More Acquisitions

I thought I'd show you some of the books I salvaged from the garage:

The Awakening of Helen Richie
Helen's Babies
Footsteps of Scott

There are 9 color illustrations - postcard-sized and mounted on heavy grey stock and each protected with a sheet of tissue. They didn't appear to be anything of great artistry, but when I researched the artist I found some really wonderful paintings online and added those links to his author page.

Satan Sanderson

The Old Gentleman of the Black Stock
which is another Margaret Armstrong design.

and for fuzzi's particular pleasure
The Furnace of Gold

The drama is heart-stopping in this one.

Sooo, Helen's Awakening, did this have something to do with Helen's Babies? Seems a bit racy for that era. ;)

>2 MrsLee: Somewhere in that sequence you'll find Helen's Temper and its Consequences.

Beautiful!!!

Whose books were these, again?

When my mother-in-law died, the entire family collection of books and papers - including all of the geneology work she had been so passionate about, AND her poetry, were ignored by her other children. They carted off the antiques that looked worth some money and I was allowed to save what they thought was garbage. I was already widowed at the time, and so not considered family proper. My girls were too young to have opinions. These books belonged to my MIL's family going back several generations. They each have a pencil inscription inside telling which aunt or uncle acquired the book. The collection lived in Grandma Edna's living room for most of a century without being disturbed. I am so pleased to be the conservator, and love being able to document the collection on LT.

My husband's siblings did not have children, so mine are the proper inheritors. They are both avid readers, but I doubt their tastes are appreciative of these works yet. Meanwhile, I can enjoy them.

What a nice story, thank you for saving those books and papers. Eventually someone will appreciate them, for more than what they would fetch if sold on Ebay. :)

A few more from the stacks - this time there are a couple of duds.

Heritage of Peril is the worst melodrama I've ever attempted to read.

The Eternal City also seems to jump all over the place and from fictional characters to real life people without a real plan, though it's been made into a movie twice.

The Gilded Chair looks interesting. Although my cover is plain, the color frontispiece is reproduced on a reprint cover:


My favorite of this lot is Janice Meredith, which is a historical novel about the American Revolutionary period.
I think the title character is a real person.

I'll show you the cover in full size so you can appreciate the gemwork:

Nice!

I especially like the title/author font on the cover.

I stopped by the public library this afternoon, and perused the discard/for sale shelf...

Yes!!! It was definitely tattered, but definitely lovely:

Mistress Mashams Repose by T.H. White





And the illustrations are by one of my favorite artists, too, Fritz Eichenberg!





Look at the nifty endpapers, too!



I've read a couple of the author's other books, including The Sword in the Stone, so I am hoping for a fun read!

I am so jealous of your Acquisitions! What great fun, finding such a collection of books. Thanks for sharing with the LT crowd.

>9 fuzzi: Good find and I'm also glad it's found a loving home. At a recent Friends of the Library sale I got a set of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights with Fritz Eichenberg illustrations.

>11 BonnieJune54: ooh, nice. Share pictures, if you can?

>9 fuzzi: Going directly to my shelves to see whether my copy has those great illustrations!

**Claps hands** They do, but mine is a paperback so no endpapers.

My daughter's boyfriend finally got her a ring and presented it to her last evening. His sister helped to set the scene with rose petals strewn on the floor in front of a fire in the fireplace and the ring box centered on the mantelpiece. I got Rose's phone call just as I arrived at the restaurant for her birthday celebration, and I had time enough to run to Half-Priced Books in the same shopping center to buy them a celebratory gift (a 2015 calendar and a pretty blank journal, for recording their future together) and a card.

Of course, I paused briefly in the collectibles corner and found a particularly poignant title. Itself, the book is so romantic.

A Dream of Fair Women illustrated by Harrison Fisher.



The title is from a poem by Tennyson, but it only contains certain lines from that poem and many other poems, particularly those of the Hoosiers. The focus of the book is Fisher's artwork, with 22 color prints. The pages with the poetry on them have page decorations by E. Stetson Crawford.

