** Note to eBay Sellers, please credit our site when you use our content for your descriptions.**
We are trying to recover a Montgomery and Canadian national artifact, stolen by a person of interest on 31 May 2013, who returned to the area of Orlando, Winter Garden, or Ft. Lauderdale Florida, previously in Mississauga, Ontario.
If you see a 200-year-old postal cancellation stamp from Prince Edward Island, please contact us!
(Link to details and photo image, scroll down.)
Auction sellers and buyers: When you hit the Buy Button, you have entered into a legal contract and, it is illegal to interfere with an auction. For example, if you are selling a book and you are contacted by a buyer outside an active auction who asks you to end the auction and sell to them or tell your recent buyer that the book they just bought is missing (even if they have not yet paid), then you have breached a contract. Buyers, if a seller cancels an auction, be assertive. It is illegal -- our advice to is go after dishonest buyers and sellers in every way possible and give honest feedback! Report the seller to the Better Business Bureau of their state, contact a lawyer, complain to eBay or auction site immediately, even though it is generally ineffective.
There are very few dishonest buyers/sellers of Montgomery books, but beware. Contact us, if you have questions, we have bought from many sellers.
We are trying to recover a Montgomery and Canadian national artifact, stolen by a person of interest on 31 May 2013, who returned to the area of Orlando, Winter Garden, or Ft. Lauderdale Florida, previously in Mississauga, Ontario.
If you see a 200-year-old postal cancellation stamp from Prince Edward Island, please contact us!
(Link to details and photo image, scroll down.)
Auction sellers and buyers: When you hit the Buy Button, you have entered into a legal contract and, it is illegal to interfere with an auction. For example, if you are selling a book and you are contacted by a buyer outside an active auction who asks you to end the auction and sell to them or tell your recent buyer that the book they just bought is missing (even if they have not yet paid), then you have breached a contract. Buyers, if a seller cancels an auction, be assertive. It is illegal -- our advice to is go after dishonest buyers and sellers in every way possible and give honest feedback! Report the seller to the Better Business Bureau of their state, contact a lawyer, complain to eBay or auction site immediately, even though it is generally ineffective.
There are very few dishonest buyers/sellers of Montgomery books, but beware. Contact us, if you have questions, we have bought from many sellers.
The Value of Book$ by L.M. Montgomery
M. Cavert (c) 2021, 2025
Many visitors to this web site arrive here looking for information about a Montgomery book they wish to sell or buy. Here is some information from our own (extensive) experience buying L.M. Montgomery first, rare, and early editions. See our Book page for a list of first edition Montgomery books. We are not professional appraisers, but your local antiquarian booksellers might be. We can only share our own experiences in acquiring over 400 early editions of Montgomery books. Most of our own rarest and valuable books have been or will be donated to our colleagues at Montgomery archive institutions. We encourage owners of rare Montgomery items to contact us about donations.
When you are comparing the price of books for sale to the book you might want to sell, please understand that there is a difference in what a bookstore might pay you for your book and what they might sell it for later. Most bidders on auction sites are collectors of Montgomery while others are buying in order to sell later at a profit. Our estimation of book value is based on our position as collectors. Non-collector/sellers will buy at a price which will offer a profit at re-sale at twice to ten times, sometimes 100x, what they paid for it. We recommend buying from sellers who belong to accredited bookseller organizations.
Nearly all of our issues of The Shining Scroll contain information about old editions of Montgomery books, our collecting experiences, and unique discoveries.
See: The Shining Scroll 2014 part 2, "Collecting Montgomery Books," "Anne of Green Gables Dustjackets;"
The Shining Scroll 2025, "Rare Early and Later L.C. Page Books;"
The Shining Scroll 2018, “Why Is The Blue Castle About a Castle (and Why Is It Blue?)."
Is My Book Valuable?
No matter how early or "rare" an edition it is, the most important element in value is the book's condition. Worn or scuffed covers, damaged or missing frontispiece/illustrations, loose bindings, missing pages (a book held together with duct tape!), etc. do not equal a valuable book, even if a book is a true first edition. However ...
The value of any book is what the buyer is willing to pay. If you listed a book in a store or auction and it is not selling, it may be priced too high for its condition or there are many like it available. Most buyers will not pay top dollar for books in poor condition.
For a different interpretation of the "value" of L.M. Montgomery books, read The Shining Scroll 2012- part 1, p. 24.
Montgomery's first editions are described in these books (out of print):
When you are comparing the price of books for sale to the book you might want to sell, please understand that there is a difference in what a bookstore might pay you for your book and what they might sell it for later. Most bidders on auction sites are collectors of Montgomery while others are buying in order to sell later at a profit. Our estimation of book value is based on our position as collectors. Non-collector/sellers will buy at a price which will offer a profit at re-sale at twice to ten times, sometimes 100x, what they paid for it. We recommend buying from sellers who belong to accredited bookseller organizations.
Nearly all of our issues of The Shining Scroll contain information about old editions of Montgomery books, our collecting experiences, and unique discoveries.
