Rare, Old or Offbeat Message Board

I thought this might be a useful group, whether for talking about things like book preservation or sources for books or whatever.

I enjoy old books, and collect them when I can. in the fall, I'm taking a course in Rare book collecting and preservation, so this might be a great place to talk about what I learn! :)

Sounds great. Maybe some of us can learn vicariously!

I think we should lobby Tim for a LEAST Commonly Shared Books list ;-)

I love old books. Give me the chance to visit a library's Special Collections and watch my dust!

Some of you might also like to join a group I've just started: Book Arts. http://www.librarything.com/groups/bookarts

well there's the: You and none other
(Books shared with exactly one user)
option in your fun statistics lol

Hello - joined your group because I am a strange one altough you may want to throw me out. My collection is made up of vintage paperbacks. Mostly mystery and gothic romance and cheesy pulps. To me they are a little bit of history I am trying to preserve. My favorite thing about the old paperbacks is the great cover art. I am actually lucky enough to own the original painting that was used as the cover art for one of my books!

The description say "collector's manias of all kinds"! So I'd say you fit. Those old pulp covers are pretty amazing. Have you seen Queer Pulp : Perverted Passions from the Golden Age of the Paperback?

Actually, sounds like a cool collection, and ideal for Librarything because it can show the cover art off, though a preservation nightmare. Those pulpy books don't keep very well.

Lilithcat is right - it's pretty clear from the description you fit right in!

oh, that's a good idea! :) Tim? Tim? Are you lurking?

that last message was in response to chamekke:
I think we should lobby Tim for a LEAST Commonly Shared Books list ;-)

:D

I'd love to see Tim do that, but I think our list here would be a little long....

I keep a tag for "underappreciated little gems" - it's my own list of of books nobody seems to appreciate even though I think they're great. That's kind of similar to the least commonly shared books.

A_musing, I had to go and look at your "underappreciated little gems" tag. I found that I haven't read any of them and I'm very disappointed in myself. I'll have to fix that... ;)

Escalla, the "you and none other" tag is close, but no cigar, because it's not quite rare enough.

It's a bit like the Nonduality group in LibraryThing. There's only one person in it. Somehow that's very poetic.

A_musing, I love your "underappreciated little gems" tag. May I swipe it to use in my library, too? I can't think of a nicer name than that!

Ohh yes I have seen the Queer Pulps book before. I want to get that one. Yes they are hard to preserve because they were made cheaply to begin with - I just try to keep them at an even temperature and away from the damp and the bugs. I will have to check out the "Underappreciated Little Gems" tag - that is a good one - might also have to swipe it! :)

*shock* People like me!

Hi... my name is Cyndi and I'm the biggest book whore around... :D (well, granted that I'm 25 and own over 400 books, factored in with a rising rate of pay, the discovery of new used books stores, and the shameless stealing of friend's, family's, and library's books - I should be the biggest book whore around by the time I'm 40.)

Now - off to catalog my rare hardback book collection!

Please, all, do use that Underappreciated Little Gems tag - I'd love to see what others put in that category. So much more fun to see the little oddities we cherish than the books every buys.

Preservation of 100-200 year old leather bindings is a topic I will soon have to learn more about. I learned by accident (forget where) that the vaunted British Museum leather dressing is no longer considered to preserve leather very well. Google got me to this site:

http://www.kb.nl/cons/leather/index-en.html

which is the Royal Netherlands Library web page on preserving leather bindings. If anyone has first-hand experience of this process and can describe and compare techniques and materials I'd much appreciate it, and I suspect others would, too.

I'd be interested in what you learn. Not a lot of experience (just taking care of my own limited books), but I have never "dressed" or oiled my old leather unless trying to address specific damage or an obvious need, and in those cases have done it very lightly. I've had good luck addressing red-rot with cellugel, though I find the leather is left a touch stiff by the process.

