Betts Books

[Roseannebarr]

TDT.org members and lurkers:

Again, thanks for buying my books. I can pay some medical bills and maybe buy a few more SK books (legitimate, though).

Thanks for my wonderful additions. You had quite the porn collection!

[Roseannebarr]

David,

Happy 26th Anniversary! Hope you got your wife something nice! Better yet, I hope she got you something awesome KING related.

Glen

[webstar1000]

TDT.org members and lurkers:

First and foremost, my thanks to David Williamson at Betts Books for the fantastic job he did liquidating a small piece of my collection recently. There were more than 250 books (including the Baker’s Dozen lots) and that meant a lot of work on his end. David and I had a couple of minor speed bumps locating all of the books but in the end we accounted for everything. And everything, save one lot, sold…and sold fairly quickly. Please accept my thanks to those who bought my wares. Many of the items had not been available via ebay, abe, or any other SK outlet in more than 10 years. So I was happy to bring some of the rarer items to the market.

While I sold most of my proof collection, I still have some gems that I didn’t want to part with. Some people asked me why I was selling the proofs. The easy answer was that they are just too difficult to price when you have no clue about the quantities made and/or the numbers issued. A member here stated that he stayed away from Betts when it comes to proofs. The implication was that the prices weren’t that accurate. I think that’s unfair because there is no “real market price” for a significant portion of SK proof market and they’re just difficult to price. The Cell proof would have sold for $3K had it not been an all-of-a-sudden anomaly in supply. Who among us knew there were that many Cell proofs? Or that 3-4 would appear at the same time? It just became more of a hassle than a pursuit that brought happiness.

I was also tired of seeing people, myself included, buying a new proof for a supposedly “market price” only to have some dude appear from nowhere selling copy after copy, week after week. And the proofs of reprinted books gave me the same taste that I have for PC copies say post-1997 (Salem’s Lot and perhaps one or two exceptions).

Finally, for this section, all the numbers listed on the sale initially came from me. I asked David to run my list by another well-known proof collector to see if the prices I developed were reasonable. The word that came back was that all but 8-10 items were reasonable. The other 8-10 were too low so I adjusted them up. I also asked David to flag anything that was way out of line (too high). He did that and I appreciated it very much. The last thing I wanted to do was screw anyone over. And that brings me to my last issue.

The EOTD package was called out recently. While I would have gone straight to the source to inquire the signature’s validity before raising the issue, I’m glad that Bob did say something about the Playboy signature. It could have saved someone’s money and people’s reputations; it avoided potential hard feelings, and probably more. I did not seek out to screw anyone with this package so I want to provide the background and provenance of said items. Hopefully this will illustrate that, as good as many here are at identifying bad (forged) signatures, no one is infallible.

I purchased the red numbered EOTD, along with 2 numbered Stands and a numbered Skeleton Crew from Stu Tinker back in 2006. Obviously there weren’t any issues with the signed numbered books. In 2007 I saw a signed Playboy in the Super Collection that was associated with the EOTD I already owned. I thought it would be a cool association package so I bought it. I think it was item 1560 or something around there (Mr. Rabbit Trick can confirm the number of the lot because he has a copy of the sale). There aren’t many SK-signed men’s magazines so I thought I had a gem for a couple of reasons.

When I saw the signature for the first time, I thought it was a little odd. But my expertise in this area at the time was not very good and I accepted it as legitimate. After all, Stu saw it and was willing to sell it. It was also part of the Super Collection so one of the original super-collectors owned it…so who was I to question it? I “parked” it and inventoried it until now. I did not look at the signature again…and that means I didn’t look at it before it went to David for sale. I take full responsibility for including it as part of the EOTD. A fair share of people would say the Playboy signature is OK but after looking at it again, seeing Bob’s comments, and consulting with another super-collector/signature expert, I’m positive that it is not legitimate or, at least, not a signature worth trying to defend as legitimate. I’ve asked David to pull the EOTD package from his site and return the book to me. He will keep the Playboy to destroy it or return it to me where I will destroy it. My sincere apologies to anyone for the confusion.

Again, thanks for buying my books. I can pay some medical bills and maybe buy a few more SK books (legitimate, though).

VERY impressed. I had no idea you were such a big collector!! Are you going to sell the rest of your collection or just focus elsewhere?