See: The Shining Scroll 2014 part 2, "Collecting Montgomery Books," "Anne of Green Gables Dustjackets;"
The Shining Scroll 2025, "Rare Early and Later L.C. Page Books;"
The Shining Scroll 2018, “Why Is The Blue Castle About a Castle (and Why Is It Blue?)."
Is My Book Valuable?
No matter how early or "rare" an edition it is, the most important element in value is the book's condition. Worn or scuffed covers, damaged or missing frontispiece/illustrations, loose bindings, missing pages (a book held together with duct tape!), etc. do not equal a valuable book, even if a book is a true first edition. However ...
The value of any book is what the buyer is willing to pay. If you listed a book in a store or auction and it is not selling, it may be priced too high for its condition or there are many like it available. Most buyers will not pay top dollar for books in poor condition.
For a different interpretation of the "value" of L.M. Montgomery books, read The Shining Scroll 2012- part 1, p. 24.
Montgomery's first editions are described in these books (out of print):
- Lucy Maud Montgomery: a preliminary bibliography. ed. Ruth Weber Russell, D.W. Russell, Rea Wilmshurst. University of Waterloo Library ISBN 0920834426.
- Lechowick, Frank, and Juanita Lechowick. A Collector's Guide to L.M. Montgomery Firsts. [Charlottetown, P.E.I.]. 2009.
Dustjackets are not pictured, some jackets are different from the board covers. (c) MCavert, not for reproduction.
First Editions
NEW L.C. Page Books, early and 1940-50 editions: "THE FIRST PAGE TO THE LAST PAGE"
A true First Edition Anne of Green Gables means a book published by L.C. Page in April 1908. This is the date of the first impression (printing) which will be printed on the copyright page. The roman numerals, MDCCCCVIII on the title page do not mean a true first edition -- they appear in the first 34 impressions, at least through 1913 editions. Every edition of Anne of Green Gables published by L.C. Page can be described as a "first" edition, for example, a 1944 edition might be listed as a "first edition" but it is actually the 859,000th time the book has been printed.
Montgomery expected her book to be published in late 1907, however it took longer. Page introduced Montgomery in the 29 February 1908 issue of Publisher's Weekly and continued to publicize the book and author in March and April. The printings began in April. The first impression of Anne is April 1908, the second is July 1908, there were no printings in June 1908. Later editions omit the April impression on the copyright page and list June instead, because the release of the book was delayed from April until 13 June 1908. Dr. Mary Rubio suggests the delay was related to the illustrators' contracts. The internal artists were fully credited but the art on the cover was never credited, even in later editions. The artist, George Gibbs, was well-known and popular and Page apparently "borrowed" his art which had been published years earlier in January 1905 on the cover of The Delineator Magazine. Page may have needed to arrange a contract with Gibbs before he could sell the book with Gibbs's illustration on the cover; Page hired Gibbs for the cover art and illustrations of Montgomery's next five books.
How many true first editions of Green Gables were printed in 1908? We do not know how many of the printings were sold, but presumably, all of them because more books were printed every month (the number 19,000 books sold from June to November 1908 has been attributed to Dr. Mary Rubio, but no citations from a source seem to contain that information -- corrections are welcome if you find them!).
What collectors look for is the impression and the year of printing, and most importantly, condition.
After 1916, Montgomery's books were published by both McClelland and Stewart in Canada and FA Stokes in the US at the same time. The books were identical except for A Tangled Web.
OVERVIEW First Editions in order published.
Anne of Green Gables - April 1908. Published by L.C. Page, boards are green, beige, or brown.
Anne of Avonlea - September 1909 (published twice that month). Published by L.C. Page, boards are beige or green.
Kilmeny of the Orchard - 1910. Published by L.C. Page, boards are beige or light blue.
The Story Girl - May 1911. Published by L.C. Page, boards are beige, light blue, or green.
Chronicles of Avonlea - June 1912. Published by L.C. Page, boards are beige or green.
The Golden Road - August 1913, Published by L.C. Page, boards are beige or green.
Anne of the Island - July 1915. Published by L.C. Page, boards are beige or green.
The Watchman and Other Poems - 1916. Published by McClelland, Goodchild & Stewart, boards are blue or dark green.
The Watchman and Other Poems - 1917. Published by F.A. Stokes, boards are dark red. (rare)
Anne's House of Dreams - 1917. Published by McClelland, Goodchild & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, boards are dark blue or light blue.
Rainbow Valley - 1919. Published by McClelland & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, boards are dark green.
Further Chronicles of Avonlea - March 1920. An unauthorized publication by L.C. Page, boards are green or beige. Page published this book without the author's permission after his contract with Montgomery ended. Several years of lawsuits followed, she eventually sold the rights for her Page editions to Page; she discouraged readers from buying Further Chronicles.
Rilla of Ingleside - 1921. Published by McClelland & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, boards are dark blue or dark green.
Emily of New Moon - 1923. Published by McClelland & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, boards are dark blue.
Emily Climbs - 1925. Published by McClelland & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, boards are green or olive green.
The Blue Castle - 1926. Published by McClelland & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, boards are blue-grey, there is no cover art nor frontispiece. All printings have the same copyright date but printing information changes in later editions (see more below).
