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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;2manycats, post: 2885240, member: 13761&quot;]Many of these were printed around the time of the US centennial, through the early 1900s. In the 1880s, the Western Historical Company of Chicago did histories of counties in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, and probably others, adding a county-specific section to a general state history, and selling the resulting doorstops (I think) door-to-door. Many of them were multi-volume affairs with biographical sections with brief lives of prominent local men and their families, probably included partly to increase the chances of sales to those families. They are now of interest to genealogists for that reason. </p><p><br /></p><p>County histories are available in libraries and historical societies, almost always on a non-circulating basis, so dedicated researchers may want their own copy. Many were reprinted around the time of the US Bicentennial, often with an index added, so the reprints are more useful to researchers. But collectors will want the originals. </p><p><br /></p><p>Binding materials, particularly leather, were not of the highest quality, so they are often found in poor shape. The reprints, usually in library buckram - a heavy-duty cloth - and on archival paper, are sturdy, but also scarce, as they were printed in smaller numbers. </p><p><br /></p><p>All used to sell well on eBay, but I think most &#039;serious&#039; collectors have what they want, so they are slow sellers now, unless you happen to find one some collector still needs. Even the reprints are usually in that $100-300 range, depending on scarcity.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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