All of the prints can be viewed on this page.

When I went looking for a cover image this morning I saw that it's for sale at more than $100 most places. My copy had a Half-Price tag of $10, but overlaid with another at $5. I was shocked this morning to see an old penciled price inside of $395.

Just a bonus today as a codicil of my joy.

>15 MrsLee: A gift from the universe, I call it! I love those sorts of joys.

>14 2wonderY: $395????? No way I would pay that...

Congratulations to the happy couple!

Since I know now how easy it is to get to the Half-Price Books store, I dropped by again yesterday on my way home. I needed another calendar, guys!

Another awfully cute book wanted to come home with me.
Reluctant Millionaire by Maysie Greig (1945)



I don't typically "do" romances. They have to have some quirky appeal. This one has a great first line:

"Simon Bruce came out of a test tube, figuratively speaking, to learn he had inherited a fortune." and a pristine dustjacket.

In the second paragraph:
"It was a colossal, almost a vulgar fortune, left him by Jason K. Herling, the big American sausage king."

Oh to be a millionaire in sausages...

I LOVE it that you found such a treasure at Half-Price Books (A Dream of Fair Women. I visited one in the Chicago area last spring, but as far as I know, there are none in my state, Colorado.

I stopped by the local library book sale this morning, which was pitifully attended. I bought just a handful of books, none of the tattered variety. Just one massive National Geographic tome with lots of old photos to enjoy.

I felt guilty and went home and cleaned one set of shelves. Removing some poetry and the whole set of Robert Fulghum titles. I'm beginning to succeed in asking the question 'Will I ever open this book again?'

>20 2wonderY: I have been cleaning my shelves, too, of recommended books that I don't think I will be reading, anytime soon.

Today I found a book from my childhood, at a yard sale:



I remember reading it "by myself" when I was about 6.

I managed to keep my purchases to just one box at the annual Trinity Book Sale in my town.

I found several treasures.
Wise and Otherwise



In Shining Armor


And my particular favorite
The Knave of Hearts


I dearly love all of Maxfield Parrish’s work.
This is a large format hardcover published in 1925. The paper is unusually heavy, and the full page color prints are numerous. Contented sigh.

That The Knave of Hearts looks wonderful!

I have to be in court for 2 days - no electronic devices allowed. Panicked a bit.

On Hold at the library:
Stowaway to the Mushroom Planet
The wonderful flight to the Mushroom Planet
Room made of windows
The frozen Thames
'SISTER;' : THE WAR DIARY OF A NURSE. WASHBURN by Mrs. Helen Dore Boylston (not cataloged yet)
SISTERS AND BROTHERS Stevenson, D. E (not cataloged yet). I suspect that I am in for a disappointment - despite the catalog entry, I suspect that it is by Janet Stevenson, we shall see
LAST STRAW FOR HARRIET Cadell, Elizabeth
At Freddie's Fitzgerald, Penelope

Bought from Alibris, yes there is a repeat...
Carol goes backstage by Mrs. Helen Dore Boylston
Anything can happen by George Papashvily
The wonderful flight to the Mushroom Planet by Eleanor Cameron
Guestward ho! by Barbara C. Hooton
Alister and Co. & It's Nice to Be Me by D. E. Stevenson

The Book Thing of Baltimore, Inc.:
The Emperor's lady, a novel based on the life of the Empress Josephine by F. W. Kenyon
The child from the sea by Elizabeth Goudge
To serve them all my days by R. F. Delderfield
Kilmeny of the orchard by L. M. Montgomery
Little town at the crossroads by Maria D. Wilkes
A summer to die by Lois Lowry
Melusine : a mystery by Lynne Reid Banks
Don't Call Me Katie Rose

Was not in a book acquiring mood, so I was well below the per person limit per day :-).

ETA: two more holds came in and I forgot to add acquisitions from The Book Thing visit.

>24 MDGentleReader: Most of those are pretty short. It'll take a pretty big pile of them to keep you occupied in court.

