Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Old Books


I have always had a fascination with books. Since the first time my mother took me to a library when I was about 4 years old, books have always held a special place for me. My Mom taught me that if you have a book, you will always have a friend. It's true, because a book sometimes can be a companion, a teacher, a tour guide and much more.

We have a lot of books in our home. I've always dreamed that one day, if we had a spare room, it would be the Library. Some of the books are new. Some we've found through book sales, or even at thrift stores.

It is so interesting to pick up a very old book and look through the pages.

This book is titled Carlyle's Essay on Burns -

Published in1912, original copyright 1900. I am not much into poetry, but this book had a dried pansy stuck between the pages. The romantic side of me wonders who put that pansy there? How long has it been there? There are little pencil notations through out the book, so could it have been a book used for a class? In the front of the book it is barely legible, but I think it says George Bliss.

I worked in a church office once. The Pastor of that church was going into the foreign missions field. So he was downsizing and getting rid of many of the books in his library. This is one of the books I picked up -

Published in 1936, copyright 1903. It appears to be separated into five different studies.

My dear daughter found this Scottish Psalter a couple of years ago in an Antique shop.

Published in 1937, copyright 1929. I love the pages in this book.

Can you actually see how the pages are divided in two sections. I suppose that you could read one Psalm and change the music each time. Lovely book.

Now all you math fans, this is the book for you! Copyright 1899, revised edition (no other date).

I love the note to the teachers.

Okay this is a pop quiz. Somebody tell me the answer, quick!

It's fun to browse through old books in Thrift stores and Antique shops. Of course some of those books are out of my price range, but when we find a nice book at a good price, it adds to our growing collection. It amazes me how the written word survives through the generations. The Bible being the oldest and most powerful of these writings.

Happy thriftin'.

15 comments:

Paulette said...

Your books are lovely. I especially like to find inscriptions on the insides of old books.

La Vie Quotidienne said...

Books have always been one of my greatest friends and the library is my favorite place to go. These old books are lovely with so much charm.

Allie said...

I'm drooling over those books - I too love old books [and new books!] I have a copy of Ben Hur that would be worth a LOT of money if it was in better condition.

Sarah said...

I love finding old books of interest. Just this afternoon I found one on Napoleon and Josephine. ;-)

Dayle ~ A Collection of Days said...

I simply adore books and dream of a library (even a small one) some day.

Kathy said...

We are definitely Kindred Spirits. My fondest memories are hours spent in the library or stretched across my bed reading for hours on end. I am now on the local Library Trustee Board - I think our little library is the best thing going in our country town. I have very old books just like yours - they definitely are treasures! Thank you for sharing with Home and Garden Thursday,
Kathy

LV said...

All of those are great vintage finds. You might like the one I am sharing today. I love to read, but give up buying them. Too costly. I love going to the library.

Nani said...

Such a wonderful collection!

I have an old geography book from pre-Hollywood. Los Angeles isn't even in the top 20 cities for population! Me? I think that is so cool!

I know what you mean about the cost on some! I had an 1800s book of Emerson's essays on hold at a used bookstore about 20 years ago. I was really trying to save the money for it...but car maintenance is so expensive for a 20-something, I ended up having to let it go. So sad!

Thank you for sharing your treasures!

Tammy at Tammy Loves Dishes said...

I love books, too. I am especially grateful to have a nice collection of my grandfather's old books, many of them old textbooks (lots of German and Math books) as he was at one time a one-room school teacher.

Thanks for sharing!

Coloradolady said...

What fantastic books, I fear one day that books will become absolute with all the technology today, they might stop printing them. They work great in decor decorating too. Happy VTT

Ann said...

A nice collection of books. We do have a library--two full walls, floor to ceiling bookshelves. Every inch is covered with books and my vintage cameras. It looks wonderful, but the best part is simply the books themselves. Many date back to the mid 19th century. Thanks for sharing.

Melody said...

So glad you are preserving these wonderful old books.

joyh82 said...

I love books too and people find the neatest ways to even decorate them. But mainly I just like to read :)

Ann@A Sentimental Life said...

I love old books too..something about being able to touch it, look at it...you can not replace that!

Blessy @ Stellar Tatter said...

I am in love with this post. I love old books! The Scottish Psalter is amazing with all those sectioned pages! If I were to have found these books, I would gladly pick them up as well. But not if they're priced too high. But, lovely, just lovely!