Speaking of old leather editions - who here has the oldest book? And how did you come by it - purchased, gifted or passed down by family? My earliest paperbacks are from the early 1900's - I do have a few older hardbacks that go into the 1800's - but I know those are just child's play when speaking of old books.

My oldest is a French translation of the Iliad, published in 1714: http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?book=523553&mode=card

Lilithcat has 111 years on me; my oldest is an 1825 edition of Pope, which I picked up at an book sale/benefit in town (there's always some good pickins!). But someday I'll be out looking for that illuminated manuscript to show off just for fun...

My oldest is an 1853 Gift Book for Young Ladies or Familiar Letters on Their Acquaintances. Male and Female, Employments, Friendships by William Alcott, the father of Louisa May Alcott.

I have a book of Psalms and prayers in German, from the late 18th century. The book is in storage in Iowa while I am at graduate school. It was a gift from my grandfather. It belonged to his grandmother. I can't remember the exact date or title right now, but it's beautifully gilded and in great shape.

My oldest is A Grammar of the Iberno-Celtic, or Irish Language. The Second Edition, with Additions. by Charles Vallancey, published in M,DCC,LXXXII (1782) in Dublin.

Actually, the full title is: A Grammar of the Iberno-Celtic, or Irish Language. The Second Edition, with Additions. To which is prefixed an Essay on the Celtic Language; Shewing the Importance of the Iberno-Celtic or Irish Dialect, to Students in History, Antiquity, and the Greek and Roman Classics.

(I particularly enjoyed it when the author "shewed" the language's connection to Basque, Arabic, Showiah and Algonkin!)

Sadly, the original cover is missing - but I didn't mind. I bought it for the content :-)

Hi,
I just joined. This seems the right group for me....I enjoy collecting books. My oldest is probably Rime di Mess. Francesco Petrarca, printed in Venice in MDCCLI (1751). Obviously, I am a great lover of used books stores, library sales, tag sales and wherever I can find old books.

My oldest right now is a 1699 printing of Fenelon's Adventures of Telemachus (that edition in French, printed at Rotterdam). I collect different editions of Telemachus, and was very surprised to be able to acquire a 1699 copy ... it was an eBay steal, believe it or not.

Wow those all sound so amazing! There is so much history in those books.

chamekke - I loved the "shewed" also especially since it is a book on language.

jbd1 - 1699! That is really a find! I have also acquired several of my treasures on Ebay - it really is true, you can find anything on ebay.

On another thread, I'm starting to think I have a lot of strange, uncommon books - everytime I add more books my "you and no other" list grows!

My oldest book is a collection of Shakespeare's Dramatic Works from 1879.

Here are some links having to do with repairing damaged paperbacks:

a very simple one on how to reglue a detached cover (company sells products for doing that):

http://www.booksforever.com/bookrepair/br7.htm

a heavy-duty method of rebinding paperbacks for libraries:

http://aic.stanford.edu/sg/bpg/annual/v17/bp17-09.html

a series of articles by a used-book dealer (not sure I've included the whole series):

http://www.auctionbytes.com/pages/abu/y202/m03/abu0066/s03
http://www.auctionbytes.com/pages/abu/y202/m04/abu0067/s04
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abu/y202/m05/abu0069/s03
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abu/y202/m06/abu0071/s02

the same author on what to do about foxing:

http://www.bookologist.com/cab/abu/y203/m03/bk0001/s04

I must agree on the comments on Ebay. I myself have found extremely interesting books there, and for excellent prices too. Thanks for the links, Fogies! :-))

Leather Bindings: Leather bound books present certain difficulties for the conservator. Leather, although one of the strongest binding materials available, can disintegrate over time if not properly cared for. Also, it is a very expensive and time consuming material to work with. Many libraries, Dartmouth included, are electing not to repair leather bound items with new leather. Rather, thin Japanese tissues, dyed to the color of the leather, are used to reattach the covers. Over time with normal usage patterns, these tissue repairs can actually outlast a comparable repair done in leather.

link:

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~preserve/treatments/treatments.shtml

Fogies, thanks for posting those links. I have several paperbacks in need of repair and I wouldn't have thought to try wood glue.

