes many written from the 1960s to the 1990s. They are part of a

reference collection on military subjects donated from a private library.

"There are people very interested in military history," Town Historian Dan

Cruson said. "There are several hundred books about Vietnam, World War II, and

military intelligence."

"Its time has come," he said of the current interest in the Vietnam War.

"We're far enough away from it to look back with objectivity. The resistance

to the war has been forgotten. The intensity over it has gone away. There's

enough detachment to look back at it. As baby-boomers have aged, they want to

find out what really happened," he said.

Mr Cruson, who has volunteered for the Book Sale for about 20 years, has spent

his summer pricing books about war, military intelligence, and history.

He said books are worth more if they are in good condition and have up-to-date

information. Scholarly and reference material is also more valuable.

He said dealers look for scholarly books because they know they can sell them

to researchers. These books include the Jane's Series, which are updated

regularly. "They are standard and important reference works," he noted.

"There are a number of studies of individual military actions, official and

unofficial, of the Vietnam War," Mr Cruson said. "The detail in these works is

incomparable."

He went on to say books about the country's wars and military topics have

always been popular, such as a number written as remembrances by veterans of

World War II.

He noted that personal remembrances about Vietnam were written, "but not right

away." Some of those books are just being published now.

He said John DelVecchio's book, The 13th Valley , "is one of the most powerful

books I have ever read."

Mr Cruson said a number of books have been published by military

organizations, such as the Marine Corp headquarters and government

publications, that analyze individual battles, such as The Battle for Khe Sanh

and Small Unit Action in Vietnam .

"This is highly specialized, obscure stuff," Mr Cruson said. "It's more

objective and factual material. Guys who took part don't know what the

objective was in the battle," he said.

He said there is always a healthy selection of books about military topics,

except perhaps the Korean War.

Some titles of interest include Vietnam From Cease Fire to Capitulation ,

Underwater Warfare Systems , The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the World's Tanks

and Fighting Vehicles , and the Journal of Military History , which comes out

quarterly.

"For military historians, there is a lot of reference material here," Mr

Cruson said. "And if you want a copy of a common book, there's plenty here."

Book Sale Offerings

The Book Sale offers hardcover and paperback books in more than 70 categories.

Thousands of books for children will be available, along with computer

software, LP records, tapes and CDs, games, and puzzles.

The sale also offers a large selection of art books and books about music,

including musical scores, and videos and audio tapes.

The rare book room is a perennial highlight of the book sale.

The Booth Library Book Sale will be held inside Bridgeport Hall, Fairfield

Hills, on Saturday, September 4, 10 am to 5 pm; Sunday, September 5, 10 am to

5 pm; Monday, September 6, 9 am to 4:30 pm; Tuesday, September 7, 2 to 6 pm;

and Wednesday, September 8, 10 am to 4 pm.

Admission of $5 is charged on Saturday only ($3 for members of Newtown's

Friends of the Library); tickets go on sale at 7 am. On Saturday and Sunday,

books will be sold at the marked price. On Monday, books will be sold at half

the marked price from 9 am to 2 pm. From 2:30 to 4:30 pm on Monday and again

on Tuesday from 2 to 6 pm, books will be $5 per bag. Leftover books will be

free on Wednesday from 10 am to 4 pm, with donations accepted.

Refreshments will be available Saturday through Monday. All proceeds from the

Book Sale benefit the library.

For more information, call the Cyrenius H. Booth Library at 426-4533.