Antiques Roadshow

GUEST

A few years ago, I purchased this book from a local bookseller.

APPRAISER

"The First Men in the Moon."

GUEST

"The First Men in the Moon," and...

APPRAISER

H.G. Wells.

GUEST

At the time, she said, "Wouldn't it be nice if you had one of the astronauts sign it?" And I said, "Yeah, that would be very good." And so I contacted my local congressman. He gave me the addresses for Mr. Armstrong and Mr. Aldrin, and I...

APPRAISER

What year was this?

GUEST

Around 1991.

APPRAISER

Okay.

GUEST

Mr. Armstrong graciously replied and signed the book for me.

APPRAISER

So it was published in 1901, in America first, Indianapolis, and, also, slightly later, a couple of months later, in London. The true first edition is Indianapolis.

GUEST

Oh, okay.

APPRAISER

So that's an interesting bit of trivia. So it's a first edition. So I'm happy when I see that. Then, what you did was interesting. You've given a what we call association to the book, and that's what this is. Now, he probably saw that you invested in a first-edition book to send him. And obviously the title, "First Men in the Moon," would appeal to the first man on the moon.

GUEST

First man on the moon.

APPRAISER

So when he got this, he said, "Okay, this isn't just some autograph collector. This guy cares something." And the book must have touched him. So he took his time to do this. And he didn't inscribe a lot. His autograph is the hardest one. Buzz Aldrin signed a lot, so...

GUEST

Yeah, he still does.

APPRAISER

Yeah, he still does. So it says, "Best wishes," to you. He personalized it, which further corroborates the fact that this isn't some kind of a signature done at a signature fair. This is done in the book. He took the care and sent it back to you. Now, interestingly, when I went to look it up, there was a book written in 1970, '71, by the astronauts, by Neil Armstrong, and interestingly, it was called "The First on the Moon."

GUEST

Okay.

APPRAISER

This is "The First Men in the Moon."

GUEST

And it's plural, yeah.

APPRAISER

Yeah, so he must have had this, you know, he knew the affinity and the obvious connection. He was the first man on the moon. That book comes up, and occasionally it's signed-- but even that's rare-- by Neil Armstrong. But to get H.G. Wells, you're tying in what was science fiction to what is a reality, is kind of a nice thing. And...

GUEST

It was beautiful.

APPRAISER

It's a special thing. And now he's no longer around to sign things. Can ask how much you paid for this originally?

GUEST

It was right around, I think, $50.

APPRAISER

$50.

GUEST

Yeah.

APPRAISER

That's, that's a great price for the book. Because the book itself is worth some $300, $400. One other copy of this book came up-- it was a London edition, so it was the first English edition-- came up, and it was signed by Buzz Aldrin only. Okay?

GUEST

Okay.

APPRAISER

Now, that sold in 2008 for... Approximately, it was $3,000.

GUEST

Okay. APPRAISER So I'm thinking this is Neil Armstrong. This is the first man on the moon. That's right.

APPRAISER

This is the book you want. So I would definitely say that we're looking at an auction estimate of $3,000 to $4,000.

GUEST

Nice.

APPRAISER

And it's the kind of thing that could go higher. You never know. But I would insure it, maybe at the level of $4,000, $5,000.

GUEST

That stays in the family.

APPRAISER

Great.

GUEST

That kind of piece of history.