Leather Bindings: Leather bound books present certain difficulties for the conservator. Leather, although one of the strongest binding materials available, can disintegrate over time if not properly cared for. Also, it is a very expensive and time consuming material to work with. Many libraries, Dartmouth included, are electing not to repair leather bound items with new leather. Rather, thin Japanese tissues, dyed to the color of the leather, are used to reattach the covers. Over time with normal usage patterns, these tissue repairs can actually outlast a comparable repair done in leather.

link:

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~preserve/treatments/treatments.shtml

Detailed book-repair instructions from a university library's conservation dept:

http://www.lib.rochester.edu/index.cfm?PAGE=3242

PDeebs:

The university library book-repair sites I've hit so far all use polyvinyl acetate (PVA) which is plain old white glue as carpenters use. Here's a list of book-repair tools from UI U-C:

http://www.library.uiuc.edu/preserve/tools.html

But Craig Stark (linked in message 31) makes a convincing case for using polyurethane clue, which is a newer higher-tech gookum. The qualities he cites are just what a paperback book spine needs, IMHO.

All:

I've post several of these links now and three members have approved. Should I go on posting more such info as I find it or is that enough on this topic?

I like the links. As we get more ability to organize forums and the like, I hope we'll find a way to preserve them for reference. I'm sure we'll all have some specific repair questions over time, too, and always good to share notes.

. . . thin Japanese tissues, dyed to the color of the leather, are used to reattach the covers.

I used this technique to repair the spine of the book I mentioned above. It worked quite well in terms of strength, and the moriki paper is almost indistinguishable from the leather.

Now I could use that - you did it yourself? I have a few late 19th century leather books that were affected by red-rot. I used cellugel on the red rot, and they've now seemed stable for about a year. But a couple of them have covers with tears along the hinge for from 1 to three inches - could I use the tissues to bind these back up and keep these books from falling apart when I actually read them!

Oh Wow! Thanks! I'm adept at reglueing bindings. Several of my paperbacks need serious attention. I've been using Scotch Tape to reattach.

Oh here's offbeat (sort of) for you. I went to amazon to find a copy of Kaz Cooke's Wanda-Linda Goes Berserk and one user had it, listed at $74.45! It was published in 2003! It's just a kid's book. I bought the first one two years ago at $12.99! What's up with that! So I emailed the guy about the price--haven't heard back. It can't be RARE. It's not OLD! $74.45!

Opinicus - try Ebay for things like that. I have often got ahold of books on Ebay that users on Amazon wanted a lot more money for! I'm going to have to read up on the paperback methods too - I had one poor book that pretty much disintegrated and I just patched it back togehter with some tape (but it had already been patched before so I didn't feel too bad).

Yes, I did it myself, although it was in a conservation class and was done under the watchful and helpful eye of a very experienced instructor!

a couple of them have covers with tears along the hinge for from 1 to three inches - could I use the tissues to bind these back up and keep these books from falling apart

That's exactly what I used it for, although my book didn't have red-rot and I don't know how that would affect the situation.

Opinicus - Abebooks shows a brand new copy in the UK for under $10 -- http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&y=0&tn=wanda-linda&a... -- looks like it may be worth the postage.

Lilithcat - thanks; I'm going to have to get me some of those tissues! I'll report back after I try it on one of the less cherished copies in my old lot.

Our oldest printed book: Kircher's Magnes from 1643, with a plain vellum binding. Not as wild as his Egyptology books. Not as expensive either.

The Egyptian Book of the Dead isn't really a book, right?

I just loaded in a bunch of my old Gold Medal paperbacks and noticed that the glue is starting to go on them. I think I might just try my hand at the paperback restoration methods!

