1916 Spalding Baseball Guide

[blackandgold]

Hello,
I was in a small book store over the weekend and saw a 1916 Spalding Baseball Guide that is in excellent condition. It was priced at $350, and I was wondering if that was a fair price.
I don't really know anything about these, but would love to pick this up. If that price is reasonable, I'll need to start saving !
Thanks for any help.

[barrysloate]

That's too high for a 1916. I would say half that is about right, and at that price I would expect it to have full front and back covers.

[bcbgcbrcb]

Agree with Barry

[Hot Springs Bathers]

I would not claim to be the ultimate expert and have nothing close to Barry's expertise in these areas but the 1916 Spalfding and Reach Guides in very nice shape have been selling in the $60-85 range on eBay.

I have been collecting these guides for the past 25 or so years and tend to be on the cheap side when looking to purchase but these are still pretty reasonable.

[barrysloate]

What's the condition in the $85 range? If they are nice with full covers, that's a great deal. Maybe the prices for guides are getting softer, but REA had an incredible set in their last auction and the final price was very strong. I guess the market for them can be thin.

[Hot Springs Bathers]

The condition on those guides is pretty nice but most have some chipping. The REA lot was really nice and I felt that the price it realized had to do with someone being able to pick up a large lot which of course is a great time saver.

[blackandgold]

Thanks for the help. I thought it seemed high, but like I said, I really don't know too much about these. Perhaps, like the merchant on "Life Of Brian", they want to haggle.