To Kill A Mockingbird, 1991 Edition, Flatsigned

by Bruce Allured
(Lake Charles, LA)

My father, 87, turned over to me a box of books and CD's as well as some of his manuscripts (he was for forty years a composer/director/clinician in the field of handbells) which included a signed "To Kill A Mockingbird; "Harper Lee, underlined, on the first page inside the cover.

It is in quite good condition, including the dust jacket with minimal wear at the top and bottom of the spine. It was probably stored flat at some point, as there is some "lean", but my suspicion is that it has never been read through.

I have learned it is a 1991 edition which was given to him when he led a handbell workshop for a church in Monroeville. He was also given tickets to the staged presentation in the old courthouse there. He does not remember who gave him the book - he thinks the church was either Methodist or Presbyterian. He was unaware of the autograph.

Best I can tell, the book by itself is not of particular value, though the dust jacket uses the cover art of the 1961 edition with the Pulitzer Prize badge. I would like to sell it to a collector.

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To Kill A Mockingbird, 1991 Edition, Flatsigned

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Feb 24, 2010
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by: Bill

Though the particular edition of the book that you own is not valuable, once the autograph was added it became valuable. I'm not sure how valuable Harper Lee's autograph is on the 1991 edition of To Kill a Mockingbird, but a rough estimate would be $500+ at retail.

The original print run of the book in 1960 was only 5,000 copies. One of those with the original dust jacket in nice condition would cost a collector $35,000+, so obviously most collectors settle for a later edition and demand is high for all signed copies.

The signed books that show up for sale most often are the 35th Anniversary Edition from 1995 and the 40th Anniversary Edition from 1999. Most of the signed copies of those editions are in pristine conditions, and they usually list for $500+. Going back beyond 1995, most owners took less care of their signed books. If your book is in nice condition, you could get a good bit more than the average edition from that year would bring.

If you have the tickets or other ephemera from the event you mentioned, that would add value to the book.

To find a buyer, search the net. You will find a dealer who will want the book, but expect to get less than the retail. Dealers have overhead and have to make a profit.

You might even try selling it on eBay with a reserve. This would give collectors as well as dealers an opportunity to bid.

Harper Lee's autograph is easily and often forged, so expect some scrutiny.

Autographed To Kill a Mockingbird on eBay

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