I am a bit of a purist. I like to get originals, the earlier the better. Hence for me (and many others) first editions are paramount. And first editions with good, intact dust jackets/ dust wrappers even more so. So what is the place of facsimile or copy dust jackets? Do they enhance a book, a collection? Or do they detract - as fake or pretend? What do you think?

As collectors of Idriess we want to get the genuine article. Most sales of Idriess books that I have come across clearly state whether the DJ is a copy or facsimile. And that is how it should be. But with better and better reproductions, there is room for the unscrupulous to try and deceive and pull a swifty: the more so as early editions with good DJ's may be worth hundreds more than editions without DJs. Caveat Emptor! Buyer Beware! I know that clever reproductions of metal detector coils (that don't really work!) - down to the last sticker - have fooled and scammed many.

So perhaps facsimile DJ's have their place - after all there are far more Idriess, especially early Idriess, without DJ's than with. The thought is that this recreates what the original is like (as, far example, a museum may recreate what a long dead dinosaur, or whatever, looked like), when - for many - its scarcity and cost makes it unobtainable.

The related question is in regard to facsimile editions. Again, I like the original, but facsimile editions have their place. ETT imprints are really like new editions. Cyaniding for Gold, the Idriess Enterprises 1939 facsimile edition, is a collectable, limited edition in its own right.

So, what do you think?