How much should I really pay for a second hand lace book

As I work through my books and add them to the book blog, I have been amazed at the different prices I've paid for my books, over the years.

In my blog about Adult Education, I covered how in real terms, how lace equipment has become more affordable.

​If I compare what I was earning in 1988 with a similar role today and its wage basically the take home in 2021 is three times that of 1988.  A bobbin from a person still creating today, is 2/3 more.  My first pillow cost £9 for a polystyrene 18" pillow, a similar one £20.

• 2021 wage = 300% 1988 wage
• 2021 bobbin = 160% cost of 1988 bobbin
• 2021 pillow = 220% cost of a 1988 pillow

Even allowing for food and bills, the cost of lace equipment has not risen at the same rate as other things.  It has become more affordable.

I'm at a point in my book buying that I'm selective about which books I buy, but this is simply because of the number of books in my library.  You know you have an issue when you measure your books, not by number but by the length of the bookshelf.  

However, because I teach, I am often on the look out for books to recommend to my students.

Buying a second hand book is very similar to buying a second hand bobbin and many of the suggestions that I made in my blog on bobbins apply here too.

The top half of one of my lace bookcases

So, down to the nitty gritty ...

1)   Is this book 'desirable'?

• If the book is still in print, then the worth of the book should not exceed the cover price.  
• For books that are out of print, it comes down to two things
  • How rare is it?
  • How many other people want it?

Often booklets or self published books were limited print runs.  But, if no one wants the book then just because a book was a limited run, doesn't make it worth a vast amount of money.

In the book blog, I've annotated each entry as to whether or not it's still in print.  If you can't find the book that you are looking for then remember, it's a work in progress.  Fill out my contact form with details of the book and if I have it in the library I'll push the entry to the top of the list for you.

2)   Is this book still in print?

It tickles me when I see a book that is still in print being offered for more than you can currently buy it.

Having spoken with a number of authors, it is heart breaking to see how much of their profit is taken if you buy from big sellers. 

Where possible, try to buy direct from the author as your money will help them publish their next book and keep new books coming.

If the book is in print, I have annotated the book blog to show this and help you buy direct.

3)   What is this book worth?

Lace types come and go into fashion. 

Back in the early 90s Honiton was the in lace to make and the standard books on this lace were published in large numbers. 

​Having fallen out of fashion in recent years, Honiton books such as Suzanne Thompson's Introduction book now goes for a few pounds whilst her 'further steps' was a very small run and when it does appear, second hand, goes for an awful lot more.

Some books though, remain very highly priced regardless of trends.

Both of Briget Cook's Russian lace books go for higher than their original jacket price, with Russian lace patterns, at the time of writing (Jul 2022) being in the region of over £60

Of interest is that any of Pat Read's 90s books on Milanese Lace, command equally high prices, which has been consistent since the books went out of print, just before the millenium.

And finally ...

If the book has prickings in it on a separate sheet, always confirm whether or not that sheet is included.  Nothing worse than buying a book to find out you can't make the patterns because they are missing.