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Dear John: I have noticed a few authors offering signed bookplates on their websites for those unable to attend book signings. What does VJ Books think about this practice and the comparative worth of a bookplate signed edition vs an identical signed one. - Brian John responds: The question often comes up about the value, or relative value, of books signed other than on the title page. While any signed book is more valuable than an unsigned book (same book, same edition, same condition), a pecking order seems to have emerged. The most valuable is clearly hand-signed (free of inscription) on the title page, followed by hand-signed anywhere on the book, followed by a signed tip-in page (a page that has been bound into the book), followed by a book-plate (laid in; not attached), finally, followed by a signed book plate attached to the book. Of course, value is determined by the relative scarcity of the book and the availability of the author to sign. As either becomes more difficult collectors become more forgiving about the type of book that they acquire for their collection. A month ago we had beautiful copies of Michael Crichton books in our inventory with book plates attached. They had been on our shelves for quite sometime. They are now gone. Ask John at: [email protected] Read articles about book collecting Read John's answers to book collecting questions Receive our Book Collecting PDFs and newsletters Sign up for our Book Club Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Watch our Videos