My oldest work is J. G. M. Ramsey's The Annals of Tennessee, first edition published 1853. The book has been rebound with the owner's name, F. H. Gailor, on the spine. The book is signed by what I would guess is the original owner, Thos. F. Gailor, based on the style and apparent age of the ink. My great-great-great-great-great grandfather is one of the early settlers of pre-revolutionary war Tennessee mentioned in the history.

So far, my contender is "The Prang Course in Drawing for Graded Schools" 1889. I like how to draw books. I find it funny that the "secret" to becoming an accomplished draughtsman starts with making peanut shapes and circles.

Really old books are like white couches and wouldn't last long in my household, heh.

Any ideas on how to kill musty smells from books? I tried the freezer method without much success. Generally, if it is a mold issue, I give up and throw it away in fear of spores spreading. Actually any advice or leads to articles on old books and why they smell would be appreciated. So many smells, so many reasons...

oangeLA, I had read of a couple of good treatments for that problem but, for the life of me, I cannot remember where at the moment. I will look for it and let you know....promise!

oangeLA, I found it.
MUSTY SMELL IN BOOKS
There are no guarantees and the recommended method takes a long time to work. Try putting odor absorbent material such as baking soda, kitty litter, or plain charcoal briquets in the bottom of a large container. Put a small plastic container inside the larger one, stand up the books and fan open the pages. Put the lid on the large container and wait. Check periodically to see if the job is done. NEDCC answers some "Frequently Asked Questions" at http://www.nedcc.org/welcome/faq.htm#odor, including "How can I remove the musty smell from old books?"
We tried this method once with baking soda and after a month the odor was lessened but still detectable. Be patient. Once the odor is removed or diminished, keep the book in the best environment available. Exposure to moist air can trigger another growth of the mold which may have caused the odor in the first place. Avoid ozone, which is used in commercial operations to remove odor, because it can damage books and paper.
I hope it will help.
Paola :-))

When I get musty books, which most often happens when I pick up a lot of old books somewhere, I isolate them in my garage (which is usually both cool and dry) away from other books for a period; I generally store them right above the animal litter container, but don't take the kind of care Paola suggested. If nature doesn't take care of it in a while, I'll stick the book on e-bay (letting people know there's a must issue), but I do keep them away from my other books.

My bigger problem is the smell from being in a house where someone smoked. I know it's not contagious, so the book can be put on the shelves, but I just can't stand the smell. Those go in the garage for a while, and if I can't get all the smell out, then I have to make a call as to just how much I want the book.

I know what you mean about the smoking smell, A-musing! I can't bear this-just find it disgusting. I've been very pleased to see that many online booksellers are now taking the time to specify when a book comes from a non-smoking household or institution.

I'm not surprised to hear that bit about the Brit Museum leather dressing. years ago, I worked for a rare book dealer who had a fine hand bindery on the premises. we weren't very impressed with the stuff, altho I do remember rather liking the way it smelled.........!!

Here are a couple of web sites for treatment of mold and mustiness:

http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/tleaf39.htm

http://www.librarypreservation.org/management_and_planning/mold3.htm

Odors can be neutralized using a couple of products from Brodart, a library supply company:

http://www.shopbrodart.com/shop/cb/product.aspx?pgid=2510

http://www.shopbrodart.com/shop/cb/product.aspx?pgid=998

For a home remedy, I put books in a sealable container (I use file boxes) with an odor-neutralizing Stick-Up air freshener - the non-liquid kind that comes as a plastic disk. The odor is generally gone after a week or so.

I've been told that sunshine is a good way to kill a musty mildew, and although it may sound harsh for an older more delicate book, would it make sense to let it air fanned-out in a sunny pot for a few days and then carefully wipe the pages/cover?

It is presumptuous of me, but in response to the posts of chamekke and annabethblue, I created a group called "Recommend Site Improvements". Maybe Tim will co-opt it or provide an alternative.

Regarding the "You and None Other" -- shouldn't that really be "You and One other"? It lists those books that you share with only one person. You and None Other would be a list of books you share with no one. Right?

