Traditionally, a book is considered ‘ancient’ if it was printed before 1820, prior to the semi-industrialisation of the book trade. Those produced after this rough cutoff are known as ‘modern books'.

Today, however, the term ‘antique book’ refers to a broader reality: it denotes any rare, sometimes precious, book that is not found in a regular bookshop but rather at an 'antiquarian bookseller’s'.

One must, however, distinguish between second-hand books and antique books. A second-hand book is regarded as an economical alternative to a new copy, sold by used-book dealers at a lower price than its counterpart in a conventional bookshop. An antique book, by contrast, is any volume of historical or symbolic significance - a first edition, a copy signed by the author or of notable provenance, a deluxe printing, or a work finely bound - irrespective of its publication date.

The value of an antique book is therefore independent of that of a new edition. It can be considerably higher, as with a first edition of Madame Bovary, priced at one franc per volume in 1857, or lower, as with incunables - books printed between 1450 and 1501 - many of which are surprisingly affordable for the modern collector compared with fifteenth-century readers.

An antique book’s worth is determined by a range of factors: the author and the work, of course; the importance and rarity of the edition; the state and craftsmanship of the copy and its binding; and distinctive attributes such as an autograph dedication, a heraldic binding, or a significant ex-libris...

 Read our article: How to Have Your Books Appraised.