I hope this is appropriate for Hidden Gems, plan to post it on Club Member's Thoughts too:

I found a book at Sal. Army today for .50.  A children's HC, looks brand new, beautiful illustrations, first edition.  When I opened the cover, OOPS!  I noticed the endpapers and all the pages were put in UPSIDE DOWN and BACKWARDS! 

I know in the stamp collecting world, there is a rare stamp that was misprinted, upside down, and if it's found, it can sell for over $800,000!  (at least at one auction I read about on Yahoo).  I don't think a book would be worth that much, but wondering if books that have printing errors are worth more?

I looked up this book on Alibris.com and there were several copies listed, none mentioned upside down or backwards.  I tried looking for info about what makes a book rare on rarebooks.com and even googled "rare books", no help. 

If anyone could help me I sure would appreciate it!

Thanks, Bonnie F.

How Printing Errors Effect a Book's Value

Have you ever brought a new book home, only to discover that the cover was on backwards, or there were printing errors (for instance, pages repeated, out of sequence, or upside down)? If so, perhaps you've wondered how it affects the book's collectible value.

Such errors are considered defects and will almost always have a negative impact on the book's desirability. (Exceptions to this rule are very few.)

Unlike with postage stamps (where printing errors will greatly increase the stamp's desirability & value), printing or binding errors are not desired by book collectors. Collectors will prefer a copy of the book which is as close to perfect as possible. (See the condition & grading terms above.)

Such errors are fairly common. Some get caught by quality control before the books leave the publisher, but many do slip by & get to bookstores.

If you buy a misbound or misprinted book, you can take it back to the store, and they'll be glad to exchange it for a correctly-bound one. (They'll return the defective copy to the publisher.)

Thanks Jane!  Oh well, guess I better keep hunting for that stamp!  lol.

But still, being so old and a first edition in great shape, I would hang on to it and continue asking around about it.  You never know.

Of course, that sounds like my FIL who was given an old violin with Stradavarius written inside.  We, took it to a local antique show to have it evaluated.  When he didn't like the answer, he had this relative and that, even a priest, take it to other shows.  Every single expert said it was NOT worth anything as many of these were made and the name doesn't mean it was one of his, just that it was fashioned after one of his.  My FIL just doesn't believe it.

By the way, what is the title of the book?