I find most of my 'finds' on Ebay, though my 1880s copy of Les Miserables was a gift from a friend who found it at a used bookstore. It's nice when your friends know about your obsessions and can help out.

Just the group for me, glad I joined. Already have to thank aluvalibri and TheBlindHog for sharing their links.

I don't have a huge collection of truly old books, but my grandparents did leave me some and two books in particular must go way back. One is in portuguese from 1834 and is what would be called a school book today, but it's heavily influenced by almanacs and religious catechisms. The other is a roman catholic missal in Latin from 1717. Leatherbound, musty smell, pages have resisted fairly well just yellowed and don't you love how up until I know not when 'f' and 's' were printed in a way that makes them look exactly the same? Come to think of it I suppose they *were* printed with the same type or whatever you call it. Or was it just in Portugal/Europe/when using Latin?

Anyway, thanks once again and I hope to at least halt their deterioration...

P.S. sorry if I double-posted this.

kieren_valente, I am glad I could be of any help.
The 'f' and 's' looked the same in the printing of the times, and not only in Latin, but in all other languages. I have old Italian books with the same type.

My oldest books don't compare to most of you folks - everything I own was printed in the 20th (or 21st) century. I have an 11th edition Brittanica, the "Handy Volume Series", and a 12th edition, full-sized in seriously-decayed leather - I'll be looking at some of the links up above to repair it - and some books from the 20s and 30s. But I've never been that much into buying really expensive collectible books - I want to *read* the books.

argyriou's post reminded me that - apart from the books handed down to me by deceased relatives - I've only bought one that was pre-1971 (the year I was born) and that was a second-hand book of adventure sories for what you'd call YA today printed in 1923. It cost me about US$30... I also like to be able to read my books :)

I have several books published in the late 19th century, and I read from them often. I feel that's what they were made for, right?

Though I admit I have never paid more than $30 for a single book that I can think of.

I don't believe that preservation and reading books are at odds with one another. I bought my oldest books because I wanted to read them and use them as references for research projects. I also want to maintain them so that they remain useful for more centuries to come. I have no objection to those who collect rare books as commodities and works of art, rarely opening them and certainly not reading them (I'm thinking of the collector who buys modern first editions and separate reading copies.) When I buy a book with uncut pages, I cut them. It does not serve my use as a reference work if I can't read the pages. But, I use care in cutting the pages, properly store the book, and takes whatever steps necessary to maintain its quality. I take the same approach whether I paid $400 or $4.

Bill - I agree completely, and have found some fascinating older books for very little money. Indeed, authors and works who were immensely popular in the 19th century but much less popular today (James Fenimore Cooper, Thackery, Sir Walter Scott, even Longfellow or the less-read Melville works) are available for a song, as are a lot of well-illustrated older works (e.g., it's not hard to find Dore illustrated books at a reasonable price).

Hello all I'm new and came here to find people to help me catalog and sell my rare books to those who would put them to better use. When I moved into my current house some years ago I found the basement full of books,some from other countries, some handwriten and some as old as 200 years! while containing notes from the Author's themselves. Many have started to show their age and I have no idea what to do with them all. Gradually I'll add them all to my library but if see something that you think needs to be in a great library or something let me know.

empresskayura, you probably do not realize the value of what was amassed in your basement!!! I wish I had been that lucky!!!!!!!!
My advice is that you get in touch with an antique book dealer (there are quite a few reputable ones, especially in New York), and get them to come over your house and evaluate what you have.
I do not know your interest in books, but you might wish to keep some and sell others.
If you are in NY or, at least, in NY State, perhaps I can help you to research some dealers.

Paola :-))

Can anyone here give me names or numbers of people to contact? I live in Michigan, so anyone in this area would help. I myself love books and have read a few of the "younger" ones in the collection. Unfortunately some of them have been "lost". But the majority is safe.

