Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

The first edition of Anne of Green Gables was published in 1908 by L. C. Page & Company in Boston. It was L. M. Montgomery’s first book and the first printing had a very small print run, making it one of the rarest Children’s Books and one of the most expensive.
It was published in green cloth, lettered in gilt (gold) with a pictorial pasteon on front cover.
It was issued with a dust jacket but no copy is extant with a dust jacket. If one turned up it should worth at least $100,000.

First Edition Points:

  • Published by L. C. Page
  • date MDCCCCVIII is on the title page
  • copyright page states “First Impression, April, 1908”
  • no later impressions (printings) are mentioned on copyright page

There is also a variant with no printings stated on the copyright page and without the date MDCCCCVIII on the title page. It is unclear what this variant actually is but it is most probably a later printing that the publisher forgot to include the printing information.

Value:
In Very Good condition you can usually find a copy or two for between $17,500 and $25,000.
Virtually impossible to find in Fine condition but if you can find one expect the price to be between $30,000 and $40,000.
Early Printings sell for between $100 and $1,500, depending on how early and condition, perhaps a bit more for a nice Second Impression.

First Editions on Abebooks and eBay

References:
Blanck, Jacob. Peter Parley to Penrod. New York: R.R. Bowker Company, 1956. (page 124)

22 Comments

  1. Dan Gregory said:

    Although no first edition copies in dustwrapper are known to survive, the book was almost certainly published with a dustjacket. Very early reprint copies are known in jacket, as are first editions of subsequent titles by Montgomery, and by 1908 most major publishers issued most of their books in jackets. You can view a reprint of Anne of Green Gables that is very likely almost identical in appearance to what the first edition would have looked like in original jacket, on our website at http://www.betweenthecovers.com/btc/reference_library/title/1029203.

    March 3, 2010
    Reply
  2. gutenburg said:

    Dan: I agree with you. When I wrote the article I went back and forth as to whether or not to say issued in dust jacket. Books from the same publisher from the same year have dust jackets so it is very likely that it was issued in a dust jacket. If one were to turn up in dust jacket I would think that it would sell at least $75,000 but maybe much more.

    March 10, 2010
    Reply
  3. Bill K. said:

    I just saw Sothebys auction house in New York website. They have 3 very rare L.M. Montgomery books that are being auctioned Dec. 10, 2010. They have a very rare early Anne of Green Gables in the dustjacket. The estimate is $20,000-$30,000 USD and a 1909 Anne of Avonlea in the original dustjacket with an estimate of $10,000-$15,000. Also, a 1917 Anne’s House of Dreams in the dustjacket with an estimate of $3,000-$5,000. It will be intresting to see what they sell for especially the Anne of Green Gables, the dustjacket is over 100 years old and I”m sure very few exist. I have never seen one that early. I’d love to buy all 3 books!!

    November 15, 2010
    Reply
  4. Kelly S. said:

    I JUST SAW THE SOTHEBY’S WEBSITE, THAT ANNE OF GREEN GABLES DUSTJACKET IS REALLY RARE, I WONDER WHAT IT WILL SELL FOR. CHEERS

    November 22, 2010
    Reply
  5. gutenburg said:

    Bill K:
    That is amazing but still later printing (15th). It seems to support my thought that a first printing in a dust jacket should go for at least $100,000 maybe more.

    Kelly S:
    I would think it should sell for at least 75% of the low estimate but who knows. I’ll be watching it.

    November 23, 2010
    Reply
  6. Kelly S. said:

    It says on Sothebys website the Anne of Green Gables is a 14th printing in fine condition in scarce dustjacket. I have collected Montgomery’s books for over 30 years and have never seen a dustjacket that early before. Many be the earliest known example in a dustjacket that exists. They also have a rare Anne of Avonlea, the sequel (true first Sept. 1909) in the rare dustjacket, only 2 copies in the rare dustjacket have sold at auction in over 30 years.Will be intresting to see what they sell for!

    December 2, 2010
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  7. Blair H said:

    we have a 19th edition from 1910. I wonder what it might be worth?

