"The 5 most expensive books on Napoleonic history" Topic

It's a wet bank holiday where I live so I ended up blogging about the 5 most expensive books in Napoleonic land warfare I could find on Amazon (not ultra rare old ones – just the sort you and I might try and buy)

link

Would you buy at these prices? Would you sell at these prices?

I'm entirely sober, but for a moment I really did wonder "What's a wet bank?"

Amazon prices for unavailable second hand books are odd to say the least.

No I would not buy at these prices. If I had one and I could get the price yes.

NO & I'm not sure I would want to sell them.

A few years ago I managed to find the Elting volumes at much lower prices.
Naval & Military Press had the first two at about
100 GBP for the pair and I got the second two at $50 USD USD each on Ebay.

I think you just have to accept that prices on Amazon for this kind of thing are arrived at by someone closing their eyes and randomly tapping the number pad!

The first Umhey at least is a limited edition of 1,000 (not sure if any more were produced) from 2005 so that may well have gone up in value. The other one I've never seen before.

The Elting's you can get legitimately new for £200.00 GBP the pair, or less from Abe Books plus shipping from the US.

The 3rd and 4th Vols are harder to come by (didn't sell as well) but if you really wanted them Abe has them for roughly the same price each as for the first pair

The Rousselot I think is out of print but not worth it at any thing much over the original cover price which was £85.00 GBP back in 2010. I think I paid half that for mine brand new at a Show.

@optional field :-)

I have four of the five and paid nowhere near what is listed here.

The only one I don't have is the Umhey/Domage volume.

The Rousselot volume is OK, but getting the individual prints is much better in my opinion, even though they are hard to find and can be expensive.

I have quite a few of them, but not the complete portfolio.

and it is indeed "a wet Bank Holiday"…..which simply cannot translate to the Rebellious Colonies…

But ideal for catching up with the lead mountain.

@deadhead – which I've also been upto. radio on – head down, just keep painting.

I have 3 of the 5, paid £400.00 GBP for volumes 1&2 of the Elting books. Picked up volumes 3&4 for significantly less, and have also got the Rousselot book. The other 2 are new to me, but I would not buy them at these prices.

I also have the reprint of the first and second Elting books, that came in a slip case – was only £100.00 GBP

Wouldnt sell, unless I was desperate for cash.

Check ABE BOOKS

Last grand armee Umhey 264 euro

@ deadhead &c.

And yet, my mind has conjured up a lovely image of a financial institution that provides gin & tonic to patrons while they cue up to deposit "cheques."

@ OP

I think I need to see if I have any of these on the shelf. At these prices I'll gladly part with them.

I have #1 and #3 and I did not pay anywhere near those prices.

@kevin C – what is 1 like?

I've got 3,4 and 5. Didn't pay anywhere near those prices, but I'll still include them in the list of books that the wife should not sell off by the kilogram when I'm dead.

All of the four I currently have are excellent. I don't have the 2d volume by Umhey and Domage.

The Rousselot book is valuable if you don't have the plates.

I bought Elting 1 &2 at Warfare last year for £120.00 GBP which seemed a good price…

Mike

I reckon some of the prices on Amazon are money-laundering. I've seen the Airfix Waterloo Assault set offered at £1,000.00 GBP before now.

A lot of the prices on Amazon are set by bots, which I assume is why out of print copies can sometimes balloon to ridiculous levels.

Sir Able,

@kevin C – what is 1 like?

I was just about to reply then realised I wasn't sure which book you were referring to! :o)

A lot of the prices on Amazon are set by bots, which I assume is why out of print copies can sometimes balloon to ridiculous levels.

Sounds like the algorithms need a bit of work!

I wonder what the listed sellers do if someone offers £1,800.00 GBP for a book worth say, £200.00 GBP? Nice test of morals there!

Do they even know?

Sir Able Brush

It is possibly such crazy pricing that might just put some people off getting into the Napoleonic period. But I wonder if all Napoleonic enthusiasts refused to pay high prices (£50+), let alone those mentioned above, I wonder if the publishers/sellers would either lower the prices or stop publishing or selling altogether?

Still, who needs great books with great artwork, eh? Now if only I could win the lottery….

Glad I got Lucien Rousselot's book on the French Army when I did.It's probably worth the money though.

Agree about the plates though. Sorry I had to part with mine when I emigrated and I didn't have a complete set.

Looks like we may have inspired someone to take a punt….

ebay.to/2sBdftL

I'm glad I got the Elting/Knotel books when I did. I was late for the party on the first two, but it worked out: I got a deal on the second edition. But I have heard it said that they will never reprint the last two, so it was worth the MSRP.

Like many others, I have some of these, purchased at much lower prices. The Umhey Napoleon's Last Grande Armee, was a serendipitous acquisition. It's a Publisher's Proof edition, limited to 100 copies. Has Mr. Umhey's signature. IIRC, the initial Elting/Knotel books were $300 USD MSRP? For the set when first published, but were sold for less.

I would not easily part with any of these.

Ironically i am involved in culling the collection, with hundreds of books being set aside for sale and or donation. But not any of these yet…..though I am thinking of offering my 1894 12 vol. Set of Thiers' History of the Consulate and Empire…..

@rmcaras

Good luck with selling your Thiers history. I borrowed one volume of it from our local university library, and many of the pages had not been cut!
Hence, my comments that the book had never been red, as it was blue!

A wet bank holiday is merely a bank holiday combined with rainy weather, thus making it 'wet' and therefore a good day to stay inside.

Stephen

I wish I could get volume 3 and 4 of that Napoleonic Uniforms books at a reasonable price. I have the first two and they are great.

They are great, particularly if you want to paint Russians, Prussians, or Austrians, but of course, nobody got the in depth coverage of the French. The British plates were disappointing: not bad, but as Elting said, so well covered elsewhere that he saw no need to focus on them.

And as a more general thought, all pricing on my Napoleonic books will probably be better than anything posted here, because I expect that my widow will be the one disposing of them!

"Nine pound round

Yes, that should be the subject of its own thread.

What should our families do with our book collection?