in the book for a small
commission on the price paid, and who will assume responsibility for the
book being correct and perfect as represented in the catalogue.

Books handsomely and elaborately bound, especially when bearing the
imprint of some famous binder, generally command prices at auction and
from dealers, rather in excess of their true value. There is always a
ready market for such books among wealthy collectors. A desired book with
the pages in good condition, but in a shabby binding, can generally be
bought, and then equally well bound by a competent binder, at a saving
under the price of another copy already resplendent in crushed levant. On
the other hand, a book in an elaborately jeweled binding of excessive
value often sells at auction for less than the original cost of the
binding. A book bound by such a celebrated binder as Roger Payne will hold
its value while the binding remains solid, with little dependence on the
contents of the book itself.

These remarks, however, as all remarks about auction prices must be, are
only general, for the varying state of supply and demand is often met with
in extremes in the auction room.

As the market value of books changes constantly, and depends not only on
varying rarity, but also on demand, it is necessary that the collector
have some idea as to what constitutes rarity, and the conditions governing
demand. For this a considerable amount of study is necessary. It has been
pointed out that rarity itself does not make for value, if there is no
demand. An unique copy of a book is necessarily rare, but if no one wants
it, it will not bring a price in proportion to its scarcity. This is a
hard rule which one must apply, and a rule often unjust to the books
themselves. Yet, while there are many books of great merit slowly
disappearing from the world because of neglect, it is also true that the
books most in demand and commanding the highest prices in first or early
editions are, in the main, books of great intrinsic merit, well known and,
for one reason or another, justly famous.

The bibliophile must judge for himself as best he may, what books indicate
by their nature and celebrity a permanent value and what books command
excessive prices for the moment simply because of inflated interest and
demand. Conditions governing market value change in large, general
movements, often affecting whole classes of books. As an example, one may
note the comparatively high price