I've been collecting cookbooks exactly how long I've been thrift shopping. In fact, cookbooks are some of the easiest and best "finds" at thrift stores, if you know what to look for. The cookbooks shown below are in my cookbook collection. I chose them for the art & graphics, as well as the history & collectibility. Who doesn't love Elsie the Cow? (And man, it's hard to find her vintage cookbook!) This guide will offer some suggestions to spending wisely on thrift store cookbooks that you can sell, like I do, or put into your collection. First, Thrift Store 1. Props go to St. Vincent De Paul in Los Angeles, near downtown, perhaps one of the best thrift stores on the West Coast. This thrift store is famous - not only for the range of merchandise you can find there, but also for the fair prices. The book department is huge! The books aren't shelved by subject, so you will have to dive in to find any collectible cookbooks. Several years ago I found a 1st edition of The Brown Derby Cookbook, at St. Vinny's, which sold for a nice price, right here on Ebay. Scene Take 2:  A lot of people/pickers shop for books, including cookbooks, at thrift stores like St. Vinny's. You can tell the pickers because they use their mini-computers to check prices and to see if someone wants the books they've found. For the most part, these shoppers are seeking newer, more expensive books/cookbooks. So I generally have the vintage cookbook field to myself. In addition to vintage & popular culture cookbooks, I look for the wacky & unusual titles. One of my hottest sellers on Ebay was a vintage paperback about cooking on your car engine. I don't think I've ever had so many bids for a book. I found this book at another 2nd hand store, but I'd recommend you snap it up if you find it on your thrift shop expedition.... 3)Action: Vintage celebrity & Vintage TV show cookbooks are an Ebay buy. I've sold The Brady Bunch cookbook (autographed by Anne B.  Davis) and also Gilligan Island's cookbook. These are fun books, more for the collectors of the TV show than executive chefs. But there is a nice collectible niche if you can find one. I have my own collection of The Sopranos' Italian cookbooks, but I recommend them as a buy, especially if you can find an unused 1st edition. They have nice photographs, if you are a fan of that award-winning show....Also, good buys & potential sales: Junior League cookbooks and early celebrity chef cookbooks, especially autographed.  I have a nice vintage Julia Child cookbook sitting on my book shelf, waiting in the long Ebay line to be sold. Oh! How I wished she'd signed it (and then, of course, I wouldn't sell it)....Betty Crocker is also a nice find - if the cookbook is vintage and in great condition. And, finally 4)Flops:  I learned the hard way (by buying some) that Martha Stewart, even vintage Martha Stewart (thinner and younger), wasn't as big a seller as I hoped. She's so over-exposed and written too many books, it's hard to find a market for her used books(unless, of course, she autographed it). Also I recommend passing on the vintage Time-Life cookbooks - including the regionals. So many were published.  Please skip the cookbooks that feature spaghetti or wine stains, wrinkled pages, torn out recipes, and the like. More than any other collectible book, cookbooks are much more likely to have suffered some damage, if they've been used. Sometimes, if it's like the Elsie's cookbook, a bit of damage can be forgiven - but not on a mass market book. Food For Thought..... Visit my new store: The Art Booktique - featuring art books and rare books and even cook books!  I just listed the Frasier cookbook - Cafe Nervosa - and believe me, it was hard not to want to run down to the kitchen and start cooking up a storm. This is an example of a celebrity/TV show cookbook that has some great meals/drinks - all tested by Southern Living, apparently. Some times the entertainment cookbooks are more for entertainment value, but the Frasier cookbook is a nice exception. Cookbook Update: I have added a photo of my latest "find" - the 1949 Greenwich Village Gourmet - a 127-page softcover spiral notebook, containing the recipes of many famed MidCentury artists, singers, writers, actors, composers, etc - all of whom lived in Greenwich Village. This rare cookbook, where you can find it, lists for $100 or more - and it's not surprising. There is such mystique and allure to Greenwich Village - and many famous contributors added their recipes - Pete Seger, Bernice Abbott, even Eleanor Roosevelt. Well! This was found at an estate sale.

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