Emily's Quest - 1927. Published by McClelland & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, boards are green.
Magic for Marigold - 1929. Published by McClelland & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, boards are green. Stokes edition has yellow end-papers.
A Tangled Web - 1931. Published by McClelland & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, M&S boards are orange and top edge of pages is yellow, Stokes boards are dark green.
Pat of Silver Bush - 1933. Published by McClelland & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, boards are green, top edge is green.
Mistress Pat - 1935. Published by McClelland & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, boards are green, top edge is green.
Anne of Windy Poplars - 1936. Published by McClelland & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, boards are beige, top edge is dark purple. (rare)
Jane of Lantern Hill - 1937. Published by McClelland & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, boards are green, top edge is green.
Anne of Ingleside - 1939. Published by McClelland & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, boards are blue, top edge is blue.
L.C. Page
The first publisher of Anne of Green Gables was L.C. Page of Boston, MA. Until 1914 it was known as L.C. Page & Company. After 1914 it became The Page Company, although many editions of Anne after 1914 still retained the name “L.C. Page & Company” on the first pages because they were printed with the original plates.
Opposite the frontispiece Illustration in the first pages is the title page. At the bottom of this page is the name LC Page and then Roman Numerals for the year 1908. On a different page is the copyright right and impression date. If the impression is April 1908, it is a first edition, first printing. If the impression date is August 1908, it is the 3rd impression, for example. All the later printings, from summer 1908 up to 1913 will show the Roman Numerals on the title page. In 1914 and 1915 the Page Company contracted with other publishers, like Grosset and Dunlap, to reprint their books. By the 42nd impression of Green Gables in 1917, the title page no longer had roman numerals but stated The Page Publishers instead.
In the Anne of Green Gables L.C. Page editions, Elizabeth Withington replaced WAJ Claus as the illustrator after the mid-1920s, about 1926, when the old worn-out printing plates were replaced with new ones. If an old Anne of Green Gables book has no impression date at all on the copyright page, it might be a 1923-1926 printing. One book I have seen like this, with no impression, had a 1923 inscription in it. Books that have the original 1908 copyright date alone (no impression listed) are not true first editions. All true early editions have the impression and/or month, listed (Printing History). The exact printer information and lists of book prices in the fore pages also helps to date editions.
If your Anne of Green Gables is missing the copyright page, use this guide to estimate the LC Page publishing dates based on the AGG price listed after the title page: $1.50 = 1909-1911, $1.65 = 1920 (49th imp), $1.75 = 1920 (50th imp), $1.90 = 1923, $2.00 = 1924-1940, $2.25 = 1944, $2.50 = 1947.
Things to Look For
TITLES Almost all Montgomery's early edition books (first published by Page, then Stokes, McClelland) have gold or silver gilt titles -- exceptions are The Blue Castle (except for the A.L. Burt reprint edition which is gold), the McClelland edition of A Tangled Web (yellow) and Anne of Windy Poplars (red). True firsts of all L.M. Montgomery books do not have black lettering on the cover titles or spine. If a seller is offering a dustjacket on a "first" edition, ask what color the spine title is -- if it is black, it is not a first edition.
PRINTER The Blue Castle (1926) is hard to date, because the publishers very rarely printed the impression, but the boards (grey), and title (blue) are considered the true first printing. The most telling hint for a true first impression of a McClelland and Stewart Blue Castle is the printing information on the bottom of the copyright page: “Produced in Canada.” The printer is not listed until the last page, on the first back flyleaf on p. 311: “Warwick Bros. & Rutter, Limited, Printers and Bookbinders.”
Printer information also indicates when The Blue Castle was published: after 1926 to about 1930 = "Printed and Bound in Canada the Hunter-Rose Co. Limited Toronto;" about 1935 and earlier = "The Hunter-Rose Co. Limited Toronto;" after 1939, 1940-42 (also has "A Love Story of the Northwoods" on the spine) = "The Hunter-Rose Co Limited Printers and Bookbinders Toronto, Canada." Almost all editions of The Blue Castle lack dust jackets. The true first edition, does not have a castle on the front boards, it was added after Montgomery commented on it, "Not so pretty. A plain cover."
It seems that the first editions Montgomery books published by McClelland and Stewart (Canada) from 1925-1929 will often list the printer information at the end of the book. Look for Warwick in the first editions.
~~ The Shining Scroll 2022, “The Blue Castle: How to Identify Early and Later Printings.” ~~
BOARDS Anne of Avonlea and Anne of the Island were reprinted in the 1940s with several different color boards (beige, green, blue, and red) possibly because of war shortages or simply using up available colours. The border lines on the dust jacket covers of these later editions may be brown or blue, but not on 1st edition dust jackets (bright gold). See "THE FIRST PAGE TO THE LAST PAGE."
Text on the dustjacket flaps will help date books. For example, the brown or rust color on the cover boards of Anne of the Island is a 1949+ edition and can be dated by the Pollyanna titles in the back of the jacket. Montgomery received an OBE in the 1935. If a dust jacket mentions this honour, or has a photo of the author, the book is a printing from that time period or later. We value do not value pairing a dustjacket with an unmatched book. Dustjackets should be original to the book.
