Presentation copy

A presentation copy is a copy of a book that has been dedicated, illustrated, or signed (without request) by the author, or a book that was a gift from the author.[1][2][3] An inscribed copy, by contrast, is one signed by the author at the book owner's request. Presentation copies are generally more valuable and rarer than inscribed copies.

Presentation copy signed by the author

Examples of presentation copies

• Plays, Never Before Printed (1668), signed by Margaret Cavendish at the Folger Shakespeare Library
• An Account of the Abipones (1784), presentation copy from John Carter Brown to John R. Bartlett at the John Hay Library, Brown University
• A Study in Scarlet (1887), signed "With the Author's Compliments" by Arthur Conan Doyle at the Beinecke Library, Yale University
• The Nursery "Alice" (1889), dedicated by Lewis Carroll, sold by Sotheby's in 2012 for £36,050

References

1. Carter, John (1995). ABC for Book Collectors. Oak Knoll Press.
2. "Glossary of Book Terms". AbeBooks. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
3. "presentation, n.". OED Online. Oxford University Press. June 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2013.