Try searching for antiquarian shops in your area here: http://www.abaa.org/cgi-bin/abaa/process

If you'd like to see what some of them may fetch on the retail market, you should look at www.abebooks.com. Is there a particular area the collection is focused on? You will also find a booksellers group here, and it is worth talking to them. There are a few places that will carry and sell whole collections, and if someone was collecting with a specific focus, that can be a very good thing to do.

And, by the way, no harm in telling us what you have - you never know who might be interested?!

Well first off thank you for the help and yes I will put up most if not all the books up in my library so look it up every few days to see what I've added. The books themselves have no particular focus just random books in a collection, though a lot center on poetry an WWI and II. I have several of Hemingways older books too. Funny thing though I was going through one of the books and found a handwritten note from the author to a friend, whom he apparently ws going to wirte a poem about but never did. It's dated 1916! As I put the books up contact me if anyone of you become interested.

empresskayura, you are very welcome indeed! I will keep an eye on your library with great interest, of that you can be sure!

Neat! WWI and WWII poetry is the sort of thing I might be interested in, so I will look closely at them (if any of that WWII poetry happens to be New Directions Press, then I would definitely be interested).

empresskayura: You might want to consider adding an email address to your profile so prospective buyers can easily contact you. (If you don't want to give out a personal email for fear of spam, just get a free yahoo or hotmail address just for this purpose.)

empresskayura-- I'd suggest that you contact an autograph/manuscripts dealer too. If the authors of the authors' notes you mention are well known and/or collectible those jottings could be worth more than the books themselves!!

long time collector, first time writer (well, for this group anyway...).

i just thought i'd join in the praising of ebay: just a couple of weeks ago i got my oldest book there, for about a third of what i've seen it priced at stores (and that's counting the by far cheapest store...).

for those interested, it was a sweet little thing called "description de l'isle des hermaphrodites", printed in 1724.

and for all you out there using scotch tape: stop it! immediately! or i will hunt you down!

and for all you out there using scotch tape: stop it! immediately! or i will hunt you down!

Sit down. Take a deep breath. Now then, did you know that some early "repairs" were made on the Dead Sea Scrolls using scotch tape? Scary, huh?

oh, the madness, the madness...

did you know that some early "repairs" were made on the Dead Sea Scrolls using scotch tape?

INSANE!! INSANITY! How could they?

I have a very unusual book that was first published in the 1800's about the duties of servants of that time.Quite interesting reading and just glad times are different now.

I bet that`s a fascinating read.

I`ve seen a few etiquette and household hints type books, some with handy hints on dealing with servants, but never anything quite like that.

From what I know, the lives of household servants were harder than you might think, even into the early twentieth century. There was a female servant - from the `20s I think, who wrote to books of memoirs - one was called Climbing the stairs, there was a follow up as well.

Yes,what got me interested was the fact that my grandmother was a maid in a grand house when she was only about 14. We have a picture of her in her uniform. What a hard life she had ! Very interesting reading tho. I'm glad we don't live like that now. Will look out for the book " Climbing the Stairs" , thanks for that.

The other thing interesting about that type of book, are the pre-occupations of the more well-off. We had a great one in our shop at one point which advised the householder on how to treat crushed velvet and (my favourite) how to construct a multi-layered dog basket.

I`m not opposed to the treating of crushed velvet or the making of dog baskets, but it was amazing how much time they had to spend on the things, and how much detail they were prepared to go into. It did seem almost like something from Wodehouse at times !

Nothing could be more fun, for me anyway, then when I opened a just delivered First Edition of Charles Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit. I love reading old First Editions; they have such a distinctive fragrance. I opened the book right after I unwrapped the package, stuck my nose into the book and sniffed deeply. Ahhh!

Also to read the actual First Edition instead of a modern copy is to touch and hold a book the author might actually have handled. It lends a certain thrill.

Well, waltbrow, this happen when people are so lucky as to be able to afford one of Dickens' first editions!
Lucky you :-))

Erasmus was a Dutch philosopher who once said he'd rather buy books than bread. I think that's where I'm coming from.

