National Geographic

[Shirley]

Hi I recently purchased a very large set of NG dateing from 1888- 2000. I am not sure if any are missing I havent went through them yet.Fills up 2 very large book cases.The older volumes that are hard back may be reprints. The magazines are in what looks like leather cases that hold 6 . I purchased them at a estate sale. How can I get info on this very large collection.I thought they were encyclopedias.Thanks

[Jean Thibault]

Hi Shirley,
I don't know if you have had much response to your "discussion". Have you found the time to go through them yet? The older issues certainly have some value, wether they be reprints or not, and well worth being inventoried. The issues from 1910 to 1939 also have some value, particularly if they are in good condition. The issues from the 1940's also can have some value if they are in particularly good condition, because a majority of surviving mags from this period tend to be shoddy.
A key point to determine value would be the presence of the early maps and other inserts. Lists of these are commonly available...For the collection to be more or less complete for the period covered, and including the 6 issue cases, your two bookcases would have to be very, very large. If you want to sell the above mentioned, please let me know.
To dispose of the modern issues, which are generally worth less than what it costs to ship them, a local pick up is usually the most practical way of doing it, assuming of course that you do want to sell.

[Scott T. Shier]

Hello Shirley,

The brown/burgandy slipcases are in fact "official" N.G.S. items. They are made as a pair, 6 issues to a case. They are dated per year, and they are available (were made) to go back as far as 1950.

The only REPRINTS that were produced consist of the years 1888-1907. Any of these copies, which were made in 1964, will show the word "Reprint" at the bottom portion of each issues' cover.

All and any NGM's you have that are bound in book format, were thus produced by a 3rd party book bindery. These will usually be (with rare exceptions) in 6-month chunks [i.e., 2 book/volumes per year).

The "value" of your entire set, as Jean has indicated, depends upon which years, and condition your copies are in. Whether or not you have all/any of the insert map supplements is also relevant.

The hard bound editions' value is further set by which type or style of binding they have. IF you do have the 1964 Reprint set, then that is an entirely separate matter to be addressed. Know that they are worth a nice "chunk of change".

IF you indeed have the original copies in the 1888-1910 era, you are quite lucky! Is this 1888-1910 date range in bound volumes? or single issues? Originals from this time period are like GOLD - but also varies considerably by condition.

I hope this, and Jean's reply, helps you somewhat have a better idea. What other questions do you have?

take care,

Scott T. Shier

[Wendy Thrasher]

Hi Shirley!

Is your collection still available?  Where are you located?  I'm in Bancroft, Ontario, Canada.

 

My e-mail is:     [e-mail]

 

Wendy