It’s the “interested party” part that’s hard. He might be a collector of rare works in the area, but it doesn’t sound like it. So it’s likely the value of the

It’s the “interested party” part that’s hard. He might be a collector of rare works in the area, but it doesn’t sound like it. So it’s likely the value of the collection as a collection lies with the name attached to it. But trust me: People thousands of times more famous than him have trouble with this. But I’m reacting more to his certainty that he will have so many people wanting to pay for his books, that he’ll actually be trying to decide whether this or that library will have the privilege (and that he’s being magnanimous by not charging for it). Again, he really doesn’t understand the book market. It would have been wiser to ask a local bookseller to take a look (and tell him the brutal truth) before posting his “offer.”