[Sir_Boomme]

TDT.org members and lurkers:


Again, thanks for buying my books. I can pay some medical bills and maybe buy a few more SK books (legitimate, though).

and I would like to thank you personally for the item that I purchased. Love it totally.
-Terry

[divemaster]

TDT.org members and lurkers:

First and foremost, my thanks to David Williamson at Betts Books for the fantastic job he did liquidating a small piece of my collection recently. There were more than 250 books (including the Baker’s Dozen lots) and that meant a lot of work on his end. David and I had a couple of minor speed bumps locating all of the books but in the end we accounted for everything. And everything, save one lot, sold…and sold fairly quickly. Please accept my thanks to those who bought my wares. Many of the items had not been available via ebay, abe, or any other SK outlet in more than 10 years. So I was happy to bring some of the rarer items to the market.

While I sold most of my proof collection, I still have some gems that I didn’t want to part with. Some people asked me why I was selling the proofs. The easy answer was that they are just too difficult to price when you have no clue about the quantities made and/or the numbers issued. A member here stated that he stayed away from Betts when it comes to proofs. The implication was that the prices weren’t that accurate. I think that’s unfair because there is no “real market price” for a significant portion of SK proof market and they’re just difficult to price. The Cell proof would have sold for $3K had it not been an all-of-a-sudden anomaly in supply. Who among us knew there were that many Cell proofs? Or that 3-4 would appear at the same time? It just became more of a hassle than a pursuit that brought happiness.

I was also tired of seeing people, myself included, buying a new proof for a supposedly “market price” only to have some dude appear from nowhere selling copy after copy, week after week. And the proofs of reprinted books gave me the same taste that I have for PC copies say post-1997 (Salem’s Lot and perhaps one or two exceptions).

Finally, for this section, all the numbers listed on the sale initially came from me. I asked David to run my list by another well-known proof collector to see if the prices I developed were reasonable. The word that came back was that all but 8-10 items were reasonable. The other 8-10 were too low so I adjusted them up. I also asked David to flag anything that was way out of line (too high). He did that and I appreciated it very much. The last thing I wanted to do was screw anyone over. And that brings me to my last issue.

The EOTD package was called out recently. While I would have gone straight to the source to inquire the signature’s validity before raising the issue, I’m glad that Bob did say something about the Playboy signature. It could have saved someone’s money and people’s reputations; it avoided potential hard feelings, and probably more. I did not seek out to screw anyone with this package so I want to provide the background and provenance of said items. Hopefully this will illustrate that, as good as many here are at identifying bad (forged) signatures, no one is infallible.

I purchased the red numbered EOTD, along with 2 numbered Stands and a numbered Skeleton Crew from Stu Tinker back in 2006. Obviously there weren’t any issues with the signed numbered books. In 2007 I saw a signed Playboy in the Super Collection that was associated with the EOTD I already owned. I thought it would be a cool association package so I bought it. I think it was item 1560 or something around there (Mr. Rabbit Trick can confirm the number of the lot because he has a copy of the sale). There aren’t many SK-signed men’s magazines so I thought I had a gem for a couple of reasons.

When I saw the signature for the first time, I thought it was a little odd. But my expertise in this area at the time was not very good and I accepted it as legitimate. After all, Stu saw it and was willing to sell it. It was also part of the Super Collection so one of the original super-collectors owned it…so who was I to question it? I “parked” it and inventoried it until now. I did not look at the signature again…and that means I didn’t look at it before it went to David for sale. I take full responsibility for including it as part of the EOTD. A fair share of people would say the Playboy signature is OK but after looking at it again, seeing Bob’s comments, and consulting with another super-collector/signature expert, I’m positive that it is not legitimate or, at least, not a signature worth trying to defend as legitimate. I’ve asked David to pull the EOTD package from his site and return the book to me. He will keep the Playboy to destroy it or return it to me where I will destroy it. My sincere apologies to anyone for the confusion.

Again, thanks for buying my books. I can pay some medical bills and maybe buy a few more SK books (legitimate, though).

VERY impressed. I had no idea you were such a big collector!! Are you going to sell the rest of your collection or just focus elsewhere?

I guess the cat is out of the bag enough to follow-up on my post of last fall. Even after the recent sale, I have to assume that Johnny007's remaining collection of SK S/L and Lettered editions must still be one of the premium collections out there. I had an amazing time seeing his collection and discussing King. Johnny, I hope your medical issues get taken care of and that you retain your fire for SK collecting.