Most of Montgomery's publishers included a frontispiece illustration in the fore pages which matched the cover art, except for some of the later ones like The Blue Castle and a few books from the 1930s.
Any L.M. Montgomery book, in poor condition, should have a value of most used books, $10 - $80, especially if it is a library book, a reprint publisher, or has a worn cover, or a faded spine, or loose pages/binding, or writing. We are not fans of poor condition books being "dressed up" with photocopied (facsimile) dust jackets. It looks like a seller is trying to fool the buyer.
The first edition of Anne of Green Gables published in England by Sir Isaac Pitman has all of the Claus illustrations in it.
NEW L.C. Page Books, early and 1940-50 editions: "THE FIRST PAGE TO THE LAST PAGE"
A true First Edition Anne of Green Gables means a book published by L.C. Page in April 1908. This is the date of the first impression (printing) which will be printed on the copyright page. The roman numerals, MDCCCCVIII on the title page do not mean a true first edition -- they appear in the first 34 impressions, at least through 1913 editions. Every edition of Anne of Green Gables published by L.C. Page can be described as a "first" edition, for example, a 1944 edition might be listed as a "first edition" but it is actually the 859,000th time the book has been printed.
Montgomery expected her book to be published in late 1907, however it took longer. Page introduced Montgomery in the 29 February 1908 issue of Publisher's Weekly and continued to publicize the book and author in March and April. The printings began in April. The first impression of Anne is April 1908, the second is July 1908, there were no printings in June 1908. Later editions omit the April impression on the copyright page and list June instead, because the release of the book was delayed from April until 13 June 1908. Dr. Mary Rubio suggests the delay was related to the illustrators' contracts. The internal artists were fully credited but the art on the cover was never credited, even in later editions. The artist, George Gibbs, was well-known and popular and Page apparently "borrowed" his art which had been published years earlier in January 1905 on the cover of The Delineator Magazine. Page may have needed to arrange a contract with Gibbs before he could sell the book with Gibbs's illustration on the cover; Page hired Gibbs for the cover art and illustrations of Montgomery's next five books.
How many true first editions of Green Gables were printed in 1908? We do not know how many of the printings were sold, but presumably, all of them because more books were printed every month (the number 19,000 books sold from June to November 1908 has been attributed to Dr. Mary Rubio, but no citations from a source seem to contain that information -- corrections are welcome if you find them!).
What collectors look for is the impression and the year of printing, and most importantly, condition.
After 1916, Montgomery's books were published by both McClelland and Stewart in Canada and FA Stokes in the US at the same time. The books were identical except for A Tangled Web.
OVERVIEW First Editions in order published.
Anne of Green Gables - April 1908. Published by L.C. Page, boards are green, beige, or brown.
Anne of Avonlea - September 1909 (published twice that month). Published by L.C. Page, boards are beige or green.
Kilmeny of the Orchard - 1910. Published by L.C. Page, boards are beige or light blue.
The Story Girl - May 1911. Published by L.C. Page, boards are beige, light blue, or green.
Chronicles of Avonlea - June 1912. Published by L.C. Page, boards are beige or green.
The Golden Road - August 1913, Published by L.C. Page, boards are beige or green.
Anne of the Island - July 1915. Published by L.C. Page, boards are beige or green.
The Watchman and Other Poems - 1916. Published by McClelland, Goodchild & Stewart, boards are blue or dark green.
The Watchman and Other Poems - 1917. Published by F.A. Stokes, boards are dark red. (rare)
Anne's House of Dreams - 1917. Published by McClelland, Goodchild & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, boards are dark blue or light blue.
Rainbow Valley - 1919. Published by McClelland & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, boards are dark green.
Further Chronicles of Avonlea - March 1920. An unauthorized publication by L.C. Page, boards are green or beige. Page published this book without the author's permission after his contract with Montgomery ended. Several years of lawsuits followed, she eventually sold the rights for her Page editions to Page; she discouraged readers from buying Further Chronicles.
Rilla of Ingleside - 1921. Published by McClelland & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, boards are dark blue or dark green.
Emily of New Moon - 1923. Published by McClelland & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, boards are dark blue.
Emily Climbs - 1925. Published by McClelland & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, boards are green or olive green.
The Blue Castle - 1926. Published by McClelland & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, boards are blue-grey, there is no cover art nor frontispiece. All printings have the same copyright date but printing information changes in later editions (see more below).
Emily's Quest - 1927. Published by McClelland & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, boards are green.
Magic for Marigold - 1929. Published by McClelland & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, boards are green. Stokes edition has yellow end-papers.
A Tangled Web - 1931. Published by McClelland & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, M&S boards are orange and top edge of pages is yellow, Stokes boards are dark green.
Pat of Silver Bush - 1933. Published by McClelland & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, boards are green, top edge is green.
Mistress Pat - 1935. Published by McClelland & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, boards are green, top edge is green.
Anne of Windy Poplars - 1936. Published by McClelland & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, boards are beige, top edge is dark purple. (rare)
Jane of Lantern Hill - 1937. Published by McClelland & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, boards are green, top edge is green.
