1964 Inscribed Roald Dahl Book, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"
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GUEST:
It's been in my house since as long as I can remember-- "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl. It was my mom's book, and then I had it because I loved it as a kid. I read it several times as a kid. It really captured my imagination.
APPRAISER:
You read this particular copy?
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
There's something pretty special inside here. An inscription says, "To Steven, with lots of love, from Roald Dahl," and a date. Who's Steven?
GUEST:
I asked myself that exact question. I actually was, like, on the Internet trying to be like, "Is there a Steven Dahl?" I was like, "Maybe it's a relative or something." But no one in my family that I know of goes by Steven, so no idea.
APPRAISER:
You acquired the book from your mother. Where did your mom get the book?
GUEST:
I've never actually asked her, but I think I will now. But yeah, I have no idea.
APPRAISER:
Well, I was pretty amazed when we opened the book up and found the autograph in there. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is Roald Dahl's most famous book…
GUEST:
Yeah
APPRAISER:
…Adult or for children, and an autographed copy, that makes it somewhat valuable in itself. But in your research about the book, what did you learn about it?
GUEST:
Well, very minimally, I was just looking to find if it was a first edition, and then I didn't realize that there could be various printings of a first edition. I read something that said there was about 10,000 copies of the first edition, first printing, and that you could tell that by, I think, the number of lines on the "colophone," or the...
APPRAISER:
Colophon.
GUEST:
Colophon. And so I had to look up what that was. And then once I figured out what that was, I looked to see if there were six lines.
APPRAISER:
Well, speaking of the colophon, this is the copyright page of the book. And on it, we have the six lines of type that you mentioned, not five. That is one of the points of the first edition. It's only one of the points. In addition to the lines of type on the copyright page, we need a price on the dust jacket, which we have, and we also need to not have an ISBN number, International Standard Book Number, on the rear flap of the dust jacket. Your book has all the salient points to be a first edition of the children's classic.
GUEST:
Awesome. That's awesome.
APPRAISER:
The number printed in 1964 was 10,000 copies. We don't know the exact number.
GUEST:
Sure
APPRAISER:
It's a "more or less" figure. And in modern first editions, both adult and children's, the value is in the dust jacket.
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
As well as the autograph.
GUEST:
Interesting.
APPRAISE: The jacket's still present. Now, you read this book as a child, correct?
GUEST:
Yes, I did.
APPRAISER:
So there's some holes here, and some tears and chipping.
GUEST:
That was probably me.
APPRAISER:
In the antiquarian book world where I live, condition is everything. Your copy is about very good condition. But it does have the jacket, it has the first edition points, and it has the all-important autograph. I would appraise your book at retail for between $5,000 to $6,000.
GUEST:
Wow. That is crazy. That is insane.
APPRAISER:
If the young Tim had read the book more carefully and kept it in better condition, it would probably bring in the $9,000 to $12,000 range. Treasure it-- it will only become more valuable over time.
GUEST:
Well, thank you so much.
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