Barron's Scopes Rare Book Market

Recession Beaters

THERE IS NOTHING LIKE A GOOD, OLD BOOK. Despite the ravages of the recession and the advances of the digital age, prices of high-end rare books are holding firm.






In fact, Swann Auction Galleries in New York, a specialist in the field, recently garnered a record $72,000 for a book from Latin America. In fact, it was the first book published in Peru (some light reading on Catholic doctrine).

Illustrated art books also have been selling well: A signed, first-edition Andy Warhol hardcover from 1967 recently went for $6,000 at Swann.

"People are turning to rare collectibles in an economy like this, because the supply is finite and you are getting something tangible -- it is a sounder investment than plenty of stocks," in the opinion of Swann's Rick Stattler.

The market hasn't been as kind to less-valuable collectible books. All told, books and related ephemera are fetching 18% less at auction than they did in 2008, or a median of roughly $400 per lot (usually just one book), reports online-bookselling source Americana Exchange. But in the luxe market, says Adina Cohen of New York's Argosy Book Store, a purveyor of antiquarian fare, "We haven't lowered our prices at all, and if we don't sell it today, we will sell it next week or next year."