Old book Leo Tolstoy any info on it would be great

Its been in the family for a long time.
I know nothing about it or if there is any value or collectors of this type of work.

In fairly good shape.

Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks all.

 

What size is it and what does it look like under the dust jacket?
Seems to be asking prices vary quite a bit.
https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/...MIm5qm0v3E6wIVuIBQBh0rxgr0EAQYAiABEgILW_D_BwE

 

https://www.raptisrarebooks.com/product/where-love-is-there-god-is-also-loe-tolstoy-first-edition/

 

following, thanks

 

Interesting that the copyright date is 1887 but the photo of Tolstoy inside is dated 1892?

 

Here is a link to a copy matching the description of your book advertised on Abebooks

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Bo...ialibri&utm_medium=search&utm_source=vialibri

 

Seems to be a later printing, if the photo is dated 5 years after the copyright date. So, not a first edition, unless the translation was copyrighted 5 years before publication? [Note: I have not researched this yet at all. Just commentimg on the logic of the dates.]

 

That is why I brought up the dates, Fig. Can't really compare to a first edition.

 

So I guess MY question would be WHAT makes Raptis Rare Books version SO valuable????

 

They state that it is the first American edition published in English. However, I don't know why they put that price on it. At the end of the seller's description they include the information that "First editions are rare." I assume they mean that it is rare to find copies of the first American edition published in English.

 

I noticed that as well, guess I need a publishing date.

 

These limp-leather decorative reprints were all the rage in the wake of Roycrofter's success, from 1895 through the 19-teens - I've got a Rubaiyat here published by Saalfield in a similar binding, circa 1919 according to the gift note inside. They are attractive and cheap to produce, since the binding is not complicated, though the Roycroft version had fancy silk endsheets is some versions. They are hard to date, unless there's a note inside - copyright law only requires original copyright date, not date of actual publication of reprints.

Comparing the original edition to a reprint is sort of like comparing a picture in a magazine to an original fine art etching or lithograph. And Raptis is a high-end dealer, such as you might find in a tony neighborhood of London, so his prices will be at the top end of the market - but he'll HAVE the thing you're looking for, and you can rely on it being as described.

You can search Abebooks using Crowell as the publisher and Limp Leather as a keyword to see some examples:
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Se...tlyadded=all&sortby=17&cm_sp=pan-_-srp-_-pics

And another version of the Tolstoi:
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Bo...centlyadded=all&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-title6

Value depends on a lot of things: interest in the text (middlin' for Tolstoi), quality of illustrations, if any (often these were illustrated by collectible artists), quality and condition of the binding.

 

I hadn't heard that phrase. Interesting, if I'm ever looking for one bound like that.