Today's "pride and joy" I was only able to play a vicarious part in, but it was wonderful. I met a fellow collector who has an AMAZING collection. I won't go into details, b/c it's not my place to let the cat out of the bag so to speak if this person would rather stay under the radar for now, but this collection might be second to only Bob's as far as desired editions go. We talked for about an hour and I must say I could have talked for hours more had I the time. So not only did I see some amazing books, I have a new friend in the collecting community. I'm proud of that, and it gave me joy, so I think it certainly qualifies for a "Pride and Joy."

Some items I thought I'd never see in person, I was looking at in triplicate. Truly an amazing, amazing collection.

[jreitan47]

TDT.org members and lurkers:

First and foremost, my thanks to David Williamson at Betts Books for the fantastic job he did liquidating a small piece of my collection recently. There were more than 250 books (including the Baker’s Dozen lots) and that meant a lot of work on his end. David and I had a couple of minor speed bumps locating all of the books but in the end we accounted for everything. And everything, save one lot, sold…and sold fairly quickly. Please accept my thanks to those who bought my wares. Many of the items had not been available via ebay, abe, or any other SK outlet in more than 10 years. So I was happy to bring some of the rarer items to the market.

While I sold most of my proof collection, I still have some gems that I didn’t want to part with. Some people asked me why I was selling the proofs. The easy answer was that they are just too difficult to price when you have no clue about the quantities made and/or the numbers issued. A member here stated that he stayed away from Betts when it comes to proofs. The implication was that the prices weren’t that accurate. I think that’s unfair because there is no “real market price” for a significant portion of SK proof market and they’re just difficult to price. The Cell proof would have sold for $3K had it not been an all-of-a-sudden anomaly in supply. Who among us knew there were that many Cell proofs? Or that 3-4 would appear at the same time? It just became more of a hassle than a pursuit that brought happiness.

I was also tired of seeing people, myself included, buying a new proof for a supposedly “market price” only to have some dude appear from nowhere selling copy after copy, week after week. And the proofs of reprinted books gave me the same taste that I have for PC copies say post-1997 (Salem’s Lot and perhaps one or two exceptions).

Finally, for this section, all the numbers listed on the sale initially came from me. I asked David to run my list by another well-known proof collector to see if the prices I developed were reasonable. The word that came back was that all but 8-10 items were reasonable. The other 8-10 were too low so I adjusted them up. I also asked David to flag anything that was way out of line (too high). He did that and I appreciated it very much. The last thing I wanted to do was screw anyone over. And that brings me to my last issue.

The EOTD package was called out recently. While I would have gone straight to the source to inquire the signature’s validity before raising the issue, I’m glad that Bob did say something about the Playboy signature. It could have saved someone’s money and people’s reputations; it avoided potential hard feelings, and probably more. I did not seek out to screw anyone with this package so I want to provide the background and provenance of said items. Hopefully this will illustrate that, as good as many here are at identifying bad (forged) signatures, no one is infallible.

I purchased the red numbered EOTD, along with 2 numbered Stands and a numbered Skeleton Crew from Stu Tinker back in 2006. Obviously there weren’t any issues with the signed numbered books. In 2007 I saw a signed Playboy in the Super Collection that was associated with the EOTD I already owned. I thought it would be a cool association package so I bought it. I think it was item 1560 or something around there (Mr. Rabbit Trick can confirm the number of the lot because he has a copy of the sale). There aren’t many SK-signed men’s magazines so I thought I had a gem for a couple of reasons.

When I saw the signature for the first time, I thought it was a little odd. But my expertise in this area at the time was not very good and I accepted it as legitimate. After all, Stu saw it and was willing to sell it. It was also part of the Super Collection so one of the original super-collectors owned it…so who was I to question it? I “parked” it and inventoried it until now. I did not look at the signature again…and that means I didn’t look at it before it went to David for sale. I take full responsibility for including it as part of the EOTD. A fair share of people would say the Playboy signature is OK but after looking at it again, seeing Bob’s comments, and consulting with another super-collector/signature expert, I’m positive that it is not legitimate or, at least, not a signature worth trying to defend as legitimate. I’ve asked David to pull the EOTD package from his site and return the book to me. He will keep the Playboy to destroy it or return it to me where I will destroy it. My sincere apologies to anyone for the confusion.

Again, thanks for buying my books. I can pay some medical bills and maybe buy a few more SK books (legitimate, though).

I want to thank you Johnny for the opportunity to add some of your treasures to my own collection, really made my day!!!