I can see them scratching their heads as they examine your bag going through security. But if no one is allowed electronic devices, you may find yourself quite popular.

>25 SylviaC: I had forgotten to add my Book Thing haul, there are some larger tomes in there. Also, two more holds are in at the library. I did keep well under their daily limit per person, but when I went in I wasn't in a book acquiring frame of mind (strange, I know).

>26 2wonderY: Perhaps. While very few of them are TBSL, I believe they were all published decades ago - and they look it. How many people do you know who would look twice at such a pile of books? (present company excepted). On the other hand, desperation at being pried from electronic devices might persuade folks to take a look. We shall see.

I am a little uncertain if I'll be expected to take an interest in the proceedings, so I don't know how much reading I'll actually get done.

Update!

Today I was at my local used bookstore, dropping off some "culls", when I noticed a familiar name: D.E. Stevenson. The book is Celia's House, and it belongs to me, now!

Any of you familiar with this one? The cover is a picture of a little girl in a wagon, hitched to a goat:

>28 fuzzi: Wow, lucky find! It's a little different from some of her better known books. Not one of my favourites, but I think you might like it.

Oh, yes, and it you ever come across Listening Valley, it is a companion book to Celia's House.

>29 SylviaC: thanks for the info. I still need to read Miss Buncle Married, too!

>27 MDGentleReader: Congratulations. I have the exact same cover. Not one of my favorites, either, but I know of folks who really love it.

>30 SylviaC: Hmm not sure I was aware Listening Valley was a companion. Then again, I don't think I've ever read my copy of Celia's House, so it's been years since I read it. Listening Valley I like better each time I read it.

>31 fuzzi: Only one I would by DES I would avoid is Rosabelle Shaw, but it is quite rare, so it unlikely you'd come across it.

>32 MDGentleReader: The second half of Listening Valley takes place in the same community as Celia's House, a few years after it ends.

I also have the same edition of Celia's house, and the matching copy of Listening Valley. Haven't read Celia in so many years that I remember very little of it, and just read Listening Valley for the first time last year. I liked LV, and intend to reread CH sometime soon. I suspect I will like it better now that I'm older more mature.

The one I would avoid is Emily Dennistoun, unless you like melodrama. It was written early in her career, but not published until long after her death.

Yes, I second avoiding Emily Dennistoun. I had blocked that one...

I am the happy new owner of The Plague and I by Betty MacDonald! Found a reasonably priced copy (under $15) on Amazon which said it was "like new." Guess I'll find out whether that description is true or not in a few days. All the other copies there, including those only marked "good" were $30 and up.

>35 MrsLee: I have a nice hardcover copy that I haven't got around to reading yet.

>35 MrsLee: I love that book! Hope your copy is indeed "like new".

>35 MrsLee: Ooooh, lucky! I liked reading more of her back story, after reading The Egg and I...The Plague happens after that, when she is now a single mother of 3 daughters.

For a book club I am reading To Kill a Mockingbird, and loving it. There's a sequel - written 60 years ago - which will come out this summer. Go Set a Watchman.

I expect I'll read it, too!

The ReStore had a handful of vintage books, and for a wonder they were priced just like the other books - $1 per hardback. Besides buying a stack of huge ceramic tiles for 50 cents a piece, I winnowed the book stack down to half a dozen. They are shelved in KY, and I don't recall titles except for Home to Kentucky, a novel featuring Henry Clay.

>40 2wonderY: Your book's title reminded me of an excellent vintage novel I read a while ago, about the experience of the first settlers to eastern Kentucky, focusing on one small family. I think the author was female. I'm pretty sure I kept the book, but can't find it in my books tagged Kentucky. What could it be?

I've just started to explore and collect Kentucky literature. Do let me know if you find it.

A lady at the parking lot flea market valued books not at all. 50 cents each for pristine hardcovers with dustjackets. I snatched up The WPA Guide to Kentucky, first published in 1939. This copy was published in 1996. The other treasure was Greetings from Kentucky: A Post Card Tour, 1900 – 1950. I will be cozying up with both and learning much about my adopted state.

