This morning while shopping at a local, Church-run consignment sale I found near-mint copies of the First Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Players Handbook and Dungeon Masters Guide. I got both books for a cool $1 bill and they are both in amazing condition. Much better, I might add, than the tattered, markered and beaten copies owned by Brian Van Hiel – the only other copies of these two books I’ve actually seen firsthand.
For those of you not in the know, this is a major triumph of geekdom. Cheap, old roleplaying books in great shape after nearly 25 years are nearly urban legend. Most of them are like Brian’s copies: used, abused and collecting dust.
The original owners name is still handwritten on the inside cover. A mister Rowland Davidson. Thank you, sir, for what may soon become eBay fodder.
Hey now,
no need to go signalling out my poor elder brother for his piss-poor care of his DM Guide. I’ll have you know that the Van Hiel household has a number of copies of the AD&D DM Guide and Player’s Handbook in just as bad a shape.
In fact, I believe my copy of the Player’s Handbook has already separated itself from the front binding so that you can read the pages without the bother of carrying the hardcover around with you. Beat THAT for morose miscare of TSR scripture!!