Anne of Ingleside - 1939. Published by McClelland & Stewart and F.A. Stokes, boards are blue, top edge is blue.
L.C. Page
The first publisher of Anne of Green Gables was L.C. Page of Boston, MA. Until 1914 it was known as L.C. Page & Company. After 1914 it became The Page Company, although many editions of Anne after 1914 still retained the name “L.C. Page & Company” on the first pages because they were printed with the original plates.
Opposite the frontispiece Illustration in the first pages is the title page. At the bottom of this page is the name LC Page and then Roman Numerals for the year 1908. On a different page is the copyright right and impression date. If the impression is April 1908, it is a first edition, first printing. If the impression date is August 1908, it is the 3rd impression, for example. All the later printings, from summer 1908 up to 1913 will show the Roman Numerals on the title page. In 1914 and 1915 the Page Company contracted with other publishers, like Grosset and Dunlap, to reprint their books. By the 42nd impression of Green Gables in 1917, the title page no longer had roman numerals but stated The Page Publishers instead.
In the Anne of Green Gables L.C. Page editions, Elizabeth Withington replaced WAJ Claus as the illustrator after the mid-1920s, about 1926, when the old worn-out printing plates were replaced with new ones. If an old Anne of Green Gables book has no impression date at all on the copyright page, it might be a 1923-1926 printing. One book I have seen like this, with no impression, had a 1923 inscription in it. Books that have the original 1908 copyright date alone (no impression listed) are not true first editions. All true early editions have the impression and/or month, listed (Printing History). The exact printer information and lists of book prices in the fore pages also helps to date editions.
If your Anne of Green Gables is missing the copyright page, use this guide to estimate the LC Page publishing dates based on the AGG price listed after the title page: $1.50 = 1909-1911, $1.65 = 1920 (49th imp), $1.75 = 1920 (50th imp), $1.90 = 1923, $2.00 = 1924-1940, $2.25 = 1944, $2.50 = 1947.
Things to Look For
TITLES Almost all Montgomery's early edition books (first published by Page, then Stokes, McClelland) have gold or silver gilt titles -- exceptions are The Blue Castle (except for the A.L. Burt reprint edition which is gold), the McClelland edition of A Tangled Web (yellow) and Anne of Windy Poplars (red). True firsts of all L.M. Montgomery books do not have black lettering on the cover titles or spine. If a seller is offering a dustjacket on a "first" edition, ask what color the spine title is -- if it is black, it is not a first edition.
PRINTER The Blue Castle (1926) is hard to date, because the publishers very rarely printed the impression, but the boards (grey), and title (blue) are considered the true first printing. The most telling hint for a true first impression of a McClelland and Stewart Blue Castle is the printing information on the bottom of the copyright page: “Produced in Canada.” The printer is not listed until the last page, on the first back flyleaf on p. 311: “Warwick Bros. & Rutter, Limited, Printers and Bookbinders.”
Printer information also indicates when The Blue Castle was published: after 1926 to about 1930 = "Printed and Bound in Canada the Hunter-Rose Co. Limited Toronto;" about 1935 and earlier = "The Hunter-Rose Co. Limited Toronto;" after 1939, 1940-42 (also has "A Love Story of the Northwoods" on the spine) = "The Hunter-Rose Co Limited Printers and Bookbinders Toronto, Canada." Almost all editions of The Blue Castle lack dust jackets. The true first edition, does not have a castle on the front boards, it was added after Montgomery commented on it, "Not so pretty. A plain cover."
It seems that the first editions Montgomery books published by McClelland and Stewart (Canada) from 1925-1929 will often list the printer information at the end of the book. Look for Warwick in the first editions.
~~ The Shining Scroll 2022, “The Blue Castle: How to Identify Early and Later Printings.” ~~
BOARDS Anne of Avonlea and Anne of the Island were reprinted in the 1940s with several different color boards (beige, green, blue, and red) possibly because of war shortages or simply using up available colours. The border lines on the dust jacket covers of these later editions may be brown or blue, but not on 1st edition dust jackets (bright gold). See "THE FIRST PAGE TO THE LAST PAGE."
Text on the dustjacket flaps will help date books. For example, the brown or rust color on the cover boards of Anne of the Island is a 1949+ edition and can be dated by the Pollyanna titles in the back of the jacket. Montgomery received an OBE in the 1935. If a dust jacket mentions this honour, or has a photo of the author, the book is a printing from that time period or later. We value do not value pairing a dustjacket with an unmatched book. Dustjackets should be original to the book.
Most of Montgomery's publishers included a frontispiece illustration in the fore pages which matched the cover art, except for some of the later ones like The Blue Castle and a few books from the 1930s.
Any L.M. Montgomery book, in poor condition, should have a value of most used books, $10 - $80, especially if it is a library book, a reprint publisher, or has a worn cover, or a faded spine, or loose pages/binding, or writing. We are not fans of poor condition books being "dressed up" with photocopied (facsimile) dust jackets. It looks like a seller is trying to fool the buyer.
The first edition of Anne of Green Gables published in England by Sir Isaac Pitman has all of the Claus illustrations in it.