>43 2wonderY: wow, nice finds!

I just picked up this cute little number:



Dorothy Dale's Camping Days. The writing appears adequate and the first page has some piquancy. The girls are on a hayride, and disaster is upon them. Margaret Penrose is a Stratemeyer Syndicate penname, probably written by Lilian Garis, who also wrote some of the original Bobbsey Twins.

Sink the Bismarck! arrived today...it squeaks in under the wire as a TBSL as it was published in 1958.

>45 2wonderY: is that an image of the actual copy? If so, it looks like a really good find!

Yes, it is, and I confess the cover helped to make the sale. I discovered though that the same image is used on each of the books in the series.

Ooh, I found a keeper, I think!

While going through boxes of books at a yard sale this morning, I found The Fireside Book of Dog Stories, with an introduction by James Thurber! It's a first edition, with a mention in the front about books in wartime...published in 1943.

::happy::

>48 fuzzi: Yep, that's why we can't resist those boxes of books. There can always be something like that in it.

A lovely LTer sent me some D.E. Stevenson books, that arrived yesterday:

The Four Graces
Amberwell
The Enchanted Isle

THANK YOU!!

Those D.E. Stevenson's sound lovely. I've been culling my books a bit lately, and decided I'd really better read this charmer from 1928, Fifteen Days in the Air starring cool guy, 17yo Andy Lane, who pilots a plane. And takes his puppy along, too. Properly tethered in, of course.

I dreamt that a store I visit for other purchases unexpectedly had scads of books to sell, many of them of the tattered variety. It's been a while since I've been book shopping, so I think my subconscious is pining. I had an armful before the dream segued into another.

>52 2wonderY: nice dream!

Today The Two Mrs. Abbotts arrived, yes! Once I read it, I can dive into The Four Graces (see post 50).

>52 2wonderY: It's nice that the dream ended before you had to pay for the books, but sad that you didn't have time to read them. Maybe tonight.

>53 fuzzi: Yay!!!

>54 SylviaC: But I think they were so cheap...

Back to reality, my real books spilled themselves across my bedroom doorway yesterday in a dramatic gesture. "READ ME!" they clamoured.

They Looked for a City by Lydia Buksbazen has arrived!

I heard portions of it read once, on the radio, and I was intrigued. I recently saw it mentioned and decided to find a copy to read.

It was written in the 1950s, so it qualifies as a TBSL.

Found and bought a first edition of Spotted Horse by Glenn Balch on ebay. It's one of his books I've not seen before!

And found A Tangled Web by L.M. Montgomery at a thrift store, reprinted in 1989.

>58 fuzzi: I haven't read that in years, but I used to like it a lot. A bit melodramatic in places, but a nice mix of characters and storylines.

>59 SylviaC: thanks for the info. It is waaay down on my TBR, however.

I especially like that it's a library copy, a paperback rebound with a hard cover.

My eyes were devoted to discovering flatware and serving trays at the junque mall yesterday; but just above one box of flatware, there were a few books. I found Peacock Feathers by Temple Bailey! I'm thrilled. First pages are lovely writing.

>61 2wonderY: nice find!

>61 2wonderY: I've not heard of either title or author. What era would Peacock Feathers be?

>63 SaintSunniva: I've got a thread devoted to her lovely covers

http://www.librarything.com/topic/183773

She started being published in the teens, I think.

I found a copy of A Civil Contract by Georgette Heyer at a yard sale today. My only previous read by that author was Frederica, recommended by MDGentleReader.

>65 fuzzi: Those Heyers are not so easy to find anymore! Enjoy!

>66 SaintSunniva: thank you! And it's in excellent condition, too. :)

>67 fuzzi: I hope you enjoy it, it has a rather unusual heroine. One of my favourite Heyers.

I made a "haul" yesterday, but here are the books most appropriate to this group.

