---PS Publishing is asking me about my numbers for:
The three-book Bradbury set (moving very fast on pre-order) and the lesser editions (500-copy unsigned trade; and 200-copy slipcased, signed by Ray -- the three book set is 100-copy, signed by Ray plus Clarke, Powers, Harryhausen and Smith).---Email rec’d:
Dear Mr. Drumm:
I noticed in chapter six of "Anatomy of Wonder 4: A Critical Guide to Science Fiction" (1995) that Chris Drumm Books is among the organizations listed as "principal specialty publishers of SF". My late father collected in the s.f./f. fields, and our family has decided we would like to dispose of the books through sale, possibly via a bidding process. I thought there was a chance that you (as an organization) would like to know about this collection, but perhaps more likely there would be those amongst your staff and associates who have personal collecting interests. Here is a brief description of the collection: The books number about 730, primarily s.f./f. but there are small segments of other genres -- mystery and horror, detective, supernatural and ghost, and sea tales. The majority are hardcover first editions. Strongly represented (multiple titles by each) are H. Rider Haggard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Arthur Conan Doyle, C.S. Forester, Sax Rohmer, S. Fowler Wright, Ray Bradbury, Edward E. Smith, PhD., C.S. Lewis, Isaac Asimov, H. de vere Stacpoole, L. Ron Hubbard, Talbot Mundy, Jules Verne, Jack London, and several of the authors published by Arkham House in its first decade (making up about 23 titles). Upon request I will be glad to send the complete listing.
I realize that I am not qualified to perform a formal assessment of the worth of the collection. However to get an idea of the magnitude, I did devote some time to checking "book by book" values on ABE and AddAll, and came up with a rough range of 92.2k to 111.4k for all 730 items. I have spoken to a number of private collectors and experts in the field, and therefore recognize that the figures obtained in this manner may not represent a realistic expectation of sale price. I offer them only to give you some frame of reference on the value of the collection.
I foresee a bid process involving private dealers/collectors, but I thought I should find out if there was any interest among publishers who have a major presence in the s.f./f. field. In the event you wish to pursue this possibility further, I would be pleased to provide you any additional information I can. Just let me know.
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