> > There were still some affordable items I managed to come away with: two more Thornton Burgess books for my collection and a first edition of "My Crowd," a book of Charles Addams cartoons. Now my only problem is finding shelf space.
>
> I did consider writing an ultimately negative post about how I don't see the point in collecting books that you can't touch without the value dropping like a lead balloon...

The other reason not to write such a post is because it isn't true. Those book worth hundreds if not thousands of dollars are, in many cases, as worn as library books. Certain old, rare volumes simply don't come any other way than frayed and warped and worn. Condition counts for a lot, and certainly a pristine rare first edition will be highly valued, but ordinary careful use doesn't tend to degrade the value. *shrug*