Dustjackets on LM Montgomery first editions (Minter cover is a rare 1920 cover). (c) MCavert Collection
DUSTJACKETS
Dust wrappers or dust covers made by L.C. Page are rare if you find one before 1915. We have several dust jackets on Anne of Green Gables books from the 1930s and 1940s, especially 1944. The publisher printed many of these books after Montgomery died in 1942.
Most of the first edition Montgomery books in this private collection (in excellent to fine condition, almost new with bright gilt titles) were purchased at $250 (with or without dust jackets). Original dust jackets add value to editions if both jacket and book are in excellent condition and are not later printings. Beware of a dust jacket that has been put on a different book. If the book is an edition published in 1909, for example, and the dust jacket has a different publisher or titles of Montgomery books from later years printed on the back, it is not an authentic match! If a Montgomery book with a dust jacket has Anne of Ingleside (1939) listed on the back, it was printed after 1939. When Montgomery died in 1942, LC Page printed many more editions of her books to cash in.
See: The Shining Scroll 2014 part 2, "Anne of Green Gables Dustjackets."
By the way, Montgomery wrote to a friend that she did not like dust jackets because they came between her and her book. She would remove them and toss them away!
Dust wrappers or dust covers made by L.C. Page are rare if you find one before 1915. We have several dust jackets on Anne of Green Gables books from the 1930s and 1940s, especially 1944. The publisher printed many of these books after Montgomery died in 1942.
Most of the first edition Montgomery books in this private collection (in excellent to fine condition, almost new with bright gilt titles) were purchased at $250 (with or without dust jackets). Original dust jackets add value to editions if both jacket and book are in excellent condition and are not later printings. Beware of a dust jacket that has been put on a different book. If the book is an edition published in 1909, for example, and the dust jacket has a different publisher or titles of Montgomery books from later years printed on the back, it is not an authentic match! If a Montgomery book with a dust jacket has Anne of Ingleside (1939) listed on the back, it was printed after 1939. When Montgomery died in 1942, LC Page printed many more editions of her books to cash in.
See: The Shining Scroll 2014 part 2, "Anne of Green Gables Dustjackets."
By the way, Montgomery wrote to a friend that she did not like dust jackets because they came between her and her book. She would remove them and toss them away!
RARE
Not all early Montgomery books are "rare" or hard to find. There are many Anne of Avonlea editions available. We also see a great number of Chronicles of Avonlea, Magic for Marigold, and Anne's House of Dreams for sale. There are many editions of Anne of Green Gables from 1914 and 1915, especially from the reprint publisher, Grosset and Dunlap. Most of our books from these publishers were acquired for under $20. L.C. Page printed 1,500,000 copies of Anne of Green Gables from 1908 to 1953.
Also not rare: The McClelland and Stewart Cavendish edition series, with the letter C on the boards and photo of Green Gables on the back of the dust jacket, are from the 1940s. The Thrushwood series from Grosset and Dunlap was printed in the 1940s-50s (covers are grey tweed-like, Anne looks like Nancy Drew). Reprint editions like A.L. Burt/Grosset Dunlap should be very affordable.
Anne's House of Dreams was Montgomery's first book with a new publisher so many copies were printed, which is why you can find nice ones from Stokes and McClelland & Stewart at low prices! Prices for these are often far less than $100 ($15-$30) because of availability. You can find this title almost everywhere, by the original publishers and by the reprint publishers (A.L Burt). By the way, McClelland and Stewart is not the name of the publisher of the true first Canadian edition of Anne's House of Dreams -- look for those names and Goodchild.
While the first edition AGG from April 1908 is considered rare, we know of several copies among our friends and fellow collectors, and we see more of them available, although not always in quality condition. It is a rare book, especially in excellent condition, but read our Shining Scroll from Dec. 2010 (3rd part) p. 14, to find out about the most rare.
The most uncommon book in the private collection used for this site is a 1909 October impression Anne of Green Gables with an authentic original dustjacket. The AGG dustjackets are rare and there are very few original jackets on early editions remaining. Another is the 1920 LC Page edition of Anne of Green Gables with photos of the 1919 AGG film starring Mary Miles Minter. The book has a very rare dustjacket signed by Minter. Like The Further Chronicles of Avonlea, this book was published after Montgomery's contract with Page ended. He published both books during the time of his long lawsuit with Montgomery.
Courageous Women, (c) 1934, is a somewhat rare Montgomery title. It is non-fiction, with biographies of several Canadian women. LMM was one of three authors. Editions which lack the dustjacket but which are in near fine condition can be found. Editions with the dust jacket (and red top edges) which are in excellent to near-fine condition are more difficult to find. Another less known title for collecting is Up Came The Moon by Jessie Findlay Brown. LMM wrote the introduction for it.
The Watchman and Other Poems is also somewhat rare, although we are seeing many more of them for sale. A Stokes edition (1917, red or burgundy cover) of The Watchman is rare. Our Canadian edition (McClelland Goodchild Stewart, 1916) in green boards was acquired for $2800 (signed by author). The most rare edition we have now is one in mint condition with the original dustjacket. These books may be priced as high as some early Anne of Green Gables books.