Its got a lot to do with the influence of my parents who taught me how important reading is to a learned life. Because of the importance they placed on reading I was able to get AND use a good education. Really, not too hard to figure out.

I've lived in Indonesia for the last 13 years, after retiring from teaching in Chappaqua, New York for quite a few years. My job here is to teach the love of reading to Indonesian students; sometimes rather difficult to do.

When I discovered LT it was like, oh, Yeah, where have you been all along? I have 3 libraries, one at my school, my home, and back in the States. The one in the States is the one left to me by my parents.They were life-long learners also.

In that accumulation are books they read as children, and books they read to us or provided for us to read as we grew up. I know for sure that there are many first editions. I cant wait to have the time to go back and spend time putting them into my LT.
library. "So many books, so little time."

waltbrow, I really identify with what you say. I too was taught to love books as a very young child, and my very first memories are of my grandfather reading a book to me. Although I do not have many valuable first editions (but I have some!), I have two libraries as well: one here, which I am still working on cataloguing on LT, and one in Italy, in my parents' home, with all the books I left behind when I moved to the US. Hopefully, one day I shall be able to ship my books here.
Oh yes! "So many books, so little time..."
:-))

Do you remember the name of the book? My first book-memory was of my father reading "The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins" by Dr. Seuss to me. Of clourse I had to buy a first edition from my favorite online book seller,

I'm not sure if my English Grandfather ever read to us. He was a rather forbidding, austere person. Fortunately, his wife, my father's mother was much more welcoming and accepting. Perhaps she read to us, I'm not sure. In any case our whole house was an oasis where we, Mom, Dad, my brother and I could sit in silence each with his own book. Once in a while one of us would say, "Hey, everybody listen to this..." And then we'd share.

One experience with my father shows, clearly, how important reading was to all of us and why my brother and I have always been life-long learners/readers:

One night when I was around 10 yrs old. I was sitting in the living room reading. My father was at his desk in the front room where we could see each
other simply by looking up fom what we were doing.

He was correcting his students' tests. (He was a H.S. English teacher and later a English Professor in college). I was reading, as usual.

All of a sudden I heard a sigh; and he had the scariest, most lugubrious sighs. I looked up from my book and said, "What's the matter, Dad!?"

His response taught me so much about what I already knew about how important reading really is.

"Son, I'm jealolus." "Why, what on earth for, Dad!?"
"Because I remember the first time I read that book and I wish I could read it again for the first time."

How can that not have an impact on a young, impressionable boy?

I have exactly the same feeling, now, when I discover a new author. Like Stephen Dobyns: "Children of Men" , or Hugh Walpole: "Rogue Herries".

Have you accessed ? They've got some very good tips on "bibliophilia (a true addiction!) Next time I'll tell you of some very recent purchases. AND why. And I'm reading a LOT more after I joined LT. I'm thinking of changing my login name to Waltbrow's. What do you think?

Aluvalibri: I tried to post the email of my favorite online book seller; "Powell's". In the last paragraph I also tried to post "Alibris". Both of them were not no accepted. So I'm trying again.

Hi - very new to LIBRARYTHING! I just joined and am cataloging my reference books first - I do try to sell some vintage paperbacks & off-beat "baby-boomer" books on eBay. ~ I have always collected children's classics, but go off on "toots" with other genres or authors at times... I also collect craft books and reference "price" guides for vintage & flea market items when (& where) I can find those books used. (hard-to-find, except brand-new and cost more at the retail book stores) I am a BIGGIE for used books - clean ones, preferably! (Yuk, otherwise!) ~ I have just catalogued a now out-of-print (?) Price guide to vintage paperbacks. > Nice to be here*!!!

