Has anyone ever heard of this book?

BKing

I have heard of it, but haven't read it. Post a review when you get the time, will look forward to it.

Jeff

 

bking, I, too, would be interested in your comments when you have finished the book. It is a well known work, and I would expect you are fortunate to find an original at that price. For others who are interested, keep an eye on The Electronic Library. They have several Baptist historical works online, and are supposed to have Armitage's History of Baptists (also works by G. H. Orchard & Jack Hoad) online soon.

 

I went to Seminary with the Klock brothers. Some of their reprints are the best available anywhere. I don't know if they are still in that business, but I hope so! Morris was one of the smartest men I have ever encountered. I will assume his brother Mark was also, but I did not know him as well.

[ March 17, 2002, 08:01 PM: Message edited by: Thomas Cassidy ]

 

www.abe.com is a great place to get books as well. They have an 1889 copy of this book available for $75.00. Here are the details:

Thomas Armitage A History of the Baptists
NY: Bryan Taylor and CO, 1889 Hard Cover. Good/no Jacket. First 8 pages have small tear at bottom. Content page is worst, it is 2 inch tear with a peice missing, does not affect text. Blue board, oversized book, thick. Pages are yellowed from wear. Ex Lib edition. Previous owner's name written in pencil twice, once very artistically in script July 24, 1889 Macon GA. Worn, rubbed, frayed on bottom of spine, but no broken hinges. Well used, but well cared for. Bookseller Inventory # 000421
Price: US$ 75.00 convert currency
Presented by Vintage Books, Russellville, AR, U.S.A.

. . . and another from 1887 for $110.00.

Armitage, Thomas. A HISTORY OF THE BAPTISTS; TRACED BY THEIR VITAL PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES. From the Time of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to the Year 1886.
Bryan, Taylor & Co. New York: 1887. 978p. Illustrated. First few leaves repaired. All edges gilt. Contemporary gift binding, full leather gilt. Front board detached. An excellent history, that sometimes sells for as high as $ 250.00. Bookseller Inventory # PAG14B
Price: US$ 110.00 convert currency
Presented by FAMILY ALBUM, ABAA / Ron Lieberman, Kinzers, PA, U.S.A.
order options

. . . and 481 other books about the history of Baptists!

Happy hunting!

Julia

 

Julia, thanks for the link. Now I know where I'll be spending my money. This is a great resource. A couple of words of advice to book searchers - I noticed, as with the two books Julia mentions above, that there can be quite a bit of variation in price on the same book according to age, condition, source, etc. Be careful to check out all options before buying.

This is a great resource, Julia. Thanks!

 

As one who dabbles quite heavily in the antiquitaian book field, another word of advice. If you think the price is too high for something, make an offer. I usually have luck with 20-30% ask price. This is particularly true of repeat customers. A rule of thumb I use for common books, no matter the edition is 10-15 cents per printed page. So, I wouldn't offer more than $40.00-$60.00 for a 400 page book, unless it is uncommonly rare.

You will often find that some booksellers are more like book collectors and don't really want to sell what they have. If that is the case, walk away from the deal, another copy will usually turn up, unless it is exceedingly rare. Religious books generally sell for low prices, because they were usually printed in large numbers, so please don't do it for the collectable value of the books, you won't recover your expense in religious/theological books.

If you live in an area which has a large library, such as a state capital or near a large university, many of their libraries will have these books if you just want to read them. If they were printed prior to 1923, you can copy till your hearts content without violating copyright law. Sometimes this is the most cost effective way of obtaining information.

As for the prices listed for Arimatage's books, above, if you want a reading copy, you can do better. If you want a first edition, then that's another story.

As for what you can find, inventories change constantly, so check back often.

One of my first purchases in the antiquitarian book field was a 1632 KJV printed in Dublin.-- Got it for $5.00 (five bucks) about 25 years ago.

Welcome to the world of antiqutarian books.

Jeff

 

Jeff! Thank you so MUCH for that valuable information! I love to collect antique books . . . most of my collection consists of poetry, books on manners from the late 1800's, books on women, mothering, and keeping house, recipe books, etc! Most I've gotten off of eBay for reasonable prices.

I do have one question though: that copyright thing you spoke of concerning photocopying books published before 1923 . . . does that also apply to using excerpts of those books in a newsletter?

Julia

P.S. rlvaughn . . . you're welcome!

 

Julia wrote:

I hope I understand the question correctly. If you are using a quote from a book that was published in 1923 or later, you may quote as much as you'd like with permission of the author, publisher, or their authorized agent (such as an heir, if the author is deceased).

Without permission you may use quotes under the fair use provision of the copyright law. This is generally understood to be 10% or 500 words, which ever is less of the original work, and the work should be cited with proper biliographica citation (e.g., Smith, John. History of XYZ Baptist Convention. XYZ Baptist Publishing House, Any City, USA, 1986.) Also you cannot paraphrase the idea and use it (this is commonly taught in schools). If you do, you get into the notion of deriviative works, such as the recent controversy over "Gone with the Wind." One should not consider the 10% rule to apply to an entire newspaper or magazine, but rather to the specific article. One of these days the Baptist Board is going to get in trouble because of the large cut and paste jobs from newspapers.

And for how I came to know this -- my CV on the issue -- I write for part of my living (Civil War books), and must be cognizant of copyright law in order to protect myself and my publisher.

Also at a place I used to work, a co-worker copied a newsletter, and passed it around. The publisher found out about it, and it cost the fellow $100,000 in punative damages. This was for about 10 copies of a 10 page newsletter, it worked out to about $1,000 per copied page. So use extreme caution when copying things without written permission.
Jeff

 

Jeff makes a very good point about buying old books. One thing a person should do is decide WHY he/she wants the book - to read, to research, to collect, etc. If you just want to read it once, go to a library. If you want it for reading and research, buy a reprint. Many of these old Baptist books have been reprinted; the reprints are (usually) easier to read and almost always sell at a much lower price than an antique. If you want it because it is antique and you are a collector, you will generally have to pay the higher prices. A sometimes good resource is eBay. Always check there. At times no one notices a good old book or no one knows its value, and it can be had at an excellent price. Of course, when the bidding wars start, I drop out.