Not all early Montgomery books are "rare" or hard to find. There are many Anne of Avonlea editions available. We also see a great number of Chronicles of Avonlea, Magic for Marigold, and Anne's House of Dreams for sale. There are many editions of Anne of Green Gables from 1914 and 1915, especially from the reprint publisher, Grosset and Dunlap. Most of our books from these publishers were acquired for under $20. L.C. Page printed 1,500,000 copies of Anne of Green Gables from 1908 to 1953.
Also not rare: The McClelland and Stewart Cavendish edition series, with the letter C on the boards and photo of Green Gables on the back of the dust jacket, are from the 1940s. The Thrushwood series from Grosset and Dunlap was printed in the 1940s-50s (covers are grey tweed-like, Anne looks like Nancy Drew). Reprint editions like A.L. Burt/Grosset Dunlap should be very affordable.
Anne's House of Dreams was Montgomery's first book with a new publisher so many copies were printed, which is why you can find nice ones from Stokes and McClelland & Stewart at low prices! Prices for these are often far less than $100 ($15-$30) because of availability. You can find this title almost everywhere, by the original publishers and by the reprint publishers (A.L Burt). By the way, McClelland and Stewart is not the name of the publisher of the true first Canadian edition of Anne's House of Dreams -- look for those names and Goodchild.
While the first edition AGG from April 1908 is considered rare, we know of several copies among our friends and fellow collectors, and we see more of them available, although not always in quality condition. It is a rare book, especially in excellent condition, but read our Shining Scroll from Dec. 2010 (3rd part) p. 14, to find out about the most rare.
The most uncommon book in the private collection used for this site is a 1909 October impression Anne of Green Gables with an authentic original dustjacket. The AGG dustjackets are rare and there are very few original jackets on early editions remaining. Another is the 1920 LC Page edition of Anne of Green Gables with photos of the 1919 AGG film starring Mary Miles Minter. The book has a very rare dustjacket signed by Minter. Like The Further Chronicles of Avonlea, this book was published after Montgomery's contract with Page ended. He published both books during the time of his long lawsuit with Montgomery.
Courageous Women, (c) 1934, is a somewhat rare Montgomery title. It is non-fiction, with biographies of several Canadian women. LMM was one of three authors. Editions which lack the dustjacket but which are in near fine condition can be found. Editions with the dust jacket (and red top edges) which are in excellent to near-fine condition are more difficult to find. Another less known title for collecting is Up Came The Moon by Jessie Findlay Brown. LMM wrote the introduction for it.
The Watchman and Other Poems is also somewhat rare, although we are seeing many more of them for sale. A Stokes edition (1917, red or burgundy cover) of The Watchman is rare. Our Canadian edition (McClelland Goodchild Stewart, 1916) in green boards was acquired for $2800 (signed by author). The most rare edition we have now is one in mint condition with the original dustjacket. These books may be priced as high as some early Anne of Green Gables books.
Signed Books
Montgomery was trying to sell as many of her books as she could in the 1930s. She gave many speeches and conducted book signings. You will be able to find signed copies of her novels from that time, especially Jane of Lantern Hill and Anne of Ingleside. Our signed editions from the 1930s with dust jackets were purchased in the $800-$900 range. A signed book without a dust jacket was purchased for about $500 in 2014. Books that are first editions, signed before 1919, and in good or higher condition, have a higher price.
A Jane of Lantern Hill in a dust jacket and signed by the author was purchased for $900. A Vancouver bookseller failed to sell a similar book in 2014 on eBay for $1750. After his auction ended, a seller from MA bought it privately for less and listed it on eBay for $2200.
Books signed by Montgomery for her friends are truly rare. They are usually inscribed, but also signed "Faithfully," "Lovingly," or "Sincerely Yours" (plus "With Author's Compliments"). Note: she also signed in this fashion at a few book-signing events (like "Cordially Yours" or "Yours Sincerely"), but usually she signed with only her name. Sometimes, after 1915 (?), she added the silhouette of a black cat.
Any book (not written by her) with her signature (and a date) in it may have come from her home library. Several books were missing during her lifetime (loaned and not returned, stolen) and some were given away, sold, or missing after her death. However, some books were given to her friends. A recent personal book owned by LMM surfaced recently. It was a 1920s edition of Anne of Green Gables owned by Montgomery and (after her death) given as a gift to a hospital staff by her son, Dr. Stuart Macdonald (p. 1,18). It was sold to a book dealer in NY for $2800 in late 2013 and was for sale in 2021 at $12,500.
In a private collection (which will be donated), there are twelve books signed by Montgomery, including a pre-World War 1 1914 Anne of Green Gables. Besides this rare collectible, the other treasured signed books include: a signed Watchman, three books from her home library, one signed and inscribed to a long-time friend, one inscribed to her son, one signed with a quote from Anne, one signed in 1917 "Faithfully Yours." We wonder if LMM signed many Page books before 1916 (when she left that publisher) and if she declined to sign books published by Page because of her extended legal issues with him (1917-1928). Have you seen a signed L.C. Page edition?