Macbeth, published in 1909 by Grosset & Dunlap

No More a Stranger by Anne B. Fisher This is about the time Robert Louis Stevenson spent in Monterey, CA. I love stories about California. Also, if this author writes well, she may bear looking into. Her profile on the jacket is fascinating! She was a registered nurse and bacteriologist. A scientist with her own clinical animal laboratory. She married a zoologist. "Combining the persevering research and precision of the scientist and the creative imagination of the artist, she has written what she likes to call a "re-creation," based on the life of Stevenson and the real lives of those around him in Monterey. This book is also signed by the author, hardcover with a bit of a tatty, but lovely cover. I have high hopes for it.

I had fun at the FOL book sale this morning!

I brought home twenty books (!!!!!!), but these were the only TBSLs:

Angus and the Ducks by Marjorie Flack (1930)
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Little Black Sambo (from 1961, a Whitman Tip Top book)
The Secret Language by Ursula Nordstrom
Rainbow Valley by L.M. Montgomery (the only Anne book I don't have a paper/real copy of)

Now I just need to add them to LT...and find room for them on my shelves...somewhere! :D

>70 fuzzi: Brighty of the Grand Canyon surely qualifies as TBSL? Is it the hardcover version with the lovely illustrations? My daughter has that one.

>71 MrsLee: I thought it was from the 1960s, which is borderline...?

Oh, I don't know. I just consider it so because it was done when illustrations still meant something. Right about then, most of the pictures in books became very ugly.

I checked, the paperback is from 1953, you're right!

Was someone here looking for my book house with the green covers?

>75 MDGentleReader: I was looking for YOU! :)

>69 MrsLee: Well, my hopes are dashed. The prose for No More a Stranger was hopelessly dull. I couldn't even finish it. The historical notes and sources listed at the end with photos were much more interesting. I think the author would have done better to keep it at that.

Aw, sorry to hear it, MrsLee.

Tra-la! Tra-lee!

I went to the annual Trinity Church booksale last evening. That's NOT Trinity College in either Dublin or Toronto, but humble Parkersburg, WV.

I wasn't even trying to find more than a couple of school dictionaries for the grands. I have no room for more books. I barely glanced under the laden tables. I haven't even stood out first morning in the cold and the rain for this sale for several years.

But I did come home with three modest boxes of books.

In relation to this group's purvue, I found The Birds' Christmas Carol and a 1942 History of American Costume and a WW2 POW story - Three Came Home.

For other interests, I now have Martha Stewart's Gardening, which should help me get through the winter months; and nine count them - 9! - Easton Press leatherbound Roger Tory Peterson field guides with gilt edgings. They are pristine and smell like leather! They were all in a box marked for sale - $10 for the set. They smell marvelous! Did I mention that already?

Perhaps my favorite book though is a photographic essay book on southern homesteads. It's called Silent in the Land. It's not the grand houses, but the interesting ones. Lovely, lovely photos.

Oh. PS: I forgot to mention this copy of Black Beauty, illustrated by Florence White Williams.

like those? nice.

Do you even have bookcases? or are all the books in boxes?

They're the 50th anniversary editions.



I DO have bookcases. Just not enough of them. See my member gallery for a few pics.

>82 2wonderY: if you want to make room on your shelves by unloading the Petersons...

;)

>80 2wonderY: very nice!

Those Petersons are beautiful - much too nice to actually take into the field!

I may decide to pass some of the Petersons on. I would have preferred them to be botanic guides, but half are birds and the rest are insects. What use have I for a field guide to Mexican Birds?

If you applied that logic to all your books, you wouldn't have the storage problem :)

Hey! You have no idea!

>86 JerryMmm: ha!

I went back to the booksale Wednesday evening and discovered they took the evening off! Oh, well. Everything is half price on Thursday, and Friday and Saturday you can fill a bag for $1.

Jerry and I made a detour past Trinity last night on the way home to Athens county. He wanted a new carpenters apron from Woodcraft and I wanted to finally get to this outrageous sale after such a long absence. Saw the sign for early closing Wednesday, did not make it there today, but hope to tomorrow.

