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When it comes to modern first editions, you can in fact judge a book by its cover. An intact dust jacket with no chips or tears, no soil and the original price mark is certain to lure discerning collectors of 20th-century fiction. "Collectors look to find books that are as close as possible to the way they would have appeared upon their original publication," says James Goldwasser, of New York’s Locus Solus Rare Books, who mentions as other draws the original binding and cloth or paper-covered boards. Autographs, too, add value, particularly by those celebrated writers known to be chary of their signatures, such as J. D. Salinger and Thomas Pynchon. Copies inscribed to someone in an author’s inner circle — a sibling or editor, for example — also command a premium.

"All books are, of course, published in first edition, but that alone doesn’t make them valuable," says Richard Austin, director of Bloomsbury Auctions, in New York. In addition to condition, rarity and a writer or work’s importance factor in. "Though F. Scott Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise is not nearly as valued as his later masterpiece The Great Gatsby, it can still attract six figures because there are fewer of them," says Erik DuRon, of the Philadelphia-based bookseller Bauman Rare Books, whose offerings currently include a first edition of Gatsby priced at $168,000. Bonhams New York auctioned a copy of the 1925 American classic in June for a record $182,000.

According to DuRon, as fewer older books and manuscripts came on the market over the past 20 to 30 years, interest shifted toward modern firsts, which had significantly larger print runs. Consequently, values have steadily risen. With prices for prime examples by 20th-century literary greats — William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Salinger — climbing to the tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars, book buyers have begun focusing on more obscure collecting areas like fantasy, science fiction and detective novels by such authors as Paul Auster and Raymond Chandler. "It’s ideal to collect the best copies of the books that mean something to you, books that you love," says Goldwasser. "I’d stay away from second editions. If the major books you want are very expensive, you might want to consider collecting the works of someone you think ought to be a major author whose works are undervalued."

The Internet has broadened the marketplace for modern firsts. It has drawbacks, however, particularly for beginners, who find disparities in quality and price confusing. "The best collections are formed when working with one or two trusted dealers who can also advise on auction purchases," says Austin, who adds, "Always view in person before bidding. A dealer will often send books on approval. If you don’t like the condition, send it back." Book fairs, notably those sponsored by the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America, are also prime venues for quality first editions.

Ironically, the advent of electronic publishing and wireless readers have enhanced the appeal of modern classics in their first-run paper-and-ink form. What motivates collectors, observes DuRon, is not simply a work’s literary content but its "thingness — the book as historical artifact."

"Top Shelf" originally appeared in the November 2009 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's November 2009 Table of Contents.