Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Winchester Collectors Someone should buy this book. It's an investment!!!

bsa, Rule's book really is the rule! LOL! To be honest I haven't even opened Whitekers book in years as I'm more afraid to damage it, same for the limited edition, opening it for the picture was probably the first time it's been opened in 5 years. You should still get it though just because!

So, according to jglenn, who got his information directly from Roger Rule, there were 10,000 first editions, 500 very fancy first editions, and only 3000 second editions.

I find it curious that there are so many second editions for sale compared to first editions.

As far as publishers, I found one source on the 'net that says:
First edition published by Alliance Books, Northridge Ca, 1982
Second edition published by M.D. Kokin, Beverly Hills, CA, 1996
Third edition (softcover) published by AuthorHouse, Bloomington, IN, 2009

But then there are the other publishers I mentioned in an earlier post, LEGO (Italy) and Diakonia. Kokin and Diakonia sound related to me. Anyway, I just hope there are not "fakes" of these books out there. We have enough to deal with with the rifles!

I believe I said Printed and Bound in Italy by LEGO. The Title page and the copyright page (1996) both have:
Michael D. Kokin
Sherwoods Spirit of America
325 North Beverly Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

There is no reference to the first edition or 2d edition The Library of Congress Card Number is 82-73319

sbrmike,

Thanks for clearing that up. I did not read carefully and took the printer/binder to be the publisher.

Gun Doc

Ha ha.. I was thinking the same thing. I screwed up when I passed on a Whitaker a year ago for $175.00. My wife said, "don't you have enough books???". I should have said...HELL NO!!!!

$175 would have been a STEAL, BSA!

Yeah, now I've seen them selling for $400.00+

I broke down and ordered a second edition off of Amazon for $250. I found one for $195, but I didn't trust the seller. Buying collectible books on the 'net is a new adventure, let me tell you. (At least a new adventure for me, anyway) There are people called "bookjackers" that re-list someone else's merchandise at a higher price. Usually, they re-list on another site, such as Alibris to Amazon, but not always. The hope is that your search will not find the original item. Some of these guys never touch the book, having it shipped from the original seller straight to you. As you can imagine, there are numerous ways for this to go wrong, from sketchy descriptions to messed up shipping. The whole deal sounds deceptive to me, but some of these guys are more crooked than others, and it seems some people never get their items. hell, at least the guys who dismantle rifles and sell the parts do SOME work!

One of the worst seems to be a guy in Richmond, Texas, having multiple business names, etc. Turns out he came over from India, and he has real skills with a MS in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M Kingsville. He is giving my state a bad name, and I would like to run him out on a rail.

On a better note, I stopped by a Half Price books looking for Rule's book and found a nice copy of "The Golden Crescent." This is a book more popular in Texas than anywhere else. It is a really nice collaboration between a great writer, Bob Brister, and an even better artist, Jack Cowan, both now deceased.

Hope my copy of Rule's book turns out OK.

The used First edition arrived today. The seller did a fantastic job packing/protecting the book! The book has no inherited odors and if it has been read it was not very much.

The pages are perfectly white. The pages on my well used 2d edition are yellowed 3/8" all the way around except much less noticeable on the bottom edge. Whether this is an indicator of differences in storage/use or materials, I don't know.

The cover of the First Edition is a slightly lighter shade of brown than my 2d edition. The spine on my 2d edition is more uniform in shape than this First Edition; it has a slight point right of center of the spine. I don't know if this is a quality of materials/workmanship, age, or storage issue.

The picture quality is equal. I doubt I will know the differences in Chapter Nine, cited by Roger Rule as to be honest, I don't think I ever gave Chapter Nine, Research and Development much more than a glance. Hardcore collectors, who own some of the proofing actions probably will see the changes right off, but I like the finished product! I may possibly notice the spelling errors in the First Edition, but perhaps not.

All in all I am thrilled with this book.

That's awesome Mike. Funny how these are much better than the paperback editions. I still appreciate my paperback version though. I've highlighted the hell out of it, so it does have it's purpose

My second edition is on its way to me. $250 from Amazon. I think I made the right choice, the main reason being that I got the following email from the seller:

"Thanks for your purchase, I will get it in the mail first thing in the AM- my post office closes early on Saturdays so could not get it mailed then. Hope you enjoy - this is from my late husband's extensive collection of books on firearms."

So, I think I avoided the "bookjackers" and this was a legit seller. I am pretty sure the $195 one was from a dealer I couldn't trust. There were two more about $275, and they didn't seem any better than the $250 one (assuming you can believe anyone's description, which of course is not a given.)

Good to hear from sbrmike the pictures are equal in the two hardback editions.

Also agree with BSA that the softback is good to have around. Much like rifles we baby and "hard use" ones, no?

Glad I didn't end up with a wrapped one, because I would almost certainly unwrap it, so why pay for the wrapper.

If they printed 10500 first editions (500 being the really fancy ones), and 3000 second editions, which do you experts think is the more valuable?

I am far from expert but other than the First Edition that I just bought, most bring big money and they rarely come up for sale. I think the 2d editions come up for sale more as people assume they are less valuable because they are 2d editions; perhaps that changes now as there are 1/3 as many 2d's as 1sts??

My second edition arrived nicely, but not at all robustly, packed. It was not in the "excellent" condition described. I do not know if much of the damage was due to shipping or due to the fact that the seller and I have different ideas about description. The seller is willing to let me return it.

I found another that was in a town I would be passing through on Friday, so I bought it and arranged to pick it up rather than risk shipping. When I picked it up, it was not only in wonderful (not perfect, but really nice) condition, but I was surprised to discover it was a first edition.

In the world of collectable books, 2nd editions are rarely, if ever, considered more valuable than 1st Editions. Either way, though, it's a great book and well worth having!

Eric

GunDoc7 How do the spines of the two books compare? My Italian bound 2d Edition has a much tighter spine than my US made 1st Edition.

So it sounds like the widow didn't package it well. Too bad, but it sounds like everything turned out very well with the first edition. One thing about it, is there's no denying this is the book to have whether it is a paper back, first, second or even one of the super rare deluxe editions like Reelman has. Excellent book by a great author. I know some of you have said MR. Roger rule is very down to earth and a joy to talk to in person. I also keep an eye out for these and passed on a first edition that sold for $209.00 the other day. The condition was a little too rough, but would have been much better quality wise than a paper back version. Like I said, these are kind of like the rifles and a sound investment if you can get them cheap enough...

I agree with sbrmike. I have one very nice first edition and two very nice second editions. None of them have been opened much. It seems that the first editions binding/spine area has much more movement and play then either of the second editions. This lack of binding tightness may be from the book being read a few more times over years or maybe the glue and adhesives used may be breaking down, as the first editions are almost 15 years older. I think if someone wants a hard cover copy of the Rifleman's Rifle book to use and study a lot, I would get a second edition. If your a collector, find a nice tight first edition as EricM suggest. JMHO

Good post. Good info..

Got my like new first edition for $350 years ago. Doubt I'd take double for it now.