I just bought a signed limited edition (one of 1,000) copies of Kafka on the Shore. Do you think it is a good investment and would cost more in the future? Very Good: A book that does not look new and has been read but is in excellent condition. No obvious damage to the cover, with the dust jacket (if applicable) included for hard covers. No missing or damaged pages, no creases or tears, and no underlining/highlighting of text or writing in the margins. May be very minimal identifying marks on the inside cover. Very minimal wear and tear.
Publisher: the Harvill press Publication years: 2005 Format: hardcover Edition: Limited Edition Country/Region of Manufacture: United Kingdom
Modern books are hard to predict. You can’t really tell if it’s going to resonate culturally in the future. And you need that cultural importance. A book that is old and rare is just a book that is old and rare. To be valuable it’s got to be something more than just words on a page. There are loads of books that sold well and received praise in their time that are now long forgotten (I’d give examples, but there is an implicit problem with that).
I don’t think special editions make much of a difference, aside from making sure that certain books won’t become rare. And I say this as someone really bad at not buying fancy books. Buy books because owning them brings you joy. If you are lucky some might make some descendent of yours a tidy sum but don’t bank on it.