Pages From History

[Shoganai]

I collect old books of all kinds.
I like the way they smell.
I love the tiny bits of mundane, everyday history they hold.


For all the knowledge internet dose and will contain, in my mind, it cannot replace the feel of holding in my hands an old, smelly, crumbling book that was printed years before I was born.

It was carried and cared for by humans, kept safe, scribbled in, moved across the country by foot, horse, train or wagon or lost in some attic long after the owner forgot it was there.

The best are the ones passed down through time from our grand parents and great grand parents.

Here are few pages from two of them.

The first is my Grandmother’s on my Father’s side, Pearl.




September 19th, 1941 There was a lot going on in the world that year.







That's my Grandmother's handwriting. One day, I'll make that and taste what she tasted.
















I feel alone in this love of old books.
No one I know cares for them and wants to preserve these snippets of history.

[Ted]

That is awesome, you're soooo right about the smell and feel of a good old book! I also collect old books with a tremendous weakness for anything Kipling or AC Doyle (the non-Sherlock Holmes stuff.) I collect old road maps from the 20's and 30's too - I like to use them to plan road trips by looking for roads and towns that were major then and these days are hardly mentioned if at all. It is how I first came across the neat towns of Alderson, Webster Springs and Hinton, WV. My best get ever was a boxed, first edition "Kim" in mint condition for $15 at a tiny used bookstore in Lebanon, NH - that was a great day!

Would be interesting to visit some of the addresses and see what is there now. I did love the 16oz Porterhouse for $1.25!!! Unfortunately it looks like the Homestead Restaurant has been replaced by a parking garage, would have made for a great weekend ride destination

[Shoganai]

Here's the second one.

[Shoganai]

That is awesome, you're soooo right about the smell and feel of a good old book! I also collect old books with a tremendous weakness for anything Kipling or AC Doyle (the non-Sherlock Holmes stuff.) I collect old road maps from the 20's and 30's too - I like to use them to plan road trips by looking for roads and towns that were major then and these days are hardly mentioned if at all. It is how I first came across the neat towns of Alderson, Webster Springs and Hinton, WV. My best get ever was a boxed, first edition "Kim" in mint condition for $15 at a tiny used bookstore in Lebanon, NH - that was a great day!

Would be interesting to visit some of the addresses and see what is there now. I did love the 16oz Porterhouse for $1.25!!! Unfortunately it looks like the Homestead Restaurant has been replaced by a parking garage, would have made for a great weekend ride destination

I really love the way you think

When I finally get the rest of my things moved up here from SC next month, I'll post some more.

Old maps a passion for me and I too like to try to find places like you describe.

I have a RARE first edition book by Kahlil Gibran called "Jesus the son of man". It's written in first person like the 'man on the street' POV as the author interviews Jesus' contemporizes.

It's a fascinating read, and that's coming from a person that follows Christ.

[Shoganai]

Title: Jesus the Sono f Man
Author: Kahlil Gibran
First published in 1928, by Alfred A. Knopf, New York.

Now available in FREE eBook :clap

http://k11og.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=64256#64256

[larryb22]

I too like old books. When we got married 49 years ago the wife got a Betty Crocker cook book. Twenty some odd years later it was pretty tattered. I searched and got a really nice like new one off Ebay. Turns out it is a first edition, first printing. The first edition second printing wasn't bound, but was in a three ring binder. Guess that makes it pretty unique.
Larry

[drikko]

Pity they don't publish more books like this now:-


Ducking for cover!!

[Flying Duck]

I like old recipes too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WudBfRa0ETw

[drikko]

Haha, classic FD.

Hey Shogs, my favourite old book is an original copy of Rudyard Kiplings Just So Stories. When the kids were small, they used to make me read it every night

Info here:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_So_Stories

Cool, you can read them all here:-

http://www.boop.org/jan/justso/

[Phil Marvin]

Hi, Ted and Gwen,
My late uncle, Keith Marvin, was a past president of the Society of Automotive Historians. His automotive library was amazing, dating back into the first decade of the 20th century. The early journals, magazines, manuals, etc. were a wonderful read. I have spent many hours going through some of the stuff (while he was still alive), reading articles about and ads for cars which our grandparents may have seen on the road. Yes, old books of many descriptions are fascinating.

[Klinker]

...My late uncle, Keith Marvin, was a past president of the Society of Automotive Historians. His automotive library was amazing, dating back into the first decade of the 20th century. The early journals, magazines, manuals, etc. were a wonderful read. I have spent many hours going through some of the stuff (while he was still alive), reading articles about and ads for cars which our grandparents may have seen on the road...

That would be amazing.

I have a book published by the American Automotive Manufacturer's Association, or something like that. It was intended for use by law enforcement to learn and identify various makes and models built between 1964 and 1973 (the best years). The photos are good-quality ad shots in black and white.

Along with my grandfather's Henry Disston & Sons crosscut saw, it is one of my most prized possessions.

[Shoganai]

Ducking for cover!!

:razz



:smooch



In 1981 I found my first old book in a junk store. It cost $100 and that was huge amount for me at the time. I was paid every week and at $25 a pop it was mine in a month.

This is it's story.



The book is FULL of these beautiful prints.



This pasted on the back cover.





The world gets smaller every day. I bought this in Aiken, SC and I now live 24 miles from where he was born 141 years ago.

He was a Grand Mason as well.







His book mark was still marking his book.



He was well respected and recognized.




His Masons book was held tights in those pages for so long after he died.













(there are more pages not linked here)

September 17th, 1989 Dr. C. C. Johnson met a great man from our history.










More later when I have time...

[Shoganai]

More from CC Johnson.

There were three long sheets of what I think are memograph copies.

Top of page #1




Bottom of page #1




Top of page #2




Bottom of page #2




Top of page #3




Bottom of page #3

[max]

Got a lot of older books here too - not the 1800s (yet - father gets those, for re-binding) but a lot of the 1920s and 1930s, electronics and engineering. Also got a lot of old OEM service manuals - they'll never be republished! and sad to admit

- Briggs & Stratton N-series engines (the washing machine ones)
- newer "old" ham radios - a couple valve-based, others just plain transistorised.

Guessing the more recent stuff will be the best representation of "the art" but often the quickest to be junked as it gets replaced by the "next generation" - wonder how long before they drop making dedicated DVD players/recorders before it skips straight to solid-state storage or internet, let alone being able to get a video tape player (Betamax anyone?)... It's all just so throw-away now, maybe 3 or 4 years max for something that was literally rocket science 25 years ago!