Rebecca Romney explained that "20 Hours, 40 Minutes" was Earhart's first book, and so it was "just the beginning of everything that she was going to accomplish," which included setting numerous records in distance and altitude and becoming the first person to fly solo from Honolulu to Oakland.
Romney agreed that the book was in poor condition, but confirmed that Earhart's signature appeared to be authentic. She said it's not an uncommon book unsigned, so the biggest contributor to the value is the signature. The fact that it's a first edition helps, too. But the condition, which includes a big nick taken out on the spine, brings the price down a bit. Romney placed the value at around $2000. That was a big drop from $8000, but James took it pretty well. His new offer to Rick was $1000. Rick countered with $900. James winced about that for a moment, but ultimately decided that was a fair price.
Rick was happy with how the negotiation for the aviation pioneer's book turned out. "I'm flying kind of high on this deal," he quipped to the camera. Ba-dum-tss!