Her books (and letters) are being sought by this account to return to the Montgomery museums and archives. Please use this site email if you find one!
Letters
L.M. Montgomery wrote thousands of letters. She answered all her fan mail, as far as we know! Our friend, Joanne Lebold, commented in the Toronto Star 8 Dec 2011, about the author's letter writing when one of LMM's letters, from late in her life to an Australian fan, appeared at the Sotheby's auction in December 2011. It failed to sell -- this same letter was listed with Bonham's in Dec. 2012 for $6000-$8000 and did not sell. It was acquired by a bookseller in Calgary and was listed in spring 2014 for $5500 CAN). Joanne has written about the beautiful Montgomery Australian editions in The Shining Scroll.
All of Montgomery's letters to her fans follow the same template, that is, she thanks the writer and lists all of her books and encourages the writer to share the list with others. In some cases, she asks the fan to write to a movie company and request Anne movies.
Her personal letters are much more scarce because her friends (like Montgomery) usually destroyed them, although a few have been preserved by families on Prince Edward Island. Many of these have been donated to Montgomery archives on the Island. Two collections of her three most important correspondences, with George Boyd Macmillan, Arthur John Lockhart, and Ephraim Weber, have been preserved and published [see BIBLIOGRAPHY and BOOKS].
DONATIONS We encourage owners of rare Montgomery items to contact us about donations.
Montgomery was trying to sell as many of her books as she could in the 1930s. She gave many speeches and conducted book signings. You will be able to find signed copies of her novels from that time, especially Jane of Lantern Hill and Anne of Ingleside. Our signed editions from the 1930s with dust jackets were purchased in the $800-$900 range. A signed book without a dust jacket was purchased for about $500 in 2014. Books that are first editions, signed before 1919, and in good or higher condition, have a higher price.
A Jane of Lantern Hill in a dust jacket and signed by the author was purchased for $900. A Vancouver bookseller failed to sell a similar book in 2014 on eBay for $1750. After his auction ended, a seller from MA bought it privately for less and listed it on eBay for $2200.
Books signed by Montgomery for her friends are truly rare. They are usually inscribed, but also signed "Faithfully," "Lovingly," or "Sincerely Yours" (plus "With Author's Compliments"). Note: she also signed in this fashion at a few book-signing events (like "Cordially Yours" or "Yours Sincerely"), but usually she signed with only her name. Sometimes, after 1915 (?), she added the silhouette of a black cat.
Any book (not written by her) with her signature (and a date) in it may have come from her home library. Several books were missing during her lifetime (loaned and not returned, stolen) and some were given away, sold, or missing after her death. However, some books were given to her friends. A recent personal book owned by LMM surfaced recently. It was a 1920s edition of Anne of Green Gables owned by Montgomery and (after her death) given as a gift to a hospital staff by her son, Dr. Stuart Macdonald (p. 1,18). It was sold to a book dealer in NY for $2800 in late 2013 and was for sale in 2021 at $12,500.
In a private collection (which will be donated), there are twelve books signed by Montgomery, including a pre-World War 1 1914 Anne of Green Gables. Besides this rare collectible, the other treasured signed books include: a signed Watchman, three books from her home library, one signed and inscribed to a long-time friend, one inscribed to her son, one signed with a quote from Anne, one signed in 1917 "Faithfully Yours." We wonder if LMM signed many Page books before 1916 (when she left that publisher) and if she declined to sign books published by Page because of her extended legal issues with him (1917-1928). Have you seen a signed L.C. Page edition?
Her books (and letters) are being sought by this account to return to the Montgomery museums and archives. Please use this site email if you find one!
Letters
L.M. Montgomery wrote thousands of letters. She answered all her fan mail, as far as we know! Our friend, Joanne Lebold, commented in the Toronto Star 8 Dec 2011, about the author's letter writing when one of LMM's letters, from late in her life to an Australian fan, appeared at the Sotheby's auction in December 2011. It failed to sell -- this same letter was listed with Bonham's in Dec. 2012 for $6000-$8000 and did not sell. It was acquired by a bookseller in Calgary and was listed in spring 2014 for $5500 CAN). Joanne has written about the beautiful Montgomery Australian editions in The Shining Scroll.
All of Montgomery's letters to her fans follow the same template, that is, she thanks the writer and lists all of her books and encourages the writer to share the list with others. In some cases, she asks the fan to write to a movie company and request Anne movies.
Her personal letters are much more scarce because her friends (like Montgomery) usually destroyed them, although a few have been preserved by families on Prince Edward Island. Many of these have been donated to Montgomery archives on the Island. Two collections of her three most important correspondences, with George Boyd Macmillan, Arthur John Lockhart, and Ephraim Weber, have been preserved and published [see BIBLIOGRAPHY and BOOKS].
DONATIONS We encourage owners of rare Montgomery items to contact us about donations.
The Good Fairy 1916
(c) MCavert
An important icon in L.M. Montgomery's life was a statue of The Good Fairy,
which was made during World War One.
It was given an important place in her home. Article p. 24-25
eBay sellers be sure to credit our site/author for the Good Fairy information
you use in this article:
