Folks,
With the news that the Abbott compendium is finally no more, the time has come to reveal that a successor is in the works. There have been various rumors about this, so I thought I'd shed a little light. The new compendium (probably not that title, though the word 'compendium' will be in there somewhere) will not appear until at least 2009. It will be a little larger in scope than the original, though not so much as to make it unwieldy and uneconomical. It is aimed at the same readership - collectors, museum collections managers, school and college libraries and the general public - and will perform the same role in presenting a good cross-section of all the shell-bearing families worldwide, together with chapters on collecting and storing shells, and most importantly an up-to-date list of standard reference works for each family. It will be a single volume, and will hopefully be priced so that everyone who bought the Abbott compendium will be able to buy the new one too. Its content will differ from that of the original sufficiently that the two will complement each other, but the new book will also be a good stand-alone guide to the shelled Mollusca in its own right.
Things are well along with this project, but I am always leery of announcing publication dates for books that are not being done on commission for a publisher. I can thus say at this stage 'yes, it's coming; no, I don't know exactly when'.
Paul Callomon
Collections Manager
Malacology, Invertebrate Paleontology and General Invertebrates
Department of Malacology
Academy of Natural Sciences
1900 Parkway, Philadelphia PA 19103-1195, USA
Tel 215-405-5096
Fax 215-299-1170
Secretary, American Malacological Society
On the web at www.malacological.org
>>> Australian Seashells <[log in to unmask]> 1/4/2008 4:10 AM >>>
Dear Listers,
Concerning the current status of the "Compendium Of Seashells" 2nd revised edition 2000, by Tucker Abbot and Peter Dance, please note that the worldwide publisher & distributor (Odyssey Publishing) have now sold their last copies to various booksellers several months ago. Due to ongoing royalty payment problems the publisher will not be reprinting this book and it is effectively now out of print.
Any copies that are still for sale listed as new copies will be the last new ones available.
Because of the significant value of this book particularly to beginner shell collectors, I have no doubt that the 2nd hand market will escalate rapidly but rather doubt that the standard price will reach the august levels of USD 250.00 anytime in the near future.
Still, I suppose if you haven't got a copy and would prefer a new book, you'd best get one reasonably soon.
Regards, Hugh
----- Original Message -----
From: Ross Mayhew
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Friday, January 04, 2008 1:34 PM
Subject: [CONCH-L] Used Compendiums become hot collectors' item!
Just thought i'd pass along an odd little shell-related tidbit. A few
years ago, in my continuing search for affordable used Compendium of
shells for customers who ask for a good general shell book, i started to
notice that First Editions of the critter started to sell for
UN-affordable prices: up to $100. Over the timeframe of a few years,
this penchent for over-pricing Compendiums has generalized to include
ALL used copies, and things continue to escalate. Yesterday or the day
before (To quote the immortal Groucho Marx, time flies like an arrow.
Fruit flies like a banana), i recieved an offer regarding a used
Compendium of the "5th printing" of the 1986 version, for the munificent
sum of $250. With new copies going for only $80 or so, there would seem
to be room for a neat little profit for folks who wish to do the Out
with the Old, In with the New new year's thing with their personal
versions of Abbott & Dance's collectors's classic.......... :=)
From a Nippy Night in old New Scotland,
Ross Mayhew.
http://www.schnr-specimen-shells.com/
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