Today was a good day for Bradbury on screen:



PBS-TV's ANTIQUES ROADSHOW had a valuation of Jennet Johnson's Bradbury books (she was Ray's teacher; he dedicated books to her, and sent her copies of his works). See the clip - and read the letter Ray wrote when he heard of Ms Johnson's death - here:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadsh...dbury-archive-letter



And an animated version of Ray appeared: a 1972 audio interview has been brought to life by some animators:

http://www.openculture.com/201...-to-be-a-writer.html

quote:

Originally posted by philnic:
Today was a good day for Bradbury on screen:



PBS-TV's ANTIQUES ROADSHOW had a valuation of Jennet Johnson's Bradbury books (she was Ray's teacher; he dedicated books to her, and sent her copies of his works). See the clip - and read the letter Ray wrote when he heard of Ms Johnson's death - here:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadsh...dbury-archive-letter

$6000 to $8000 value w/ a $12,000 insurance appraisal seems extraordinarily high for this group of books in rather rough condition. A number of pretty common books, and Ray's signature is, as we know, also quite common. Roadshow appraisals of books are often high, but this one seems pretty extreme, even by their generous standards.

I know nothing of the proper monetary value of that collection (especially in the US; I am from the UK). However, my impression was that the valuation was not of a set of signed books. It was of a coherent collection, which had a proven connection to Bradbury's professional career, and which reflected the matching of the personal inscriptions to the printed (published) dedications. Ray's biography makes a big deal of the role of teachers in his life, Jennet Johnson in particular.

I've seen smaller and poorer collections given pride of place in museums and special collections. (Not collections of Bradbury, just collections of other authors.) This one is pretty special, I think.

Oh, I certainly acknowledge that it has a greater value as a sum of its parts, as a collection reflecting the teacher's influence and impact upon Ray, than it does as individual volumes. But that said, it still seems like an awfully high appraisal to me, one that doesn't reflect the reality that such a set has in the collectible market. Perhaps -- perhaps! -- if it was a set of grander, nicer titles made out to Ray Harryhausen or Forrest J. Ackerman or a past POTUS, some sort of celebrity tie-in that would compound the collectible nature of the set, then such a value could be understood...but while the set may be priceless to her heirs/family, I suspect few collectors would agree with the appraiser's value.