One day, I paid for a book in a bookshop.  The shopkeeper said something about it being a first edition.  I explained I do not care what hich edition it wa because I will still scribble my notes inside.  He was horrified as if I were destroying something precious.  But I had already paid, so it was my property.

The older the book is,  the more likely the book will have yellowy pages, as if read by sickenizing smokers.

Edition 1 and edition 10 have the same content.   So why does a 1st edition have a higher price-tag ?

What is so sentimentally great about a 1st edition. signed or otherwise ?

Likewise the Mona Lisa costs lots of money.   But I have seen artists chalk it onto the paving stones from memory.

If I break into a house and photograph the Mona Lisa, then I have not stolen it.  The owner retains possession.

Yet if I copy it, I am labelled as a fraudster. My version could be equally ugly as the original. Can you see the gross injustice ?

Harold27Z said:

Likewise the Mona Lisa costs lots of money. But I have seen artists chalk it onto the paving stones from memory

I have seen artists absolutely reproduce the Mona Lisa Painting and selling it for a fraction of the cost, and right there in France... my daughter has one!

Harold27Z said:

What is so sentimentally great about a 1st edition. signed or otherwise ?

It all depends of the author and how popular he or she is!