[Johnny007]

TDT.org members and lurkers:

First and foremost, my thanks to David Williamson at Betts Books for the fantastic job he did liquidating a small piece of my collection recently. There were more than 250 books (including the Baker’s Dozen lots) and that meant a lot of work on his end. David and I had a couple of minor speed bumps locating all of the books but in the end we accounted for everything. And everything, save one lot, sold…and sold fairly quickly. Please accept my thanks to those who bought my wares. Many of the items had not been available via ebay, abe, or any other SK outlet in more than 10 years. So I was happy to bring some of the rarer items to the market.

While I sold most of my proof collection, I still have some gems that I didn’t want to part with. Some people asked me why I was selling the proofs. The easy answer was that they are just too difficult to price when you have no clue about the quantities made and/or the numbers issued. A member here stated that he stayed away from Betts when it comes to proofs. The implication was that the prices weren’t that accurate. I think that’s unfair because there is no “real market price” for a significant portion of SK proof market and they’re just difficult to price. The Cell proof would have sold for $3K had it not been an all-of-a-sudden anomaly in supply. Who among us knew there were that many Cell proofs? Or that 3-4 would appear at the same time? It just became more of a hassle than a pursuit that brought happiness.

I was also tired of seeing people, myself included, buying a new proof for a supposedly “market price” only to have some dude appear from nowhere selling copy after copy, week after week. And the proofs of reprinted books gave me the same taste that I have for PC copies say post-1997 (Salem’s Lot and perhaps one or two exceptions).

Finally, for this section, all the numbers listed on the sale initially came from me. I asked David to run my list by another well-known proof collector to see if the prices I developed were reasonable. The word that came back was that all but 8-10 items were reasonable. The other 8-10 were too low so I adjusted them up. I also asked David to flag anything that was way out of line (too high). He did that and I appreciated it very much. The last thing I wanted to do was screw anyone over. And that brings me to my last issue.

The EOTD package was called out recently. While I would have gone straight to the source to inquire the signature’s validity before raising the issue, I’m glad that Bob did say something about the Playboy signature. It could have saved someone’s money and people’s reputations; it avoided potential hard feelings, and probably more. I did not seek out to screw anyone with this package so I want to provide the background and provenance of said items. Hopefully this will illustrate that, as good as many here are at identifying bad (forged) signatures, no one is infallible.

I purchased the red numbered EOTD, along with 2 numbered Stands and a numbered Skeleton Crew from Stu Tinker back in 2006. Obviously there weren’t any issues with the signed numbered books. In 2007 I saw a signed Playboy in the Super Collection that was associated with the EOTD I already owned. I thought it would be a cool association package so I bought it. I think it was item 1560 or something around there (Mr. Rabbit Trick can confirm the number of the lot because he has a copy of the sale). There aren’t many SK-signed men’s magazines so I thought I had a gem for a couple of reasons.

When I saw the signature for the first time, I thought it was a little odd. But my expertise in this area at the time was not very good and I accepted it as legitimate. After all, Stu saw it and was willing to sell it. It was also part of the Super Collection so one of the original super-collectors owned it…so who was I to question it? I “parked” it and inventoried it until now. I did not look at the signature again…and that means I didn’t look at it before it went to David for sale. I take full responsibility for including it as part of the EOTD. A fair share of people would say the Playboy signature is OK but after looking at it again, seeing Bob’s comments, and consulting with another super-collector/signature expert, I’m positive that it is not legitimate or, at least, not a signature worth trying to defend as legitimate. I’ve asked David to pull the EOTD package from his site and return the book to me. He will keep the Playboy to destroy it or return it to me where I will destroy it. My sincere apologies to anyone for the confusion.

Again, thanks for buying my books. I can pay some medical bills and maybe buy a few more SK books (legitimate, though).

VERY impressed. I had no idea you were such a big collector!! Are you going to sell the rest of your collection or just focus elsewhere?

The rest of my collection is not for sale at this time. I would have to get an amazing offer for some items even to think of selling any of the rare items. My focus going forward will be to fill holes in signed US and UK firsts in Fine or Near Fine condition. I would also like to try to complete all SK lettered versions. I'm buying a few rare signed books soon and it will generate some discussion. So to answer your question, I am still in the SK business big time but I must temper my desires with real-world realities I've dealt with for more than 41 years. All will make sense soon, I hope.

[jhanic]

Best of luck! You're in my prayers.

