Andrew Lang. The Book of Dreams and Ghosts. London; New York; Bombay,: Longmans; Green, 1897.
The Art of Book Design: The Book of Dreams and Ghosts
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Art, Fun, & Nonsense.
Andrew Lang. The Book of Dreams and Ghosts. London; New York; Bombay,: Longmans; Green, 1897.
The Romance of Insect Life, by Edmund Selous, with B&W illustrations by Lancelot Speed and Carton Moore-Park throughout. Natural history stories from the insect world, published by Seeley & Co, London, 1907
I’m confused by the bird on the cover. Is it a gift of love or an object of love?
via: The Reader’s Desire
Max Wolf. Die Milchstrasse. Leipzig : Johann Ambrosius Barth, 1908 — Source.
I love the simplicity of just a few stars on textured cloth to portray the milky way.
Julia E. Rogers. Trees Every Child Should Know. New York, Grosset & Dunlap, 1909.
The trees look like they’re dancing.
via: The Internet Archive
Saul Alinsky. Rules for Radicals. New York, Random House, 1971. ©Marcus Ranum, all rights reserved
Our book today comes from Marcus and I love the bright, quirky colours and design so typical of the 70’s.
Despite its age, this book is still relevant and contains Alinsky’s 13 Rules for Radicals which all political activists should be familiar with. Alinsky believed in working within the system and his philosophy was essentially one of non-violence. This book contains one of my favourite quotes:
“People cannot be free unless they are willing to sacrifice some of their interests to guarantee the freedom of others. The price of democracy is the ongoing pursuit of the common good by all of the people.” Saul Alinsky, via: Open Culture
William Ernest Henley. Hawthorne and Lavender: with other verses. USA, Harper and Brothers, 1901.
Flowerchild Fairytale of Good and Evil, by G. van der Hoeven. Cover design by J.B. Heukelom, 1901.
via: Indigo Dreams
Henry Van Dyke. The Blue Flower. Illustrated by A. Heming. Binding designed by Margaret Neilson Armstrong. New York. Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1892.
The illustrator of this book, Arthur Henry Howard Heming, comes from a small town near me called Paris, Ontario.
Jonathan Swift. Voyages de Gulliver dans des contrées lointaines. Paris: Delarue, 1855 — Source.
A particularly charming French version of Gulliver’s Travels.
John Kendrick Bangs. A Houseboat on the Styx. U.S., Harper & Brothers, 1895.
Today’s book is extra-special because it belongs to our very own Anne, Cranky Cat Lady. It’s also my very first reader submission for this column and I thank Anne for that very much. She tells me this book belonged to her parents and I can see that it’s landed in a good next home with someone who recognizes that the value of a book is more than just as a repository for stories.
Often when I post a lovely, old book I wonder what it feels like in your hand. What are its textures, its weight and its point of balance? What of the thickness of its papers and the feel of its edging as you turn a page? I wonder how the binding sounds as you open the book and what is the faint fragrance of its paper and glue and incense of ink. Modern e-readers are fine, functional things and I use one myself sometimes, but a book, a real book, is a treat for the senses and not just the mind.
If you have a real book that you’d like to share, I’d like to see it. Just e-mail me at the link on the sidebar. Thanks again, Anne, for sharing your A Houseboat on the Styx.
Mary & Elizabeth Kirby. Humming Birds. London ; New York : T. Nelson, 1874.
via: The Internet Archive
