I buy songbooks because I want to use them, so I don't look for first editions. I intend to keep the books for a lifetime, so I don't really care if they increase in value.
I don't want to pay inflated prices, and it really ticks me off how collectors have inflated prices of books like Bronson, so that ordinary musicians can't get access to them.
I keep my songbooks in a bookshelf, where I can use them. One thing I'd like to do, though, is kill the mildew smell on some of my books. Opening some of them can be a real experience.
Whew!
-Joe Offer-