>Silly question: is there any way of buying 3d edition (or better yet  
>2nd edition)
>original manuals?

I had always thought it was a bit taboo to say "hey, anyone want to sell
their 2nd Edition copy?", though I'm sure there there would be several
eager buyers on this list...  I'm one of them, but good luck!
Those cost ~$350 back in the day, and I'd suspect that they'd command a 
similar price today.

As for the 3rd Edition manual set, I believe Vita Nuova may still have a few
in stock...

-Ben