Grab that Old Book! Antiques Roadshow Appraiser Coming to Cranston Library

Ever wonder how much that dusty first-edition tucked away on the top shelf of your bookcase is actually worth?

Sure, it’s old, but it’s no Gutenburg Bible. But it must be worth something, right?

Instead of waiting in line the next time Antiques Roadshow comes within a half-day’s drive, take that book — along with your curiosities about rare and old books — to the Cranston Public Library on May 13.

The owner of the internationally-known Brattle Book Shop in Boston and a frequent guest appraiser on PBS’s Antiques Road Show, Kenneth Gloss, is paying a visit to Cranston’s main library for a special talk about the value of rare and old books.

Gloss said he will talk about and show some of his favorite finds, telling stories and “fascinating anecdotes” about the “joys of the hunt.”

He’ll also offer some practical advice and guidelines for starting a rare or old book collection.

After the talk, there will be a Q&A session and following that, Gloss will give free verbal appraisals of all books that attendees have brought, or he’ll do so at his shop in Boston.

That store is one of the country’s largest and oldest antiquarian bookstores. The Gloss family has owned the store for 66 years this year and is the second family to own the store since its inception in 1825.

The younger Gloss has worked at the store since his boyhood days and chose to go into the book business rather than pursue a doctorate in chemistry.

He became the sole owner after his father died a few years ago.

“I found that books were in my blood and that I would never be really happy if I abandoned the business,” he said.

The Brattle Book Shop has been a contributor to the WGBH Annual Auction each year and Gloss has appeared on Antiques Roadshow numerous times over the years. He also has been a guest on WBZ Radio and other radio, TV and cable stations. He even has been mentioned in a Jeopardy question in 2011 for his $25 to $30 million appraisal of a Gutenberg Bible.

The event is at 6 p.m. on May 13 at the Cranston Public Library, 140 Sockanosset Cross Road, Cranston.

Photo: Kenneth Gloss, (courtesy Brattle Book Shop via Facebook)