Almost lost my best haul when a book fell apart in my hands

I was at a library sale in Des Moines last Saturday, digging through a box of old sci-fi paperbacks. Found a signed first edition of something by Ursula K. Le Guin for 50 cents, got super excited, and when I pulled it out the spine just crumbled. Pages went everywhere on the linoleum floor, and I felt like a total idiot standing there holding loose pages. I ended up carefully gathering them all and asking the librarian if they had any bags, which they did. She even helped me find a rubber band to hold it together. Has anyone else had a book fall apart on them mid-score or am I just unlucky?

2 comments

2 Comments

joseph_hart16d ago

Picked up a vintage paperback at a flea market once that literally disintegrated in my hands while I was reading the first page, so I know the feeling. But here's what I'm wondering - did you check if that Le Guin was legit signed, or could it have been a book club edition with a facsimile signature? Ive seen people get burned on that before, where they think they found gold and it turns out to be a mass market reprint with fake sigs. Also, how many pages were actually still attached after the spine blew out?

the_sean16d ago

Respectfully, a legitimate first edition with a real signature is worth taking a chance on even if the spine is toast.