Ruth, also wanted to tell you even though it's probably too late, that we are again having a mountain dulcimer get together in the old school in Stewart, Saturday 11/7. I'm at the Lowes parking lot wi-fi and won't necessarily be able to do much online in the next couple of days, but info is at jcrmusic.

The last book extravaganza I went to was the AAUW in NE ohio... Really scored great in the tattered but lovely department with the great 50s book of grand opera, illustrated and with arias.

Correction. Saturday prices were $2 per bag. I wasn't going to buy anything more except for the rest of the Peterson field guide collection; which must have been priced by a second person, as they were $5 each. I would have gotten then just to pass them on, but they were gone.

But the fever got in me and I managed to load 4 more bags into the car. This is material I'll be offering for give-away once I sort through it. Lots of old classics in old library bindings. I'll probably keep the Uncle Wiggley book, but there are 3 Mrs. Wiggs titles and much much more.

>90 Marchpane: Mary, I may see you this evening. Thanks for the heads up!

>91 2wonderY: 2wonderY : We did make it to Trinity And the book sale during the last hour of Friday, and were quite delighted with our newest acquisitions. The dulcimer festivities in Stewart went well, and we are back up in NE Ohio, still not spending much time at home in Athens County.

I found a couple of books that belong in the rare and narrow cAtegory of TBSL music. Will post more as I go through the box.. It had been some years since I visited a Trinity book sale-- thanks for posting it on LT local.

>5 2wonderY: 2wondery: Oh my! Such wonderful books! Those covers are so splendid. I used to own quite a few similar books but had to sell them before a house move. I am so sad now that I sold them as they are not so easy to find these days. But I will keep looking!
Thank you for going to the trouble of sharing these with everyone. And the story of how your acquired them is lovely too. You were far better off than the people who went for the antiques I'm sure!

If anyone would like to join in the fun of a little group I started please feel free. It's a place where we can share books that we've found in charity/thrift shops, library sales, garage sales etc. You can find the group here:

https://www.librarything.com/groups/charitythriftshoppur

All welcome!

>92 Marchpane: Marchpane, I'm late to this thread, but I'd love to know what you categorize as TBSL music, and what you found. I have quite a bit of that myself.

Found one that qualifies: Helen Keller: Sketch for a Portrait, from 1954. It's a smaller hardcover, 5"x7". It's in very good shape, though no dustjacket.

FOTL BOOK SALE TOMORROW!!!

Actually, it started today, for FOTL members. I'll stop by tomorrow, after work...about noon.

::happy::

>97 fuzzi: Good hunting! There aren't any sales close by this weekend, but there are some prospects for later this month.

>98 harrygbutler: thank you!

Oh, I just remembered...need to get out a couple sturdy canvas totes...

Woo! I dun good!

My personal haul was 16 books, but of those these are the TBSLs:

Betsy~Tacy and Tib by Maud Hart Lovelace
Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill by Maud Hart Lovelace
Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown by Maud Hart Lovelace
Betsy in Spite of Herself by Maud Hart Lovelace
Betsy Was a Junior by Maud Hart Lovelace
Betsy and Joe by Maud Hart Lovelace
Betsy and the Great World by Maud Hart Lovelace
The White Stag by Kate Seredy

I've read a couple of the Betsy~Tacy books before, and they're fun. I can't recall if I ever read The White Stag, but I loved the author's The Good Master.

Nice finds!

Good job!

Oh wow, that's almost the whole set of Betsy-Tacy! Hope you enjoy them!

>103 Sakerfalcon: thanks, I think I will! I'm only missing the first book, Betsy-Tacy and one from the middle, Heaven to Betsy.

Our library is cleaning their shelves in preparation for moving to a new building. They are ridding themselves of a whole shelf full of published plays from the early 1900s. I don't have space to rescue those, but I did bring these books of poetry home, along with a few more modern books.

