I
own twenty vintage children’s books—Nancy Drew, Cherry Ames and The Bobbsey
Twins—published in the first half of the 20th century. They have
been passed down through generations of mystery loving females in my family,
usually sister to sister or mother to daughter. The
collection was much larger when I was young, and I don’t know what happened to
the rest of the books.
When
I was eight years old my favorite pastime was to select one of these books and
climb an olive tree in the back yard. I would sit in the “V” of two branches
and read for hours, lost in the adventures of my “friends”.
The
oldest book, “The Bobbsey Twins on a Houseboat,” was published in 1915 (almost
one hundred years ago)!
Imagine
the events that book has lived through: The Great Depression, World Wars I and
II, the turbulent sixties, a man on the moon, the go-go eighties, 9/11, the recent
Great Recession, and the upheaval of the publishing industry.
It
also had many children lovingly, and probably clumsily, handle it over the
years. I tried to treat all books carefully following the rule, “Don’t open it
up and set it face down or you’ll break its spine.” But with that much use,
it’s inevitable that pages rip or come loose.
Some
books are falling apart probably past the point of repair. The pages are
brittle and yellow, the covers faded or lost. I don’t think they are worth
much money but they do have sentimental value. One has a handwritten birthday
wish from the eldest sister to the youngest dated 1925 taped to the inside cover.
Older
books have a different look and feel than modern books. The covers appear to be
full cloth bindings and the back cover doesn’t contain a description
of the book. Each book has a frontispiece with a hand drawn picture as well as a table
of contents.
Many
of the children who read them have passed on, but the books remain. Will they
survive the technological revolution and e-books? That remains to be seen.
Perhaps older, well-loved books will be relegated to museums or, sadly, thrown
out. But they shaped many young children in my family and others by showing
them possibilities…and that life can be a mystery and grand adventure.
Do
you have any well-loved books?
Also,
do you know how to preserve or restore books? I’d like to hear your ideas.
I agree that old books have a different look and feel. I have a number of books with leather covers and sewn pages that had to be hand cut!
ReplyDeleteMy oldest book dates from the late 18th century and I have quite a number from the early nineteenth century. Unfortunately some of them are in tough shape, so I can't offer any help on preserving them.
You have some wonderful well-loved books. Each is a treasure.
~ Jim
I ended up throwing out one of my mother's old book: The Little Colonel by Annie Fellows Johnson. It was falling apart and filthy. Perhaps I could have had it repaired, but then it wasn't a favorite of mine.
ReplyDeleteThe book that I want to preserve is A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson, my childhood favorite, especially since at age four I signed my book. I doubt if it has any monetary value, but the illustrations depict the Edwardian era. I love it. I wish my kids had loved it too, but by then The Berenstain Bears and Little Critter Series had overtaken my daughter.
The new classic, which I think should be given out at marriage counseling, George and Martha by James Marshall. I loved that series so much, I went out and bought the complete works, and was saddened to hear shortly after my purchase that Mr. Marshall died. Condensed wisdom in every story.
I love old kids books! I collect children's books from the 40's and 50's ... I adore the artwork on the dust jackets! My favourite is my much loved copy of Sally's Family. I've already had it rebound once and I'm not sure what I'll do when it finally falls apart at the seams.
ReplyDeleteJim, I’m curious about the subject matter of your books. Are they classics?
ReplyDeleteThey sound very special with leather covers and hand sewn pages. The older books truly are gems.
The Child’s Garden of Verses must hold special memories for you. Even though your children didn’t love your book, E.B., perhaps future grandchildren will enjoy reading it and looking at the illustrations.
ReplyDeleteThe George and Martha series sounds full of wisdom and a good gift to give a child…or newly engaged couple.
Kara,
ReplyDeleteThe earliest "classic" is an 1851 copy of Sir Walter Scott's Lady of the Lake - not exactly a first edition!
Most of the early books are nonfiction relating to history or morals, such as an 1818 copy of Dodsley's The Economy of Human Life.
~ Jim
Your collection sounds wonderful, Kellie! I also like the artwork on older children’s books. When I was a child I remember the art felt comforting and a bit magical.
ReplyDeleteI hope that Sally’s Family stays intact for many decades.
Interesting books, Jim. Being an over-researcher, I *had* to do a search on The Economy of Human Life and Robert Dodsley. I learned that the author used his profits from writing to become a book seller. Eventually he became one of the foremost publishers of his day and helped finance A Dictionary of the English Language written by Samuel Johnson. Now I know what to do with all that money I make writing blogs :)
ReplyDeleteKara, I love old books, too. I'm not going through all of them now to check publishing dates, but I have THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON BLUEBERRY ISLAND published in 1917. No, I didn't read that particular edition as a child. :-)But I did read the Bobbsey Twins as well as Nancy Drew.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite old editions is a copy of Sarah Orne Jewett's works. It's dated 1895. It's cover is tattered and I have updated versions of all of her works, but because I love her writing so much, I treasure this book.
My very oldest book was my father's. It's a first edition of THE ESSAYS OF ELIA by Charles Lamb published in 1820-1823.It's really tattered and has newspaper clippings about Charles Lamb from 1944.
Kara, like you I used to climb up a tree to read, an old willow tree at my grandparents farm across the road to read as a child and as a young teenager,too.
I used to read books my grandparents had collected. Wind in the Willows was one of my favorites. My read read a set of Laura Ingalls Wilder to pieces (not an anology) and got another set.
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful books to own, Gloria. I’m sure you treasure them.
ReplyDeleteIt’s good to have a “reading” tree as a child. I thought of it as a place where my imagination could take over and I could share adventures with my friends in books. Now the idea of sitting on a tree branch for hours just sounds painful.
I enjoyed the Laura Ingalls Wilder series too, Warren! By reading her books to "pieces", you probably picked up useful writing techniques like how to write compelling characters and stories.
ReplyDelete