| Nathan Robinson wrote: |
| The desire for those books goes well beyond that, Patrick. Many of the difficult to acquire titles are foreign-language publications that document items rarely seen on this side of the globe. |
I agree, and in that case they're well worth the expense. However, many of the books published in the english language in the late 19th-early 20th century are almost laughable in their inaccuracies, yet are getting pretty expensive. If a book has detailed photos of rare and unseen items it's worth the cost on that point alone.
For example, I recently sold a couple of first editions I've owned for years by Burton and Hutton. They're rare and relatively expensive simply because of their age. Yet they're so full of jingoistic victorian predjudice that they really aren't good sources of information. Some of the more recently published titles on the same subjects are much more accurate and informative.