John

[Johnny007]

TDT.org members and lurkers:


Again, thanks for buying my books. I can pay some medical bills and maybe buy a few more SK books (legitimate, though).

and I would like to thank you personally for the item that I purchased. Love it totally.
-Terry

Terry,

I'm glad you are happy. I was just as happy for owning the book you sold me a few years back. I'm sure we will do business again. But more importantly, I am glad that you are back into the SK swing again!

John

[Johnny007]

TDT.org members and lurkers:

First and foremost, my thanks to David Williamson at Betts Books for the fantastic job he did liquidating a small piece of my collection recently. There were more than 250 books (including the Baker’s Dozen lots) and that meant a lot of work on his end. David and I had a couple of minor speed bumps locating all of the books but in the end we accounted for everything. And everything, save one lot, sold…and sold fairly quickly. Please accept my thanks to those who bought my wares. Many of the items had not been available via ebay, abe, or any other SK outlet in more than 10 years. So I was happy to bring some of the rarer items to the market.

While I sold most of my proof collection, I still have some gems that I didn’t want to part with. Some people asked me why I was selling the proofs. The easy answer was that they are just too difficult to price when you have no clue about the quantities made and/or the numbers issued. A member here stated that he stayed away from Betts when it comes to proofs. The implication was that the prices weren’t that accurate. I think that’s unfair because there is no “real market price” for a significant portion of SK proof market and they’re just difficult to price. The Cell proof would have sold for $3K had it not been an all-of-a-sudden anomaly in supply. Who among us knew there were that many Cell proofs? Or that 3-4 would appear at the same time? It just became more of a hassle than a pursuit that brought happiness.

I was also tired of seeing people, myself included, buying a new proof for a supposedly “market price” only to have some dude appear from nowhere selling copy after copy, week after week. And the proofs of reprinted books gave me the same taste that I have for PC copies say post-1997 (Salem’s Lot and perhaps one or two exceptions).

Finally, for this section, all the numbers listed on the sale initially came from me. I asked David to run my list by another well-known proof collector to see if the prices I developed were reasonable. The word that came back was that all but 8-10 items were reasonable. The other 8-10 were too low so I adjusted them up. I also asked David to flag anything that was way out of line (too high). He did that and I appreciated it very much. The last thing I wanted to do was screw anyone over. And that brings me to my last issue.

The EOTD package was called out recently. While I would have gone straight to the source to inquire the signature’s validity before raising the issue, I’m glad that Bob did say something about the Playboy signature. It could have saved someone’s money and people’s reputations; it avoided potential hard feelings, and probably more. I did not seek out to screw anyone with this package so I want to provide the background and provenance of said items. Hopefully this will illustrate that, as good as many here are at identifying bad (forged) signatures, no one is infallible.

I purchased the red numbered EOTD, along with 2 numbered Stands and a numbered Skeleton Crew from Stu Tinker back in 2006. Obviously there weren’t any issues with the signed numbered books. In 2007 I saw a signed Playboy in the Super Collection that was associated with the EOTD I already owned. I thought it would be a cool association package so I bought it. I think it was item 1560 or something around there (Mr. Rabbit Trick can confirm the number of the lot because he has a copy of the sale). There aren’t many SK-signed men’s magazines so I thought I had a gem for a couple of reasons.

When I saw the signature for the first time, I thought it was a little odd. But my expertise in this area at the time was not very good and I accepted it as legitimate. After all, Stu saw it and was willing to sell it. It was also part of the Super Collection so one of the original super-collectors owned it…so who was I to question it? I “parked” it and inventoried it until now. I did not look at the signature again…and that means I didn’t look at it before it went to David for sale. I take full responsibility for including it as part of the EOTD. A fair share of people would say the Playboy signature is OK but after looking at it again, seeing Bob’s comments, and consulting with another super-collector/signature expert, I’m positive that it is not legitimate or, at least, not a signature worth trying to defend as legitimate. I’ve asked David to pull the EOTD package from his site and return the book to me. He will keep the Playboy to destroy it or return it to me where I will destroy it. My sincere apologies to anyone for the confusion.

Again, thanks for buying my books. I can pay some medical bills and maybe buy a few more SK books (legitimate, though).

I want to thank you Johnny for the opportunity to add some of your treasures to my own collection, really made my day!!!

John (I hope my memory is still intact),

You are welcome. David and I talked briefly and we agreed that those mags would be best with you. Please enjoy!

