Ronny Chieng: 1935 Oxford University Press "The Complete Works of Shakespeare"
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GUEST:
I found this at a garage sale in Melbourne, Australia where I used to live. The fact that this is the complete works of it I thought was amazing that it fit into such a small volume. It was old. It's like from 1935, I think. So, I bought it for probably like ten bucks... or less. And I got home and then I... I found the name on the front and I found this woman, Margaret Angus, is a very remarkable Australian woman. She was one of the first female aeronautical engineers out of the University of Sydney.
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
I really connected with the idea of her kind of being a minority in her field. Probably. I can only imagine at the time being a woman…
APPRAISER:
Right.
GUEST:
…studying engineering in Australia. That really resonated with me being kind of a, a minority in your field. To the point where, when I came to New York, I only had two suitcases.
APPRAISER:
Uh-huh.
GUEST:
Not a lot of space.
APPRAISER:
Right.
GUEST:
And this is one of the things I put in the suitcase.
APPRAISER:
That's awesome.
GUEST:
So please tell me how much it's worth. Thank you.
APPRAISER:
Well, let's wait, let's hold off a second on that, right?
GUEST:
(laughs)
APPRAISER:
(laughs) Shakespeare's works were first published in 1623 in what is referred to as the First Folio. You mentioned that the book is quite old-- 1935. Seems old to, to many people.
GUEST:
(laughing)
APPRAISER:
Book printing started in 1455. And the first 45 years of book publication is referred to as sort of books that came out of the cradle. The incunables. For that time period alone, there are about 20 million copies extent. So, those are the old books published between 1455 and 1500. Everything else after that, you know, is...
GUEST:
Okay, look, old is relative, okay?
APPRAISER:
Yes. What is cool about this publication is it's Oxford University Press. So true scholars worked on this, put it together. The former owner can make a difference in a book. So make sure you put your name in here as well.
GUEST:
(laughs)
APPRAISER:
You paid ten dollars for it, about, right? That's, I think, what the value is.
GUEST:
(laughs)
APPRAISER:
So you didn't overspend. You carried it around the globe, you know.
GUEST:
Yeah, I did. (laughs)
APPRAISER:
Which makes it really special to you.
GUEST:
Yeah, and again, I like the history of it who owned it before me. I think that's really special, so.
APPRAISER:
Don't forget to put your name in it.
GUEST:
Okay, I'll try, I'll try. If that increases the value I'll do that. Thanks so much.
APPRAISER:
My pleasure.
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