I have a 20 vol set of Grolier's Book of Knowledge encyclopedias with the red hard cover. Copywrite 1937 an 38 being final but, there are numerous copywrite dates listed as well from 1923 on up to the latter. The Amalgamated Press 1922 limited. They are in very good condition. Vol 1 has World's Fair prints dated 1939 and 1940. This is confusing since last copywrite listed is 1938.
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The encyclopedia will be worth something when it is 100 years old. It will be an antique then. The Worlds Fair items may be very collectible. Take those to a dealer for a free verbal appraisal.
These books although wonderful,are not worth that much,advertise to book collectors and auction houses!
Grolier's has some wonky copyrighting and dating methodoogy that quite frankly, I don't understand and from what I know, not a lot of people understand it either. If anyone ever comes upon a good source explaining their methodology, I would love to put it in my references!
So what I am going to answer is very general info, but it should get you a good start.
There is a lot of interest still in a lot of old World's Fair info/photos so that is a plus with your set!
Without pictures of the books (cover, title pages) and a professional assessment of condition valuing them is going to be a challenge. You say very good...but I have learned from all of my reselling that my very good is a professional collector's good, fair or poor...true collectors are very picky folks and a whiff of old paper smell can bring a good collection to poor in a heartbeat (just a personal example of my dealings).
My recommendation is to shop them around to a few antique book dealers or good (reputable) antique stores that specialize in books and have a good knowledge of World Fair pieces.
Please post back with what you learn! Thanks for asking.
Most people say that referene books need to be 100+ years old in order to sell them and for them to have some sort of value. The set of books you have could be worth money but like you said the copyright dats are very strange. I would contact an auction house or even an antique book seller and ask them about this one. They will have the best answer for you and give you the best price.
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