A number of sellers classify parts, if not all, of their stock as hyper-modern firsts. Similarly, some collectors specialise in this area. So what are Hyper-Modern Firsts? Well, hyper-modern firsts can be defined roughly as first editions (of course, first impressions), first published in the last ten years. The term is a fairly recent one, so it isn't yet clear how the term's usage will be affected by time. It could continue to refer books published recently or it could become increasingly inaccurate (c.f. modern firsts).

So what's the draw with hyper-moderns? Well, simply put, they're very cheap, at least initially. You can pick them up from your local Barnes & Noble or Waterstone's. They're also easy to find in fine condition. As always, getting the books isn't what the dealers are solely interested in, or indeed the collectors. There's the financial perspective too. Let's take Kate Mosse's Labyrinth as an example. The book quickly climbed the bestseller charts, and, with the hype of The Da Vinci code, became collectible. Copies exchanged hands for upto £50 but over the five years since publication prices have dropped a little, though can still command more than the RRP.

Dealers have realised the potential ROI available with the right book. Potential returns of 1000%, 10000% or more mean that dealers can afford to speculate. So, why the sudden distinct subcategorisation of modern first editions, why was there no equivalent in the 1980s or 1950s? Well, it could be argued quite persuasively that it's mainly due to books like Harry Potter and Northern Lights which have seen huge success and become highly collectible and very quickly. Most books take a long time to mature in terms of value. Books that are highly prized now, usually appreciate over many years at a slow rate against inflation. But with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone the rate of appreciation was much higher. This was similarly reflected in the popularity of the books (or vice versa) and publishers and marketers jumped on every Young Adult title available (and still do). With more people speculating that the latest book would be the next Harry Potter, readers, publishers and collectors alike started buying the books in droves for their own purposes. A good example would be Gordon Roderick and Brian Williams' Highfield Mole. Highfield Mole was the collector's dream, private printing, hyped as the next Harry Potter and copies appreciating at almost unprecedented rates. Similarly, Eragon by Christopher Paolini, privately published paperback, movie deal, similar audience to the aforementioned. Dealers made profit, markets were born.

The fever spread and other books, generally with a young adult feel but not always; Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, The Joseph Delaney books. So it seems logical that people would want to classify this distinct group of books into a marketable group and also a distinct boundary for a collection.

Of course Harry Potter is not the sole reason for this new market, other successes have indicated that this market is quite solid in terms of financial investment. It's not just about collecting Harry Potter clones. To illustrate this we can use books like C.J. Sansom's Dissolution as an example. Dealers and collectors have speculated that this book will become highly collectible and have been picking up copies for around £100 over the last couple of years. This has nothing to do with Harry Potter, but is still a hyper-modern. But, it's not really. Had Harry Potter never existed, Dissolution would still be collectible and command similar prices, as would Steig Larsson. These are hyper-moderns by virtue of the fact that they've been published in the defined few years.

Hyper-moderns are here to stay, and it's about time that modern first editions found an end point. In a couple of decades we may find another term to further demarcate the field; post-hyper-moderns perhaps. Hyper-moderns are here to stay, they're a grouping of books defining a market, a market that will probably dilute over the coming years, but they represent more than that to many collectors; they represent a collection.

Oh, and I didn't even mention this...

All images courtesy of Bloomsbury Auctions.

• Comments

• 25/03/2010 02:27 aickman
  Great Topic. I've sold the Da Vinci code four different times. Once for $100.00, the others went for about 24.00, 10.00 and 50.00 respectively. Incredible fluctuations that are probably due to the fact that, the movie wasn't that great and that most rabid collectors already have it. That book is listed for crazy amounts on Ebay but do they actually sell? The book I think might have a good future is Let The Right One In ,the British first. The movie made in Sweden, was an amazing re-imagining of vampires. It makes Twilight look really bad.

• 29/03/2010 14:57 James
  If it is just an add on to the term ‘modern’ to distinguish a certain number of publications from that preceding category (modern seems to have covered the past 70 years or so), next we’ll have super hyper modern or hyper-hyper modern etc. It begs the question then whether popularity warrants a sub-categorisation or not? I see no significance in the nature of these publications that finds them deserving of their own space in history other than the era they were written in. It appears to be purely a marketing strategy to differentiate a certain number of books and elevate them to a status that transcends the, now imprecise (with regard to historical significance) category of modern literature and make them more collectable.

• 30/03/2010 21:00 Simon
  Valuation is a big problem - just ask Ray at the Tartarus Press.
  
  Regarding James' comment, I think it is partly a marketing strategy, but it was probably a term the rose from the books not a term coined to describe them. Similarly with Hyper Moderns. Both terms are poor, but they're probably here to stick. Incunabula was always a great term, I wish something would be applied to books - or classifications like with Classical Music, Baroque, Renaissance etc. Very hard to classify though other than by genre - which is a task in itself.

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