Comment by onion2k
7 days ago
In a strictly libertarian sense, sure.
In more liberal sense, because you might be destroying something unique that later generations might actually like to see, the life rule that states "Don't be a dick" probably applies trumps even first sale doctrine.
If there was a public interest in these books then it was already attached, and it was an outrage for the sellers to exclusively possess these books, and it was an outrage to sell them to any other private party.