J. Fenimore Cooper; The Chainbearer

    Ok guys, how much do you think an original copy of The Chainbearer by J. Fenimore Cooper is worth? These volumes were printed in 1845 for God's sake! Can I get an approximate value?

I'd say about $500. But that was about 20 years ago. Who knows, now.

You need to have a professional appraise it. If it's in good condition, it's probably worth a decent amount.

hey guys i have a mint condition sumerian stone tablet carving of the epic of gilgamesh dated around 2000 BC stored away in my basement how much do you think it's worth??

http://www.bookfinder.com/search/?ac=sl&st=sl&qi=obhUWfR7VpNHmcAMhgmfVHYiCTU_2363505400_1:229:1256&bq=author%3Djames%2520fenimore%2520cooper%26title%3Dchainbearer%253B%2520or%252C%2520the%2520littlepage%2520manuscripts


Long URL is long, but basically there's a half dozen listed at this link, in various condition. Looks like around 3-4 hundred.

Of course, with books from this period, you have to make sure all the "Points" of identification for a true first edition match. Also having the original binding is important. It's not one of Cooper's major works, and even though the online retail prices are for several hundred dollars, I don't think you'd get more than a third of that.

OP here. The books are in perfect condition, except for the fact that the back covers are torn off. I'm sure that will reduce the value extensively, but to what degree?

You're done. If the body of the book is intact, you could have them re-bound. Then you'd have a book that was worth a couple of hundred dollars, which is about as much as it would cost to have the work done.

They're worthless. Post a picture of the title and copyright pages on some file host and link it here, I'd like to see them.