I have a set of "The Works of Edgar Allan Poe", Ten Volumes (I have all ten), published by Funk & Wagnalls Company, New York and London, Commemorative Edition. They are small books, hardcover, plain black cover with his signature on the front of each etched in gold. Does anyone know what the value might be for these books as a set? Thanks.

-- Anonymous, August 11, 2002

Answers

Your 10-volumes edition is a very common one, only collecting Poe's Tales and Poems, together with a few (essential, nevertheless) essays, and completely neglecting his bright critical and journalistic writings. The most valuable thing of this precise edition is the well perceptive and keen introduction by E. Markham, not elsewhere available, to my knowledge. And about money, look at www.ebay.com -- auctions where it appears frequently, in various states and presentations, for bids from $15,00 to $80,00. Yours sincerely, Raven's Shade (Belgium).

-- Anonymous, August 13, 2002

Just to avoide confusion, that's $15 and $80. They use commas in place the decimal point in Europe.

-- Anonymous, August 13, 2002

Bill Carson replies: Yes to the point!

Talking about volumes and surfaces, I have to admit the arrow goes straight to the target.

There are many reasons for using commas. Yet the biggest problem that most writers have with commas is their overuse. Some essays look as though the writer loaded a shotgun with commas and blasted away. Remember, too, that a pause in reading is not always a reliable reason to use a comma. Try not to use a comma unless you can apply a specific rule from this page to do so. Concentrating on the proper use of commas is not mere form for form's sake. Indeed, it causes readers to review their understanding of structure and to consider carefully how their sentences are crafted.

Use a comma to separate the elements in a series (three or more things), including the last two. "He hit the target, dropped the goal, and ran to first stop." You may have learned that the comma before the "and" is unnecessary, which is fine if you're in control of things. However, there are situations in which, if you don't use this comma (especially when the list is complex or lengthy), these last two items in the list will try to glom together (like macaroni and tagliatello).

Using a comma between all the items in a series, including the last two, avoids this problem. This last comma—the one between the word "and" and the preceding word—is often called the serial comma or the Cambrigde comma. In newspaper writing, incidentally, you will seldom find a serial comma, but that is not necessarily a sign that it should be omitted in academic prose.

Use a comma + a little conjunction (and, but, for, nor, yet, or, so) to connect two independent clauses, as in "He hit the goal well, but he ran toward the third point." Contending that the coordinating conjunction is adequate separation, some writers will leave out the comma in a sentence with short, balanced independent clauses (such as we see in the example just given). If there is ever any doubt, however, use the comma, as it is always correct in this situation. One of the most frequent errors in comma usage is the placement of a comma after a coordinating conjunction. We cannot say that the comma will always come before the conjunction and never after, but it would be a rare event, indeed, that we need to follow a coordinating conjunction with a comma. When speaking, we do sometimes pause after the little conjunction, but there is seldom a good reason to put a comma there.

Typographical Reasons: Between a city and a state [Boston, Connecticut], a date and the year [January 3, 1896], a name and a title when the title comes after the name [Bill Carson, Professor of English], in long numbers [5,288,068 and $14,800], etc.

….FULL STOP….

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2002