Association copy

An association copy is a copy of a book that has been inscribed and signed by the author to someone somehow associated with the book or its author. Common cases include books inscribed by the author to a personal friend or colleague, books inscribed by the author to some other famous person, and books inscribed by the author to someone upon whom a character in the book is thought or known to have been based.

Association copies are highly collectable.

An example of an association copy is Herman Melville's copy of The Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whaleship Essex of Nantucket that contains 18 pages of Melville's notes.