John

[Johnny007]

TDT.org members and lurkers:

First and foremost, my thanks to David Williamson at Betts Books for the fantastic job he did liquidating a small piece of my collection recently. There were more than 250 books (including the Baker’s Dozen lots) and that meant a lot of work on his end. David and I had a couple of minor speed bumps locating all of the books but in the end we accounted for everything. And everything, save one lot, sold…and sold fairly quickly. Please accept my thanks to those who bought my wares. Many of the items had not been available via ebay, abe, or any other SK outlet in more than 10 years. So I was happy to bring some of the rarer items to the market.

While I sold most of my proof collection, I still have some gems that I didn’t want to part with. Some people asked me why I was selling the proofs. The easy answer was that they are just too difficult to price when you have no clue about the quantities made and/or the numbers issued. A member here stated that he stayed away from Betts when it comes to proofs. The implication was that the prices weren’t that accurate. I think that’s unfair because there is no “real market price” for a significant portion of SK proof market and they’re just difficult to price. The Cell proof would have sold for $3K had it not been an all-of-a-sudden anomaly in supply. Who among us knew there were that many Cell proofs? Or that 3-4 would appear at the same time? It just became more of a hassle than a pursuit that brought happiness.

I was also tired of seeing people, myself included, buying a new proof for a supposedly “market price” only to have some dude appear from nowhere selling copy after copy, week after week. And the proofs of reprinted books gave me the same taste that I have for PC copies say post-1997 (Salem’s Lot and perhaps one or two exceptions).

Finally, for this section, all the numbers listed on the sale initially came from me. I asked David to run my list by another well-known proof collector to see if the prices I developed were reasonable. The word that came back was that all but 8-10 items were reasonable. The other 8-10 were too low so I adjusted them up. I also asked David to flag anything that was way out of line (too high). He did that and I appreciated it very much. The last thing I wanted to do was screw anyone over. And that brings me to my last issue.

The EOTD package was called out recently. While I would have gone straight to the source to inquire the signature’s validity before raising the issue, I’m glad that Bob did say something about the Playboy signature. It could have saved someone’s money and people’s reputations; it avoided potential hard feelings, and probably more. I did not seek out to screw anyone with this package so I want to provide the background and provenance of said items. Hopefully this will illustrate that, as good as many here are at identifying bad (forged) signatures, no one is infallible.

I purchased the red numbered EOTD, along with 2 numbered Stands and a numbered Skeleton Crew from Stu Tinker back in 2006. Obviously there weren’t any issues with the signed numbered books. In 2007 I saw a signed Playboy in the Super Collection that was associated with the EOTD I already owned. I thought it would be a cool association package so I bought it. I think it was item 1560 or something around there (Mr. Rabbit Trick can confirm the number of the lot because he has a copy of the sale). There aren’t many SK-signed men’s magazines so I thought I had a gem for a couple of reasons.

When I saw the signature for the first time, I thought it was a little odd. But my expertise in this area at the time was not very good and I accepted it as legitimate. After all, Stu saw it and was willing to sell it. It was also part of the Super Collection so one of the original super-collectors owned it…so who was I to question it? I “parked” it and inventoried it until now. I did not look at the signature again…and that means I didn’t look at it before it went to David for sale. I take full responsibility for including it as part of the EOTD. A fair share of people would say the Playboy signature is OK but after looking at it again, seeing Bob’s comments, and consulting with another super-collector/signature expert, I’m positive that it is not legitimate or, at least, not a signature worth trying to defend as legitimate. I’ve asked David to pull the EOTD package from his site and return the book to me. He will keep the Playboy to destroy it or return it to me where I will destroy it. My sincere apologies to anyone for the confusion.

Again, thanks for buying my books. I can pay some medical bills and maybe buy a few more SK books (legitimate, though).

VERY impressed. I had no idea you were such a big collector!! Are you going to sell the rest of your collection or just focus elsewhere?

I guess the cat is out of the bag enough to follow-up on my post of last fall. Even after the recent sale, I have to assume that Johnny007's remaining collection of SK S/L and Lettered editions must still be one of the premium collections out there. I had an amazing time seeing his collection and discussing King. Johnny, I hope your medical issues get taken care of and that you retain your fire for SK collecting.

Today's "pride and joy" I was only able to play a vicarious part in, but it was wonderful. I met a fellow collector who has an AMAZING collection. I won't go into details, b/c it's not my place to let the cat out of the bag so to speak if this person would rather stay under the radar for now, but this collection might be second to only Bob's as far as desired editions go. We talked for about an hour and I must say I could have talked for hours more had I the time. So not only did I see some amazing books, I have a new friend in the collecting community. I'm proud of that, and it gave me joy, so I think it certainly qualifies for a "Pride and Joy."