"Out Where the West Begins: and Other Western Verses" - by Arthur Chapman, published in 1917

"West of Powder River: Tales of the Far West told in Narrative Verse" - by "Powder River" Jack H. Lee, published in 1933, a First Edition with a very cool cover

Sonnets to a Red-Haired Lady (By a Gentleman with a Blue Beard) and Famous Love Affairs by Don Marquis, published in 1922, also a First Edition with drawings by Stuart Hay

The Chinese Nightingale and Other Poems by Vachel Lindsay, published in 1917, I bought this for the cover, which is lovely and has a dragon on it!

I haven't time to enter them on LT today, and the first two don't seem to have touchstones yet, but I will enter them tomorrow. I particularly like the covers on West of Powder River (a cowboy on his bronco) and The Chinese Nightingale (a pagoda/dragon design).

>105 MrsLee: I am looking forward to seeing your covers. :)

>105 MrsLee: I'll be interested in hearing your opinion of Sonnets to a Red-Haired Lady. I've been a fan of Archy and Mehitabel since I was a teen, when I discovered that volume of poems at my grandparents' house.

>106 fuzzi: I've forgotten how to post a bookcover here. Do I have to save it to Flickr, or can I do it from within LT?

>107 harrygbutler: I did not make the connection of the author of those two works, although his name was familiar! My daughter loved Archy and Mehitabel as well, so I will probably give this one to her when I am finished. I couldn't pass it up since I am a somewhat red-haired lady. :D

>108 MrsLee: upload it to your gallery here on LT, then right click on the uploaded picture, choose copy location, and then paste it in your post with the img src=" before, the " width=200 after (200 is good enough to see, 400 is better for photos you want others to see well) and don't forget the arrow characters before and after the img... html I posted above.

Here's the link to the html thread:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/177029

Testing. This is from West of Powder River

OK, that worked from the book in my library, I didn't have to do the gallery thing, so that makes it easier. Here is The Chinese Nightingale


I am not a talented enough scanner to get the gold effect, but the background on the sign is brassy gold color.

Nice covers!

Not a TBSL, but I was delighted to find an unknown to me mary stewart children's book, the Little Broomstick. I am enjoying, but am saving it for if I called to be on a jury and have to turn off electronics. I got the book at the Black Swan in Richmond, VA and how I wish you all had been with me. My Sweetie took a picture of the decorated bindings section, I'll get it from him and post it at some point.

They had a copy of another unknown work by an author I know the circus is Coming by noel streatfeild. It was $95 and not nearly as immediately delightful as the Little Broomstick. Wonderful selection of books. I'dheard of the Black Swan years before we stumbled upon it.

>114 MDGentleReader: The circus is coming was published in the US as "Circus shoes" (even though it isn't connected to Ballet shoes). I never liked it as much as some of Streatfeild's other books because the kids are whiny and lazy, especially the girl, and I wanted to smack some sense into them.

Ah, I didn't know it was one forced into the shoe mold. The intro was delightful, the beginning, not so much. They had a nice hardback of the skating one, but I already own it.

While visiting with friends near Charlotte, I stopped by Book Buyers and brought home four additions to my library. Of the four, two are decidedly TBSL:

Pocket Bible Handbook by Henry Halley (1946 edition)
Father's Big Improvements by Caroline D. Emerson (1936 edition)

Each book is in good to very good condition, no DJ.

Woo! Three TBSLs came home with me today!

Behold, Here's Poison by Georgette Heyer
A Blunt Instrument by Georgette Heyer
Miss Minerva and William Green Hill by Frances Boyd Calhoun

The first two are trade reprints, but the Miss Minerva book is older, written in 1909. It is without a printing date (55th), and in very good condition.

I found one book which none of us, including mom, knows where it came from. All in French, Une Petite Fille en Vacances A little girl on vacation? The top of the book says "Bibliotheque des Enfants Sages" Books for wise children? Inside it is inscribed in beautiful writing, "A ma petite Delphine, De Caroline Weill la cousine, Paris (two small words I'm not sure of) Feirier or Février? 1880. The book was issued in 1879.

