Buying Guides
Buying Guides from First Editions, shaped by its Paper & Print focus.
Buying Guides from First Editions, shaped by its Paper & Print focus.
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The First Algorithm Was Set in Lead: Authenticating Ada Lovelace's 1843 Notes
Ahead of International Women's Day on March 8, I went back to the paper trail itself: the 1843 printing of Ada Lovelace's Notes in Taylor's Scientific Memoirs. If you care about women in tech, start where computing began, in ink, folded tables, and fragile London stock.
Julian VaneMarch 6, 2026
The Invisible Spine: Women Who Built the Rare Book World and Got Filed Under 'Miscellaneous'
The rare book market moves hundreds of millions of dollars each year through auction rooms built substantially on the labor of women it largely forgot to credit. Julian Vane on the dealers, publishers, collectors, and bibliographers who made the field — and why the provenance chain keeps losing their names.
Julian VaneMarch 6, 2026
Filed Under a Man's Name: What the Rare Book Market Got Wrong About Female Authors
For over a century, the rare book market systematically undervalued female authorship — and some of those women published under male names just to be taken seriously. Julian Vane on the forensic history, the market correction underway, and the first editions worth knowing right now.
Julian VaneMarch 5, 2026The Spring Thaw: A Runner's Field Manual for the March Estate Circuit
March is when the probate attorneys finish their paperwork. A runner's field manual for navigating the spring estate circuit — the tells, the protocol, and the ethical questions.
Julian VaneMarch 5, 2026The Book Club Edition: Seven Forensic Tells Before You Overpay
The BOMC blind stamp is the collector market's most reliable tell — and the most frequently missed. A forensic guide to separating the genuine first from its $12 imposter.
Julian VaneMarch 3, 2026The Autograph Trap: A Forensic Post-Mortem on the Signed First Bubble
For twenty years, the publishing industry manufactured scarcity at scale. The bill has come due—and it falls, unevenly, on the collectors who deserved better.
Julian VaneMarch 2, 2026