Antiquarian Rare And Collectible

$4,856,147.00

13,498,011

Antiquarian Ramblings: A Diamond in the Rough

Posted by admin on 07.31.2009 at 12:58 pm

When the American Archives Series books came to the ARC department, many of them had missing boards and other issues compromising their structural integrity. They also smelled of the ancient organic dust that accompanies old leather bound books, reminding me that I was due for a Tetanus booster shot. That said, my expectations were low.

A quick glimpse of the market revealed a value for these volumes at around $100-200 a piece. Not bad, but given their present state, and the collective need for some TLC from a sympathetic binder, these tomes were destined to be sold for scrap at auction. After plowing through a few of these, I came across American Archives; Fifth Series, Volume I. A cursory glance of this item suggested it would fare the same fate as its siblings. Since I literally couldn’t judge this book by its cover as it didn’t have one, I dug right in. And to my surprise, the latter half of the book revealed a true diamond in the rough.

There in the back, just waiting to be discovered was a pristine facsimile copy of the Declaration of Independence encapsulated within Read more…

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Discovering the Value of Us

Posted by Rudy on 09.29.2008 at 4:00 pm

For the next ten weeks, my more than 200 co-workers and I will be celebrating the very best of one another through each of Better World Books’ core values.

We ♥ Books. Respect the book. Read often and help others to do the same.
Flabbergast our Customers. Seek out opportunities to make a difference with value, service, and selection.
Invest well. Waste not. Choose wisely; consider the return on your efforts and the impact in your actions. Reuse, reuse, reuse… Then reduce and recycle.
Lead the movement. Take a stand; share your enthusiasm and build momentum through human connections.
Speak through action. Put your ideas to work; play to win but never fear failure.
Be passionate. Wear your heart on your sleeve; stand up for what your believe.
Pursue growth through learning. Challenge yourself; make a point to try new things.
Be genuine. Keep it real; be honest with others and true to your quirktastic self.
Embrace change. Adapt to circumstances; help others find ways to succeed in our evolving world.
Respect our team. Be humble; welcome diversity and recognize that shared success is the only kind that matters.

To get things started, the Antiquarian, Rare, and Collectible Books Team performed an original composition by cataloguer Carol Devorkin entitled “I Am ARC”…