>>>I guess I'm more of a hunter than a collector. I have the resources to track down and purchase items available online (within reason), and have done so on occassion. My real joy comes in perusing used bookstores and second hand shops looking for unexpected finds.
This raises an interesting point. I think it was a bit more of a rush for me before I realized how much was up on ABE. I too love the thrill of the hunt. One challange I have living in the USA is that I'm higly unlikely to find the older and more obscure stuff at bookstores like I could if I was in the UK.
This raises an interesting point. I think it was a bit more of a rush for me before I realized how much was up on ABE. I too love the thrill of the hunt. One challange I have living in the USA is that I'm higly unlikely to find the older and more obscure stuff at bookstores like I could if I was in the UK.
My main focus is The Silmarillion; mainly UK editions. The focus within this is (other than all the various editions out there) UK 1977 copies --variant bindings, variant jackets, review copies, dated copies, copies with marginalia, signed copies, 'pirate' copies, rebound copies, library copies etc etc. Since HoME is closely related textually, I also collect these. Still don't have WotJs or PoME yet!
Other than that I do collect other Tolkien 1rsts (1rst 1rsts as Jlong says): Hobbit, LotRs etc. That besides, I also collect H. P. Lovecraft and a few other pulp & Weird Tales writers; inc. letters (although, sadly, no HPL ones). And, like many others I assume, I have quite a few "books about books": bibliographies, checklists etc.
BH
Other than that I do collect other Tolkien 1rsts (1rst 1rsts as Jlong says): Hobbit, LotRs etc. That besides, I also collect H. P. Lovecraft and a few other pulp & Weird Tales writers; inc. letters (although, sadly, no HPL ones). And, like many others I assume, I have quite a few "books about books": bibliographies, checklists etc.
BH
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