Stephen C. Lunsford
Rare Books Maps and Manuscripts
National Archival Appraisal Board
E-Mail stevebooks@shaw.ca
CV: Lunsford SCL CV2024 PDF
Regarding: Robert Eighteen-Bisang’s collection of books and other materials relating to the motif of vampirism in popular culture (2018).
Robert and I recently spoke for a couple of hours as he showed me the materials at his home in White Rock. Previously, in 2013, I spent most of a day at Robert’s previous home as he guided me through the components of the collection and answered my questions regarding sources, quantities, values, strengths, high spots, and the like. Robert created short lists and summaries of various portions of his collection; no full descriptive inventory has been created at this time. In summary, I can make the following observations, limited by the time available for this additional survey of the collection.
There appear to be approximately 6000+ items of fiction, ranging from pulp fiction, periodicals, mass-market paperbacks, older and modern first editions, or later printings. The primary early book is a first edition—a fair copy only—of Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897). Numerous later printings, states, and issues follow, along with many of the contemporary imitators and subsequent works produced in response to the popularity of the original story. Robert did not attempt to collect the earliest thematic literature on vampires, e.g. Polidori’s 1819 Vampyre, nor the related fiction of the mid-19th century, opting instead for the theme of the alienated “outsider” as exemplified in Stoker’s character—and transmuted today into the alienated adolescent of recent vampire-related fiction and film.
The collection contains an additional 500 or so non-fiction works, such as anthropology, literary criticism, psychology, and his books relating to vampirism in various cultural contexts. Nearly all this material is relatively modern or new.
The strength of the collection, it seems to me, lay in its extensive holding of works illustrating the dispersion of the vampire motif in sensationalist fiction and modern subcultures, ranging from rare pulp periodicals such as Weird Tales to comic books, mass-market paperbacks, LGBTQ2+ and pornographic treatments, manga, and spin-offs from modern and contemporary movies and television, e.g., Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Twilight, and the like. Much of this material is fugitive or ephemeral; much is dramatically illustrated. New works, such as Anne Rice’s, are represented in fine first editions, for the most part, with many of them inscribed to Robert himself. Scattered through the collection are also a few items relating to the early Dracula films, and many of the more modern films, such as Interview with the Vampire, are represented by VHS and other formats, along with posters and other ephemeral advertising art.
From what I could see, Robert did not collect fine early “firsts.” The small group of known “standard” rarities I was shown were mostly fair-good copies, though some had accompanying jackets or paper wraps that were manifestly very uncommon in commerce. Robert’s detailed knowledge of the literature—he is a recognized expert on Bram Stoker—and his worldwide contacts in the rare book trade have facilitated his acquisition of many extraordinarily rare sub-cult books and variants on the vampire motif, much more difficult to find and identify than the standards of the genre, though perhaps commanding prices more in the $500-$1000 range than much higher.
The collection of pulp periodicals, comics, and pulp fiction is extensive and would, on its own, be a source of unexplored literature associated with the vampire motif. Assembling it has been one of Robert’s passions; assembling it again would be nearly impossible, even with unlimited funds. The condition of these materials is only good to very good, since Robert did not attempt to pursue the condition craze that currently accounts for 99% of the astronomical prices seen since Heritage Auctions entered the game of high-grading comics.
Robert’s long acquaintance with like-minded collectors, dealers, and authors has exposed him to opportunities to sell his collection either in part or whole. Because of his reputation as a scholar and collector with phenomenal knowledge in his chosen field, other collectors have valued his collection very highly, mentioning some numbers in the multimillions of dollars. My estimation of the fair market value of the collection is rather less. Although I saw several books that might be valued at $10,000 to $50,000, there were very few. And, though I know that individual issues of, e.g., Weird Tales can sell for as high as $1000 or more, that is true of a very small number of the 1000+ periodicals in his collection. Of course, replacing those 1000+ less expensive issues might take scores of years.
Altogether, I now estimate that a realistic fair market value range for the entire collection (2018) is around $1.5 million CAD. An inventory of the collection should quickly narrow down the estimated range, perhaps adding even more value.
Best regards,
Stephen Lunsford