Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • RICK: Hey, how can I help you?

  • JIM: Hi.

  • I have a book for you to look at today.

  • RICK: OK.

  • JIM: "On the Tryal of Witches."

  • RICK: "On the Tryal of Witches?"

  • JIM: Printed in London in 1716.

  • RICK: Oh, that's great.

  • JIM: The two ladies that were accused here actually

  • never confessed, but they were summarily hung.

  • RICK: All this back then was crazy, just the way

  • it was proved you're a witch.

  • They would keep on stacking bricks on your chest

  • until you confessed.

  • And then, if you didn't confess, you just died.

  • [LAUGHING]

  • JIM: I got this book from a friend of mine that

  • decided he wanted to stop collecting books,

  • so he offered it to me.

  • The leather covers were essentially about to fall off.

  • I wanted to re-bind it so someone could read the book

  • and enjoy it.

  • If we're able to make a deal today,

  • I'd like to be able to take the money

  • and put it towards a college fund

  • that my wife and I have set up for our twins.

  • RICK: This is about--?

  • JIM: About a witch trial in 1662 that

  • later formed the basis of the Salem witch trials

  • in the 1690s.

  • RICK: "A Tryal of Witches at the Assizes?"

  • JIM: Held at Bury St. Edmonds in Suffolk, England.

  • RICK: That's absolutely great.

  • JIM: Essentially what you have here

  • is a transcript of the trial that was held at that time.

  • So there's a lot of interesting notes

  • about the things that the two ladies that were the witches--

  • supposed witches-- were accused of.

  • And it's the children that they were accused of bewitching,

  • it's basically their testimony.

  • Do you know if this is a first edition or a second edition?

  • JIM: This actually is a second edition.

  • The first edition was printed in 1682.

  • This is the stated second edition from 1716.

  • RICK: OK.

  • Hysteria around witchcraft has been

  • around since the dawn of time.

  • And in the 1500s and 1600s in Europe,

  • they had over 50,000 witches executed.

  • It wasn't until the Enlightenment

  • period they basically began to calm

  • down on the whole witch thing.

  • I like the binding on it.

  • It looks pretty cool.

  • I had it re-bound.

  • When I originally got it, it was in a little bit of rough shape

  • on the outside, but everything on the text block and inside

  • was in remarkable condition.

  • RICK: OK.

  • So how much were you looking to get out of it?

  • I'm asking $2,500 for the book.

  • OK.

  • I have no idea if that's a good price or not.

  • Do you mind if I have someone look at it?

  • JIM: Absolutely. RICK: OK.

  • JIM: Would love to.

  • She knows everything there is to know about them.

  • JIM: OK.

  • RICK: Give me a few minutes.

  • I'll get her down here.

  • I'll have her take a look at it, and we'll go from there.

  • Sounds good. Thank you.

  • RICK: OK, be right back.

  • JIM: Thank you.

  • I'm excited to have an expert come in

  • and take a look at the book.

  • I look forward to hearing her opinion.

  • RICK: A book on witches.

  • REBECCA ROMNEY: Ooh.

  • Think about it-- if I lived in the 17th century,

  • I would have been called a witch, unquestionably.

  • She gets called something close to that now.

  • REBECCA ROMNEY: Stop it.

  • Would you like this evaluation or--

  • RICK: Yes, I would.

  • All right.

  • RICK: And don't cast a spell on me.

  • REBECCA ROMNEY: All right.

  • So "The Tryal of Witches."

  • This trial right here was a landmark case

  • because Cotton Mather used this as the authority to say,

  • we will use spectral evidence in the Salem witch trials.

  • RICK: OK.

  • REBECCA ROMNEY: Spectral evidence is essentially dreams.

  • The people who were being tortured by the witch,

  • they can point to that person and say, oh, that was

  • the person I saw in the dream.

  • That can be used as evidence in a court of law.

  • JIM: Crazy.

  • Oh, yeah, because I dream some really weird stuff.

  • Don't we all, though?

  • JIM: Yeah.

  • REBECCA ROMNEY: And this was the precedent.

  • This book is right up my alley.

  • I love learning about these primary source

  • historical records that tell us how people thought they

  • had evidence for witchcraft, whether a woman was

  • actually a witch.

  • RICK: So what do you think it's worth?

  • REBECCA ROMNEY: This is in OK shape.

  • So you have the rebind, which is not the end of the world.

  • And then of course you have the 1716

  • imprint here, which tells me, too,

  • this is not the first edition.

  • This was printed after the Salem witch trials, right?

  • So that first edition is going to be more desirable because we

  • know that's the edition that influenced

  • the Salem witch trials.

  • Correct.

  • REBECCA ROMNEY: So as far as value goes,

  • I would place this particular copy around $1,500 to $1,600.

  • RICK: OK. REBECCA ROMNEY: OK?

  • - OK. - Thanks.

  • You're the best.

  • - You're welcome. - Pleasure.

  • Nice meeting you.

  • RICK: I would never call you a witch.

  • Or the other thing?

  • Have a nice day?

  • Love you.

  • [LAUGHTER]

  • I think Rick could find collectors for this.

  • This is a book that should intrigue people,

  • so I think that it could excite the right buyer.

  • RICK: So what do you want now?

  • $1,250.

  • I'll give you $900 for it.

  • How about $1,100?

  • RICK: I'll do $1,000.

  • JIM: How about $1,050?

  • We'll split the difference there.

  • RICK: I will give you $1,000.

  • It just doesn't make sense to pay any more.

  • It doesn't.

  • JIM: Got you.

  • All right, I'll do $1,000.

  • RICK: Sweet.

  • I will meet you right over there.

  • We'll do some paperwork, and I'll get you paid.

  • All right, sounds good. Thank you.

  • Well, certainly I wanted to be able to sell the book

  • at the $2,500, but I do understand

  • where the market is on that, and so I'm fine with that.

RICK: Hey, how can I help you?

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it