Here’s the description and report
Title: John Updike “Just Looking: Essays on Art” Signed
Date/Era/Period: 13 December 1989
Description: John Updike personalised signed first edition “Just Looking: Essays on Art” Inside front cover inscribed “for Dick Child” Underneath a drawing of a poker hand: 4 aces and a jack in a man’s hand. Underneath the drawing: “his typical poker hand. With envy and affection John 12/13/89”
Condition: Dust cover scuffed but otherwise clean.
Origin: My uncle L. Richard Child was a member of John Updike’s poker club. Updike used to inscribe copies of his books to the poker club members. This is one such.
Provenance: My uncle died last year and left me his books. This item is among about 10 or 12 books similarly inscribed to my uncle.
________________________________________
Appraiser Comments: A very nice book to own, John Updike was a masterful writer. His 1960 breakthrough title, Run, Rabbit, is considered an important 20th century work. Mr. Updike signed quite a few books in his day but not very many in such an intimate way, and with an illustration, too. The doodle adds quite a bit of value and you need to gather and organize any and all documentation of these ‘poker parties’. A package of documentation along with the book should be insured for about $450. At auction, I would expect at least half of that, even on a bad day. Put the jacket in a protective cover so it doesn’t get scuffed any more. The most valuable of Mr. Updike’s books is, of course, Run, Rabbit which can be worth four figures if signed, in good condition, and with original jacket.
* Current Fair Market Value: $225.00
** Replacement Cost: $450.00
All values are in US currency
Hm. I do not have Rabbit, Run in a signed edition, and one wonders how conversant this gentleman is with Updike’s work if he got the name of his most important book wrong, but I digress. I suspect that I have around US$2,000 of Updike-signed books and a framed poem kicking around. I gather from this and other inscriptions to my uncle that he took a goodly amount of money from Updike and the rest of the poker club. One of the inscriptions reads (not precisely, but as far as I remember): “To Dick Child, who buys my books with my money.”
I’m going to friends-lock this as I suppose I don’t have any book-inscription-forgers in my friends list.
Do I?
that is AWESOME.
I always have liked trips to Half Priced books and looking at older books and reading inscriptions.
I actually buy lots of used DnD and gaming books and I am always saddened when I open it and see little notes that somebody left for their son or boyfriend who they bought the books for and think “man some geek must have fell on hard times and sold his dungeon masters guide…but I dont wanna pay full price for one, ill give it a good home”
I always try to make sense of the little notes and imagine the lives of the people who they belonged too. Just makes them feel better and wanted knowing the stories behind them.
What did the clinic say about your feet? you never posted
I’d keep it if I were you. But this is your call.
I’m going to friends-lock this as I suppose I don’t have any book-inscription-forgers in my friends list.
Do I?
I guess you’re about to find out.
They gave me some antibiotics and dressed both feet. The left big toe is OK, but the sole (where they cut out some deep blisters) is still weeping. The right big toe is coming along.
I go back next Wednesday.
Thanks for thinking of me.