ABSTRACT
Rare books and manuscripts have been touted as good investments and as a hedge against inflation. It is because of such pronouncements that many rare books and manuscripts have been stolen. Yet the idea that a manuscript will be a good investment per se is spurious. Even assuming that one has the necessary expertise— which is a major assumption— rare books and manuscripts are not necessarily prudent investments. Perhaps if the public were disabused as to the monetary value of rare books and manuscripts and visions of soaring profits, the archival library world could rest more securely than it does. The notion that good investments are “sure things,” however, can lead to problems and is certainly as dangerous—and perhaps more so—to the neophyte investor in this field as it is to those with a specialized knowledge of the field: collectors, librarians, archivists, and dealers.
