But my favorites (for quality of the bindings) are the earliest issued volumes from the 100 Greatest Books Ever Written series (and the other early Franklin series). And they will have excellent potential for retaining resale value or appreciating. The signed Limited Editions from the Franklin Library (the signed 60) are great.
The Franklin Library's earliest issued books were sometimes bound in exotic leathers, including buffalo hide. My own experience has been that the earliest Franklin Library books are far superior to most Easton Press books, insofar as the binding, the paper used, and the decoration.įor example, the Easton Press uses real gold only to accent spines, while all of the gold decoration on the early Franklin Library leather books was real gold. If the quality is on a par with my Great Expectations, I think they would be eminently worthy of any bibliophile's serious interest. I have none of these, and I expect that some of these books, such as the ones signed by Vonnegut, Philip Roth, etc., are fetching quite premium prices these days. Of course the major selling point of the Franklin Library books were the ones signed by the authors.
After all this time and through several re-readings, the leather binding, the gilt page edges, and the pages themselves are in superlative condition, and the illustrations, delicately colored as the originals were, avoid the muddiness that sometimes happens on some of the Easton Press books.
That fact alone would make me cherish it, but i have to say that the quality is every bit as fine-and perhaps more so-than any Easton Press edition I have seen. I have 2 copies from the Franklin Library-one is Trent's last Case one of my favorite mysteries of all time, and I would classify it as Good, but not of the quality of most Easton Press offerings.īut I also have a copy of Franklin Library's Great Expectations with the illustrations by F.W.Pailthorpe, which was a birthday present from my late wife over 30 years ago.
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