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Christmas Books

There are two approaches to collecting Christmas books. One can either concentrate on old books from Christmases past or what I like to do is to collect new editions. My emphasis is on beautiful illustrations. I love illustrations that portray the magic of Christmas, faces that do not look tacky, well detailed Christmas scenes. Reading those books and enjoying the illustrations makes me feel like a child again.

If you are into collecting old Christmas books you can either turn to eBay or to antique book dealers. A book's worth is a matter of supply and demand. Rarity, popularity, and illustrations create the highest value. Old books can cost anywhere from $20.00 to unlimited amounts of money. The example listed below is from Bauman Rare Books in Philadelphia, PA.

EXTRAORDINARILY RARE AND BEAUTIFUL TRIAL COPY OF A CHRISTMAS CAROL

DICKENS, Charles. A Christmas Carol, London, 1844 [i.e., 1843]
First edition, rare trial copy with title page printed in red and green and half title printed in green. Illustrated with four hand-colored steel-engraved plates by John Leech, the only one of Dickens' first editions to contain hand-colored illustrations. An extraordinary rarity, remarkably fine and entirely unrestored. $45,000.

No matter if you collect old or new books, store them in a dry spot and out of direct sunlight. Take care of your books. Today's new books are tomorrow's collectibles.

More resources: bookFinder.com, abaa.org

Contemporary book illustrators

David Delamare

Chris Van Allsburg - The Polar Express

Christmas books

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