Collecting John Fowles 1st editions

[Magusbob]

I currently have one of the three or four best John Fowles collections in the world. Began collecting about 10 years ago (around the same time I started the web site); the first book I purchased was a signed British edition of The Magus. At the time I figured I just needed 14 books...U.S. and British versions of the seven novels. Little did I know what I was in for--my collection now includes about 400 items.

If you have a Fowles collection, I'd enjoy hearing about it. Or if you have questions about collecting Fowles, please let me know. BTW, the web site has the largest inventory of John Fowles items for sale in the world.

[Elysium]

You must have an amazing collection!

I only have true 1st Editions of The Collector, The Magus, The Ebony Tower, and Daniel Martin (all British Editions, unsigned). In fact I received The Collector today!

I paid £40 each for TC and TM. I think I've done well with them- what do you think? They have some wear on the dust jackets but the books are fine. I paid around £5 for TET and DM.

[Magusbob]

You must have an amazing collection!

I only have true 1st Editions of The Collector, The Magus, The Ebony Tower, and Daniel Martin (all British Editions, unsigned). In fact I received The Collector today!

I paid £40 each for TC and TM. I think I've done well with them- what do you think? They have some wear on the dust jackets but the books are fine. I paid around £5 for TET and DM.

Sounds like you have made some excellent buys. The only tough one left of the UK editions is The French Lieutenant's Woman, which is quite pricey in a decent jacket (notorious for having rubbed spots). You can pick up Mantissa and A Maggot for a song.

If you ever see anything on my first editions page that interests you, I can offer a 10% discount to all who post on this bulletin board!

[StBlazes]

First, let me say how happy I am to find this board. Bob mentioned it to me in a recent phone conversation when I was inquiring about a book purchase.

I started collecting Fowles first-editions by accident really after I stumbled upon what turned out to be a first edition of The Collector in a used bookstore in Tulsa for $4. I was a grad-student at the time, so $4 was pretty much the extent of my used-book budget. Now that I finally have a "real" job, I'm hoping to start building on my modest little collection which currently consists of about 10 pretty easy to find (and relatively cheap) first editions.

Still, thee thrill of the hunt is still--obviously--the best part, and so far none of my "finds" have been as exciting as the first. (How appropriate that is was The Collector, huh?) The closest I've come to equaling it was when I ordered a copy of The Baseball Alum off of Amazon for $3.95. I didn't realize it was a first-edition until I got it in the mail, and it was in perfect condition. My dissertation is on cricket-literature (long story), so Fowles' article on cricket is dear to my heart.

As far as collecting goes, I'm honestly pretty much a novice, so any suggestions on here would be GREATLY appreciated. For example, any suggestions on presentation?

Looking forward to the discussions.

Cheers,
JL

[RBFrankenstein]

I started collecting Fowles in 2004. Wow, 5 years already! Time flies. I have a bit over 200 items in my collection right now, but that includes ALL Fowles-related items, not just Fowles books.

I love the synchronicity of how I got into Fowles. In the same week or so, I came to discover him in three different ways, independently. I've been a Stephen King collector and I found a copy of The Collector by Fowles because it has an intro by King. Then I got an issue of "Firsts Magazine" with an article about Fowles by none other than our friendly neighborhood Fowles web site guy, Bob Goosmann. Then I met Bob at a book fair and we've been friends ever since. He even signed my Firsts Magazine on his article! This is all by memory so maybe the order of that is mixed up. But they were completely independent happenstance.

Anyway, since then Fowles has overtaken my collection. I have every Stephen King novel in first edition, some signed, and I never thought any other category would grow larger than that one. But King is now #2. Sorry horror-guy! I still love ya, but...Fowles is now king (pun intended)! In fact, my Fowles books are over-flowing and I have to move my King books elsewhere to make room for the expanding of Fowles.

My other collecting interests are:
-- Frankenstein - maybe the greatest novel ever written (sorry Bob, Magus has to take a slightly back seat as #2 to Frankie - Frankenstein is not only great, but it has survived the test of time and has influenced so much in our culture). This is actually my top priority collection. If you have not read the book, you don't know about the "real" Frankenstein. Those who know about it just from the movies and general knowledge have the wrong idea about it. It's an amazing book about life, death, spirituality, societal prejudice, Qi, and so on. It is NOT simply a horror story! Anyway, I could go on but this is not the place.
This collection is almost as large as Fowles and King, and that's saying a lot considering it's ONE book! It also includes some related items though. I found it interesting to see the "One Book Collections" article in the latest Firsts Magazine.

Other collections:
-- Jerry Garcia
-- Bobby Orr
-- Woody Allen
-- Beatles
-- plus other more "minor" stuff.

Right now I'm focusing almost exclusively on Frankenstein and Fowles.

RB