As I was running errands today I stopped at a Tag Sale. From time to time I do looking for other peoples' junk that I feel will enhance my junk. My big find today is a spittoon embossed with the name 'Lovecraft'.
Now I don't believe for an instant that this collector of saliva actually belonged to the king of horror, but with the name 'Lovecraft emblazoned on it well, it must be worth something right?
Yeah of course. This brass jewel is probably worth a couple of hundred or even a couple of thousand dollars to horror fans. Yeah, just think how fast I can turn this baby around on eBay.......
Yeah, if it existed.
My point is why are all H P Lovecraft books more expensive than other horror writers? Even his contemporaries/ Why do book dealers feel they have to pick the pocket of the literary class for the opportunity to view stories that are in the public domain?
Surely it has to do with the absolute reverence of the man and his writings; that collectors, much as they have done with Poe, believe that if they possess these volumes published long ago, in their offices and libraries, the 'mojo' will wear off on their own keyboards.
Fine. But books were meant to be read; authors studied and their tales dissected for genius. When he cease to delve into the psyche of those who paved away and treat their volumes like religious artifacts we run the risk of devaluing their work making it akin to a spittoon and rendering ourselves functionally illiterate.
Happy 400 and hope to have 400 and more to come.
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