Anecdotal Information on the State of the Market

Recently the news from the hustings is suggesting the summer is a bit soft in the collectible paper field. An article in the New York Times suggested that “Large Crowds Spend Little at Comic-Con,” the recently completed Comic book convention in San Diego. The reported attendance was 130,000 but according to the Times they left their wallets at home. It seems that comics are the basis of a social movement rather than an economic field.

On the right coast the perennially successful book fair in Newtown, Connecticut, recently reported a decline in sales from 2013. It’s very successful collaboration of volunteer help and a very willing public come together each summer to make the book fair one of the largest on the east coast. One reason given for the decline was that the rare book room lacked some of the highly important material that in prior years raised serious money.

Booksellers, randomly asked about how their summer’s were going, also indicated they have been quiet.

A few random indications do not a trend make but I have observed more willingness to deal and personally I’ve seen more activity this year than in many years. The material I look for has been coming out and I’ve been buying much of it from dealers. Perhaps its simply that its increasingly difficult to find new buyers so known buyers are receiving more offers. Whatever the reason I'm grateful.

In the September issue I’ll write about my summer, which has been exceptional for the building of my Hudson River Valley collection.