I was pleased as punch when my Baby unearthed this treasure of a book in a local charity shop. The lady behind the counter, whilst not elderly, was advancing in years, and when I presented the book along with a skirt I was buying, looked at me incredulously and sharply said 'What good's that to you then?' I replied that it was old and that I liked old things. She flicked through it, was visibly disgusted by the scrawls in pencil and pen, and asked 'Have you seen the state of it?!' I said yes, and at the prompting of her more gentle husband, she responded by giving me the book for free.
I'm happy to give things like this a home. I like photographing them, and sharing them on the internet for others to enjoy. Books are fragile and won't last forever, and I think it's nice to have a digital trace of them left after the paper has disintegrated and the ink faded.
I love the illustrations, they're always so beautiful in books from this era. The colours are wonderful. I actually grew up reading books from the 1940s and 1950s, as they had belonged to my parents, and I read them alongside the Ladybird books of the 1980s. My favourite books of my parents were the 'Black Bob' books about the pluckiest of sheepdogs. I'll have to photograph them for you readers at some point. The stories were really quite exciting!
My favourite part of this new find though is the dedication in the front - how pleased Sylvia must have felt when she was presented with this book!
I did a little research, and Blaenrhondda School was built in 1882. Today, it's now derelict (see this webpage for some excellent photos of the spooky half destroyed building)
See this is always a dilemma for me. The Librarian in me has a fit of the horrors at a book being defaced, but the history lover in me likes the story behind an inscription!
ReplyDeleteTee hee, I know what you mean! x
DeleteI don't think that lady took any lessons in how to sell! LOL
ReplyDeleteLove the illustrations.
bisous
Suzanne
She was a character for sure!! x
DeleteIt looks like the book fared better than the school! I've found that old books will keep a long time as long as they're kept in a good place away from too much sun or too much moisture. I have all of my old books from when I was a kid as well as some old books from when my aunt was a little kid as well as some old books that I've just collected over the years. You give me the inspiration to write my own blog post about old books! :) Your book looks like a great find to me... the book along with the old school and the inscription tells a story that is quite mysterious :)
ReplyDeleteoo I can't wait to read your blog post about old books, that's fab that you have a collection x
DeleteOh, that is such a sweet relic! I love the style of illustration too, it's like the Golden Books that I used to read when I was a kid. And the inscription is really nice, it's great that you know who it belonged to. It would be kind of fun to try and look her or her descendants up and show them proof that Grandma was quite the athlete in her day.
ReplyDeleteI have done a quick google, couldn't find anything though, Williams is such a common surname around here! P x
DeleteBeautiful illustrations in this book! How fun to track down the school!
ReplyDeleteJill
dousedinpink.blogspot.com
It's always a spot of fun to play amateur detective! x
DeleteThat book sounds awesome!!
ReplyDeleteI was pleased to find it! x
DeleteWhat a charming book (I love that ice-skating outfit in red and white), and the inscription is so wonderful. What an exciting prize for a race! I've lately been thinking about book inscriptions, because when I was younger I thought they were silly, but I have a book that was my grandmother's, and it has written on the inside that it was a gift from my mother (her daughter-in-law) and the year. It means something more to me because of that, and perhaps my children will have it after me and it will mean something to them too.
ReplyDeleteThat's a lovely sentiment I think, to pass it down the family like that. How touching x
DeleteThe lady behind the counter seems like she's doing quite the opposite to run a business, that book is a lovely find! I love finding old books with inscriptions in them, it gives them more of a personal feel and I always wonder about who the person was that was given the book.
ReplyDeleteAmia