Welcome, rockymtngal:)

This is the first time I've read this thread, though I've been a member of this group for quite a while.
My oldest book: Vol. II of "The History of the Rise, Progress, and Establishment, of the Independence of the United States of America: Including an Account of the Late War, and of the Thirteen Colonies, from their Origin to that Period," by William Gordon, published in London, 1798. The book was published in 4 volumes, but I only have volume 2. It has a couple wonderful old fold-out maps, one of which has my hometown of Schenectady, New York on it. The previous owner noted "Bought Widener Library Discard Sale, December 16, 1943, Cambridge, Mass." I just love having this book.

One of my favorite "offbeat" books is called Parodies on Walt Whitman, published in 1923 by American Library Service, NY. (Does anyone know anything about this publisher? I've never run across this name anywhere else before.) It's a collection of Whitman parodies published between 1860 and 1921, a number of which appeared originally in newspapers or other periodicals. My absolute favorite is by A. Quiller-Couch, and is called "Behold I Am Not One That Goes to Lectures," first published in 1889 in the Oxford Magazine. I found this book at a library sale!

I appreciate all the book-repairing links above - thank you to all who added this information.

MaggieO
For information on the American Library Service go here:

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

Symon Gould was the owner/founder.

(Could someone please explain how you do a direct link in the reply ???)

Put a space in front of it.

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

Like that.

I too collect mostly mystery/gothic vintage paperbacks. I love the covers, but I also really enjoy reading them. I just collected all of Charlotte Armstrong's novels. I love the Dell Mapback books too - my favorite being Cats Prowl at Night.

It's almost a year since devilbuny wondered about people's oldest books, but I just read this thread and wondered, "What is my oldest book?" It appears to be The American home garden. Being principles and rules for the culture of vegetables, fruits, flowers, and shrubbery. To which are added brief notes on farm crops. By Alexander Watson. (New York : Harper & Brothers). The Library of Congress has an edition from 1859, but mine says 1864. The sad thing is I don't remember where I got it. I've spent so much of my life meandering through used book stores...

my oldest book is a 4" tall, 3" widee leatherbound Spectator V. VI England, 1608

Any direction on book conservation/preservation courses?

The oldest in my collection is a book called The Peerage of England dated 1769.

Also, as an aside I have recently purchased a copy of volume 2 of London Labour and the London Poor by Henry Mayhew, but it seemingly only picks up from where volume 1 left off, without any indication of whether it belonged to the 1851 3 volume set or the 1861 (?) 4 volume set. I've looked around a bit on the internet, but have found nothing that would help me determine the edition. Can anyone offer any help as to where to look next? Thanks.

Here is a succinct description of the publishing of London Labour and the London Poor which is a little clearer than Wikipedia.

The 1861 set is in Google Books and is the one reprinted by Dover and so in pretty much every public library. I don't think you will find any textual differences, since the four volume set is just additional material. But it's just possible that the printer's name on the very last page is distinguishing.

If you have the readers' correspondence bound in, then I think that's an indication of the earlier edition. However, if it's not, that isn't conclusive: the 1851 edition in Hollis lists that as a third volume.

Of course, I'm no expert, so it's likely there are issues I overlooked.

HELLO!!! I found a Henry Cabot Lodge original (1909) book "The Best of the World's Classics" Vol. III Great Britain and Ireland. I was wondering if anyone knew what the numbers next to the books on a previous page that I saw on here mean?? ie; there was a number 10 after this book. Meaning?? Just 10 original books avail. worldwide? or? and thank you in advance to whoever can/will answer this for me.
Bettylu

I also collect and repair old books. I am interested in your course as I would love to learn more about book preservation.

Also: I just joined this group. Do you guys actually read and discuss any of these rare books? Or just talk about what you have located.

Also: Just finished The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. When I read about "the cemetary of forgotten books", I suddenly realized that such a place is my quest!

Welcome

kissdawabbit, I am afraid that I do not have an answer to your question but I suspect someone in the group might know.

s4sando, I think The Shadow of the Wind captures what many of us feel about lost books. I would love a visit there myself.

The problem with discussion is that if it is hard to find the book it may be one that not many others have read. I do read the old rare books I find. I don't think they should be relics.