    December 9, 2010
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  8. gutenburg said:

    Blair: Depending on the condition it could be worth $50 in Fair condition or even $750 if it were Near Fine or so.

    December 13, 2010
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  9. Diana B said:

    I have a 1909 Edition of Anne of Green Gables 9th impression. No dust cover. Any idea as to value?

    July 28, 2011
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    • gutenburg said:

      Diana: It depends greatly on condition. If it very nice I think $600 or $700 would not be out of order but if it is worn it might bring only $100.

      September 14, 2011
      Reply
  10. E said:

    In the Sotheby Dec 2010 auction, the AGG book was pulled because the seller did not own it and had obtained it fraudulently — because of this, Sotheby’s allowed the bidders to withdraw their bids from the other two Montgomery books, also consigned by the same person. There was some discussion among sites in Dec 2010 that LMM books have lost their value/appeal — not so. This auction was tainted because of the seller, not the books. This 1909 edition is identical (although a slightly later imp) to the one donated by Ron Cohen in his Canadian collection — very rare.

    November 17, 2011
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  11. Heather said:

    I recently discovered a 1909 print of the Anne of Avonlea book. Can anyone tell me how to go about getting this book appraised.

    Heather

    February 29, 2012
    Reply
  12. Barbara said:

    I have a first impression June 1908 by L.C. Page, very good condition, shows up to 38th impression May 1914. No dust cover. Name is written inside on first blank page. I am trying to find out the value. Thank you.

    December 2, 2014
    Reply
    • gutenburg said:

      Barbara: I think you should be able to get $50 out of a 1914 printing in VG condition.

      April 22, 2015
      Reply
  13. Kristin said:

    Hi There- not sure if this website is monitored anymore for responses but thought I would try. I recently found an Anne of Green Gables 1908 First Edition/ 31st Impression, Anne of Avonlea 1909 First Edition/ First Impression,and also an Anne of The Island 1915 First Edition/3rd Immpression. Each book has a childs name written in a front page (I know this would diminish value)…is there anyone that could help with the value of these books? I loved Anne of Green Gables as a child and was very excited to find these at a sale I attended. Any help would be great! Thanks!

    October 2, 2015
    Reply
    • gutenburg said:

      Hi Kristin:

      It depends on the condition. If they are fairly nice besides the inscription I would say: maybe $75 for Green Gables, $125 for Avonlea, and $25 for The Island. But it’s hard to say for sure without seeing them. That is my guess. They could go for more or less on Ebay. If they had dust jackets they would be worth alot more. If they are especially nice you would get more but if they are fairly beat up less.

      October 2, 2015
      Reply
  14. Kristin said:

    Thank you very much! That is very helpful….Thank you so much for responding!

    October 3, 2015
    Reply
  15. John said:

    I have an anne of green gables first edition first impression that I found in a junk shop. 5 bucks. I bought it for my wife with no idea of the value. Just spent a couple hundred to have it cleaned and one of the backpapers mended after verifying its potential value. It’s sitting in a protective box and I have no idea what to do with it. Is an appraisal recommended? I don’t really want to sell it. Insurance? Additionally any idea how many of these true first impressions still remain or were ever printed?

    November 26, 2015
    Reply
    • gutenburg said:

      John: I’m not sure how many were printed but it wouldn’t have been more than 10,000 (I could be wrong). They are fairly uncommon. I wouldn’t bother with an appraisal. You can look on Abebooks.com and see about what a first impression in the same condition is going for. The cheapest price for a first printing is $4500. And then you can get collectibles insurance (look it up).

      March 18, 2016
      Reply
  16. John said:

    Hello, I have a 16th impression of the Anne Of Green Gables , very fair condition how much do u think it would be worth?

    December 19, 2015
    Reply
    • gutenburg said:

      John: Maybe $100 if you are lucky but it depends on how bad the condition is.

      March 18, 2016
      Reply
  17. John said:

    Thanks for the response. Apparently 9000 were printed but no idea how many remain.
    I have decided to keep the book.

    July 18, 2016
    Reply

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