Some items I thought I'd never see in person, I was looking at in triplicate. Truly an amazing, amazing collection.

Dave,

Thanks for the well-wishes. I will continue to collect until there is no time left...and I hope that's another 50 years. There will be some surprises for all to see once my sister can be bribed to come out here to take pictures. My bother will have to help with the new bookshelves, LOL! I needed more space so I moved. But I now have a dozen original oils that can't be hung because of poor design in my flat. Oh well, thanks again for your kind words.

John

[Johnny007]

Best of luck! You're in my prayers.

John

John,

Thank you very much. That means a lot to me. I'll find the appropriate thread here in CC and explain some things. I think a lot about my frequent absence from the site will be answered then. But thanks for your well-wishes. You are very kind!

john

[zelig]

John as you know I bought a bunch of proofs from your collection. I had no idea prior to your consignment that you had such an impressive collection. I wish you well with the medical issues. I've been dealing with health challenges myself for the past year, and I know it's not pleasant. So all the best, and I also look forward to learning more of your story and seeing what else you have in your collection.

Cheers,
Paul

[jonp]

John as you know I bought a bunch of proofs from your collection. I had no idea prior to your consignment that you had such an impressive collection. I wish you well with the medical issues. I've been dealing with health challenges myself for the past year, and I know it's not pleasant. So all the best, and I also look forward to learning more of your story and seeing what else you have in your collection.

Cheers,
Paul

+1 I also bought many proofs from you ( I think 13 in total), some which were very rare that I would never have the opportunity of obtaining again. Thank you for making them available. I wish you all the best for the future and that you have good health.

[divemaster]

Dave,

Thanks for the well-wishes. I will continue to collect until there is no time left...and I hope that's another 50 years. There will be some surprises for all to see once my sister can be bribed to come out here to take pictures....
John

Hell, I'd drop by and take photos all day (days?) for payment of an order of burger and fries from 5-Guys!

[HONKYTONKSMASH]

TDT.org members and lurkers:

First and foremost, my thanks to David Williamson at Betts Books for the fantastic job he did liquidating a small piece of my collection recently. There were more than 250 books (including the Baker’s Dozen lots) and that meant a lot of work on his end. David and I had a couple of minor speed bumps locating all of the books but in the end we accounted for everything. And everything, save one lot, sold…and sold fairly quickly. Please accept my thanks to those who bought my wares. Many of the items had not been available via ebay, abe, or any other SK outlet in more than 10 years. So I was happy to bring some of the rarer items to the market.

While I sold most of my proof collection, I still have some gems that I didn’t want to part with. Some people asked me why I was selling the proofs. The easy answer was that they are just too difficult to price when you have no clue about the quantities made and/or the numbers issued. A member here stated that he stayed away from Betts when it comes to proofs. The implication was that the prices weren’t that accurate. I think that’s unfair because there is no “real market price” for a significant portion of SK proof market and they’re just difficult to price. The Cell proof would have sold for $3K had it not been an all-of-a-sudden anomaly in supply. Who among us knew there were that many Cell proofs? Or that 3-4 would appear at the same time? It just became more of a hassle than a pursuit that brought happiness.

I was also tired of seeing people, myself included, buying a new proof for a supposedly “market price” only to have some dude appear from nowhere selling copy after copy, week after week. And the proofs of reprinted books gave me the same taste that I have for PC copies say post-1997 (Salem’s Lot and perhaps one or two exceptions).

Finally, for this section, all the numbers listed on the sale initially came from me. I asked David to run my list by another well-known proof collector to see if the prices I developed were reasonable. The word that came back was that all but 8-10 items were reasonable. The other 8-10 were too low so I adjusted them up. I also asked David to flag anything that was way out of line (too high). He did that and I appreciated it very much. The last thing I wanted to do was screw anyone over. And that brings me to my last issue.

The EOTD package was called out recently. While I would have gone straight to the source to inquire the signature’s validity before raising the issue, I’m glad that Bob did say something about the Playboy signature. It could have saved someone’s money and people’s reputations; it avoided potential hard feelings, and probably more. I did not seek out to screw anyone with this package so I want to provide the background and provenance of said items. Hopefully this will illustrate that, as good as many here are at identifying bad (forged) signatures, no one is infallible.

