Monday, February 05, 2007
Why I Love Old Books
I've been chattering about this book on one of my book listservs and took some photos for fellow bibliophile Susan to look at, but I'm sure others will appreciate this wonderful old book. There's no copyright or publishing date inside, but this was a childhood book of my father's and my father was born in the 1920's. The more I look at it the more I think the illustrations look like they came from that decade. Could be 30's, though.
20 comments:
Thank you for visiting my blog! I use comment moderation because apparently my blog is a spam magnet. Don't worry. If you're not a robot, your comment will eventually show up and I will respond, with a few exceptions. If a comment smacks of advertising, contains a dubious link or is offensive, it will be deleted. I love to hear from real people! I'm a really chatty gal and I love your comments!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
What a lovely book! Thanks for sharing it with us!
ReplyDeleteHi Andi!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it gorgeous? That book is one of my special treasures. :)
You'd like some of the school readers I have. :) They are older too. :)
ReplyDeleteI probably would! I love my childhood books for much the same reason. I think that's the only book I have that belonged to my father; I do have some of my grandmother's art books. She taught art in the 1920's so they're very interesting.
ReplyDeleteOhhhh, bookfool, I just LOVE old children's books. This one is just beautiful,I'm so glad you shared pictures with us, thank you!
ReplyDeleteI have one old book that I bought on e-Bay. It's by Pearl Buck - contains the Good Earth trilogy. There's an inscription in the book dated 1937.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid to read the book - it looks so fragile.
I love old books. What a pretty copy this is.
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw your post, my eyes popped. I have the EXACT same book! I found (and rescued it) from a box of my husband's children's books. His mom said she believes she bought it at a used bookstore.
ReplyDeleteSome of the poems are timeless...some a, uh, sign of their times, like "Foreign Children". It's such a great little book.
Very cool! I love old illustrated books.. especially children's.
ReplyDeletethat book is beautiful! I love old books like that, just for how they feel in my hand. I could care less if they're "valuable" or not--I just love how they look.
ReplyDeleteThat is so wonderful! I love old children's books.
ReplyDeleteI love old books too and the illustrations in that one are just perfect!
ReplyDeleteThat is a really nice one. One of my most treasure possessions is a 1911 copy of 'Old Fashioned Girl' by Louisa May Alcott. Collectors keep these old books alive for future generations.
ReplyDeleteHi Lotus!
ReplyDeleteMe, too. Children's books are special because they're the door that leads us into reading and they have the bonus of illustrations!! Yea!
Lynne,
This particular book is very, very fragile. I took one photo with flash and covered the flash with a receipt to lessen the glare, but then I decided . . . hmm, better not. The ones I posted were taken in available light and as soon as I finished I put the book right back on its dark shelf!
Nyssaneala,
What a cool coincidence!! It was definitely a book that shows its time period! You're so lucky to have found and rescued your husband's copy! I love your reading companion - so cute. I had you confused with the other Nyssa; I'll have to add your blog to my links.
Hi Angela!
Me, too! When I worked in a bookstore, I'd often hear women (perusing the cookbooks) tell their children, "You don't need a book. You've got three!" My eldest son had 300 books by the age of 5. Can you imagine being limited to three? Horrors!
Annie,
Exactly my sentiments. I got an old Bible from my grandmother's house when she died. I'd admired it for years because it was old and my uncle tried to sneak off with it because he thought it was valuable. I didn't care about that! It had been on my grandmother's end table all my life - that's what made it special. Well, that and the feel of its age - the thought of where it had been. :)
Malady,
That's one of my special favorites because it was my father's, but I love old books, too. Library discards from the children's section have often turned out to be some of our favorites. :)
Jackie,
ReplyDeleteThey're lovely illustrations, aren't they? I love imagining my father reading it as a little boy. :)
Kookiejar,
I'd love to see your Louisa May Alcott book - I'll bet it's a jewel!
Yes, it's great that there are people who care about old books and preserve them for the future!
I have a copy that was my mom's, given to her in 1956 by her father. Inside it says copyright 1947 but I found this:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.archive.org/details/stechil
Heather,
ReplyDeleteSo now we know the original book was published in 1895! I wondered because the 20's seemed late for lamplighters -- but the illustrations look early-20th-century to me. He died the year before it was published? Did I read that right? I remember reading he had health problems and moved to Hawaii for the sea air.
I had this book as a child as well - a newer edition from the 1970s, but it was a favorite in my house as well. What a great book for children, and it gives me an idea for a book for some special kids I know!
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my old time favourites. Thanks to my mom's gift, I grew loving poetry with this book.
ReplyDeleted,
ReplyDeleteIt's a great book. I'm a little afraid to handle my copy very much. Do you know if it's still in print? I take it you're thinking about giving it as a gift?
Indigo,
I loved poetry as a child, too. I think A Child's Garden of Verses and the Mother Goose rhymes were my biggest influence. Mother Goose seems to be disappearing from the collective consciousness. There was a time when I could compare my last name to that in one of the rhymes and everyone knew what I meant. Not so, anymore.