RICK: Hey. How's it going?
MIKE: Hi. How are you doing?
Good. What is this?
I thought you might want to take
a look at a limited edition of the book "Seven Years in Tibet"
by Heinrich Harrer.
These boards are all actually hand-carved by Tibetan monks.
RICK: Looked a hell of a lot older when it
was in your hand, [inaudible]. - Yeah.
It's designed to look older than it actually is.
What the-- how do you open it?
[laughter]
MIKE: I got the book in Chicago at an antiquarian bookseller
about 10 years ago.
I'm interested in possibly selling the book based on some
of the values I've seen for it.
Got a couple other copies of it, but this one's very
unique in the way it's made.
The price I'm looking toward would be about $3,000.
I'm not looking to come off that a great deal, maybe $2,800,
just because it's a book that I really like.
RICK: I'm deeply intrigued here.
The book's an amazing story.
It's Heidrich-- what was his name?
MIKE: Heinrich Harrer.
He was a mountain climber from Austria.
He was climbing the Himalayas.
When the war broke out between the British and Germany
and Austria, he was basically picked up by the British
and put in an internment camp with all the other Germans
that they found in India.
And basically, he got out of there, ended up in Tibet,
and was there for seven years, become
friends with the Dalai Lama.
MIKE: Yeah.
They spent two years getting from the border of Tibet
to Lhasa, the capital.
It's an adventure story, because that whole two years,
they were basically starving to death.
They almost died because of the elements.
Well, yeah.
Because, well, Tibet, it's--
I mean, overland to get there is very, very difficult.
Exactly.
"Seven Years in Tibet" is a modern classic,
and its message is very important today.
I'm definitely interested in this limited edition.
But I've got too many questions just
to come out and make an offer.
Do you mind if I open it up a little?
MIKE: No. Help yourself.
RICK: First off, I really love the story.
I think it's one of the great tragedies of the 20th century.
To this day, the Chinese still occupy Tibet,
and they've basically destroyed the culture there.
They've made native Tibetans leave.
They brought in Chinese nationals.
They've destroyed all the monuments.
It's really, really sad.
And it's really cool that these books
are around, because you get an understanding
of what it was like. MIKE: Exactly.
RICK: It's beautiful.
The paper is amazing.
This is a great engraving right here.
MIKE: Yeah.
There's quite a few.
This edition is also signed by the author, who
died four or five years ago. - Where is it?
Can you show me?
MIKE: Sure.
[music playing]
There we go.
This is number 17 out of 300, and it's signed by the author
there.
RICK: When was it printed?
MIKE: 1993.
RICK: OK.
It's really interesting.
What do you want to do with it? You want to sell it?
Do you want to--
I was interested in possibly selling
it, yeah, just because I have several editions of this book.
OK.
And how much were you looking to get out of it?
I would probably sell it for around $3,000.
OK.
Um, normally on a book printed in 1993,
I would just tell you to kick rocks immediately.
MIKE: I understand.
But I am deeply intrigued by it.
I know a lot about a lot of things,
but I don't know what this book is worth.
I'd really like to have someone look at it.
Mmhmm.
RICK: I have a friend who that's all she does is rare books.
OK. Sounds great.
RICK: If you don't mind hanging out a little bit,
she works right up the street.
MIKE: No problem.
OK.
I'll be right back.
There's upsides and downsides.
The upside, of course, is if she thinks it's worth
more than I think it's worth.
Of course, she may also say it's worth less.
So--
[ding]
"Seven Years in Tibet."
But it's a newer one.
Rick, remember, old book doesn't mean rare,
and a new book doesn't necessarily mean it's not rare.
All right.
REBECCA ROMNEY: So this is Limited Editions Club.
MIKE: Right.
REBECCA ROMNEY: They stopped just a few years ago, actually.
They ran for almost 100 years producing books
by, essentially, subscription.
They were trying to pay attention to the book arts.
So they'd get really famous book illustrators,
really famous book designers.
And it was meant to celebrate the physical book.
Only 300 people had the opportunity to buy this book.
It's a beautiful book, Rick.
And the paper, this is really nice.
RICK: OK.
You're really excited about this one.
I like it.
This book was produced through the Limited Editions Club.
They would pay a ton of attention to the ink,
to the type, to the paper, to the binding.
And so it's no surprise to me at all
that they've actually put this together in a beautiful way.
The tricky thing about Limited Editions Club
is that you'll see people pricing them everywhere.
Each book is unique.
Each book has a different aesthetic.
Everything about it is completely new.
Every copy in this edition was signed and limited.
So 300 copies only, signed by the author.
There are a lot of other editions
you're not going to find signed.
This is just part of what makes this deluxe.
OK.
So the big question-- what's it worth?
[music playing]
[sighs] There is a friend of mine I know who specializes
in Limited Editions Club books.
And he has a copy that is pretty similar to this,
and his is priced at $1,800, $2,000.
All right?
All right. Thanks.
REBECCA ROMNEY: Anything else I can do?
All right. - If I get it, I will call you.
If you get it, then you will have a gift
to offer me later on, right?
OK.
Yeah, Christmas is a long way away.
Is it?
Personally, I would love to have this book on my bookshelf.
From a design perspective, it's beautiful.
This is the type of book that's going to be on your bookshelf,
and it's going to draw the eye immediately.
It's gorgeous.
OK.
So it retails from $1,800 to $2,000.
MIKE: The copies I saw, they were on sale for a bit more.
So that's where I came up with my number.
I like the book very much, so I'm
sort of reluctant to come down much off my price,
to be honest.
It's an amazing book.
I love everything about it.
I love the wood panels that are on the front of it.
I love the binding.
I love the pictures in it.
It's incredible, the way it's done.
And I would pay you $1,500 for it.
I won't pay you a penny more.
I mean, that's basically I'm paying you retail for it,
practically.
But that is it.
MIKE: OK. Understood.
Understood.
Today, I think I'll just hold on to it.
If you change your mind, come back and see me.
Sounds good.
Thanks a lot for your time.
All right.
MIKE: I think it's certainly a fair price.
However, I personally value the book
quite a bit more than that.
So it's going back on my shelf, probably.