I purchased the red numbered EOTD, along with 2 numbered Stands and a numbered Skeleton Crew from Stu Tinker back in 2006. Obviously there weren’t any issues with the signed numbered books. In 2007 I saw a signed Playboy in the Super Collection that was associated with the EOTD I already owned. I thought it would be a cool association package so I bought it. I think it was item 1560 or something around there (Mr. Rabbit Trick can confirm the number of the lot because he has a copy of the sale). There aren’t many SK-signed men’s magazines so I thought I had a gem for a couple of reasons.

When I saw the signature for the first time, I thought it was a little odd. But my expertise in this area at the time was not very good and I accepted it as legitimate. After all, Stu saw it and was willing to sell it. It was also part of the Super Collection so one of the original super-collectors owned it…so who was I to question it? I “parked” it and inventoried it until now. I did not look at the signature again…and that means I didn’t look at it before it went to David for sale. I take full responsibility for including it as part of the EOTD. A fair share of people would say the Playboy signature is OK but after looking at it again, seeing Bob’s comments, and consulting with another super-collector/signature expert, I’m positive that it is not legitimate or, at least, not a signature worth trying to defend as legitimate. I’ve asked David to pull the EOTD package from his site and return the book to me. He will keep the Playboy to destroy it or return it to me where I will destroy it. My sincere apologies to anyone for the confusion.

Again, thanks for buying my books. I can pay some medical bills and maybe buy a few more SK books (legitimate, though).

I ended up with one of the Bakers dozen packages and for that I thank you. I ended up with some pretty cool magazines (The Raft etc) that otherwise I might not have ever even thought to collect. They are way cool. Thanks again man and my thoughts are with you

[wizardsrainbow]

I need to chime in here....I have dealt with literally over 1000 customers/consignees with Betts (OMG it will be 6 YEARS this December 1st) and John is one of the kindest, most wonderful human beings I have met along the way. He has a tremendous heart and has been exponentially fair in every dealing he has had with me. Absolutely one of the best out there....and as for his remaining collection, well virtually ALL of you would salivate over some of the rare items he has. John is definitely a force to be reckoned with in the King collecting world.

And to you John, here's to many more wonderful exchanges/transactions with you. I bow to you.

[Pasiuk57]

John
what else do you have?? Now I'm super curious!!

[webstar1000]

John
what else do you have?? Now I'm super curious!!

Well you all know me... he mentions "20 oils"... Im like dying to see what art this chap might have!! HE NEEDS A THREAD!!! NOW

[Sir_Boomme]

I know he's got some fancy high dollar lettered editions... but would love to see "The rest of the story"
hint hint...

[TCCBodhi]

John
what else do you have?? Now I'm super curious!!

Well you all know me... he mentions "20 oils"... Im like dying to see what art this chap might have!! HE NEEDS A THREAD!!! NOW

Indeed! I find that even with my small collection that part of the fun is sharing it with others so it doesn't just sit there on my shelf for only my eyes. Seeing OTHER collections inspires me and gives me ideas for my own and alerts me to books that I frankly didn't even know existed. I LOVE seeing the original artworks that end up in people's homes as well as the great one of a kind commissions and remarques!

[wizardsrainbow]

EVERYONE-

Just a heads up from your Caretaker..... we close on the sale of our home on September 30th, we are renting back from the buyers for 2 weeks and then close on our new downsized home on October 16th. As you can imagine, I will be disrupted for a period of time for the move...before to pack....the weekend of Oct 16-18 for actual move....and afterward to unpack....

I will personally be packing and transporting my personal collection from this home to the new one....it numbers close to 500 books and scares me to death, which is why I am doing that part myself. There is no way I can bubblewrap and pack that many books so I am going to CAREFULLY put books in boxes and handle them as little as possible prior to the move across town.

For those of you who are eternally curious....after October 16th my new address will be 130 Curtis Terrace, Fairfield CT 06825....my Betts phone number should remain the same.....if you know Zillow.com at all, you can type in my new address and see the real estate listing pictures of the new house.....there is a bedroom/office not pictured on that site which is immediately to the right of the front door. Maybe a 10'/10' room which I plan to use as my office.

[zelig]

I wish you all the best with the move David. Hope it goes smoothly.

[Roseannebarr]

I wish you all the best with the move David. Hope it goes smoothly.

Love the new house! saw pictures of the Living Room!? Looks big enough to put most of your King books with adding more book shelves, etc... looks awesome! let us all know when the housewarming party is!

Congrats again on the 26th wedding anniversary. got buried in alot of other business on your thread!

[jhanic]

Best of luck in your move, David.

John