We haven't come across those names in our family history to our knowledge, and have very few, if any French lineage. I don't have time to scan it and enter into LT at the moment. When I do, I will add the cover here. It is world worn and truly tattered, but one can still see the penciled picture on the front.

Lovely!

Février is February.

>120 2wonderY: Thank you!

Acquisitions from Greyladies:
Parson's nine by Noel Streatfeild
Near neighbours by Molly Clavering
Pink sugar by O. Douglas
Five Windows by D E Stevenson

Finally found a day together with both daughters and we decided to explore a couple of antique shops daughter #1 had discovered. The second shop was chock full of old photographs and interesting books, as well as furniture, crockery, vintage clothing and great tchotchkes. I tried to resist. I really did. But a couple of first pages wooed me.

It Pays to Advertise features Old Cyrus Martin, the soap king and his rival in the soap business, John Clark.

Dumb-Bell of Brookfield starts:

The king sat on his throne and blinked at the sunlight streaming through the French window. His eyes were pools of liquid amber filled with a brooding dignity, and kind beyond expression. His throne was a big leather chair, worn and slouchy, that stood in the bay window of the Brookfield living-room. He had slept there all night, and it was time for the maid to come, open the French window, and let him out into the dew-washed rose garden.

And I couldn't pass up this 1927 printing of The Revolt of the Angels

I found an on-line edition of Dumb-Bell, and posted the link in the book description boxon the work page. It truly is a wonderful book. Rex Beach wrote a lovely forward.

>124 2wonderY: Speaking of Rex Beach, this is a new one from the FOTL sale. The Ne'er Do Well

My other new TBSL books include:
By the Shores of Silver Lake
Pollyanna's Western Adventure
The Shame of Motley

Lookie the lovely cover illustration! I don't think I've ever read any Rex Beach, but I want to now.

>125 BonnieJune54: I love covers like that.

This image is large, but it doesn't show well when smaller. If it is too annoying, let me know and I will remove it. The cover to >119 MrsLee:.

3 books from Greyladies
Pink Sugar - new author to me
Near Neighbours
Parson's Nine

from Girls Gone By:
The Scholarship Girl at Cambridge - new author to me

I simply had to have my own copy of The Rancho of the Little Loves by Robert Nathan, copyright 1956, after borrowing it from my mother. It is such a great story, I am amazed it appears to be a ultb. Here's how it starts:

There was then in heaven a Calling-Together, or Convocation of the saints, they being vexed and worried at the look of things below and anxious for the world about which they received reports from time to time from angelic messengers who traveled between heaven and earth, descending like doves to the green continents and rising again like herring gulls above the glowing blue oceans.

Plus, it's illustrated with charming line drawings by George Salter.

>130 SaintSunniva: What is a "ultb?"

>141 2wonderY: Unique Library Thing book. SaintSunniva is the only person who has cataloged this book (so far) on LibraryThing. I am about to blow that distinction by adding it to MtTBR.

>132 MDGentleReader: Thanks!

I found two tbsl books at a second hand bookstall last weekend. One is a pony book, Jump to the stars and the other a school/guides story, Guides of Glen School. I've started the pony book and am really enjoying it.

>134 Sakerfalcon: I like pony books, too.

If any of you see Horse Show Hurdles in non-musty and fair or better condition, please get it for me. Online it runs more than $100, and $20 is about my limit.

>131 MrsLee: Mrs. Lee, there's also a group that occasionally talks about their ultb's

http://www.librarything.com/groups/uniquelibrarythingbo

The Unique Library Thing Book Group

And, >132 MDGentleReader:, I will take that tag off my Robert Nathan book right now

From my parents' house, I rescued the full 1952 ten volume set of The American Educator Encyclopedia. Hmmm. I see I'm not the only cataloguer, just needs combining.

They were packed and ready to go to Goodwill. But I find I'm emotionally attached.

This set got enormous use throughout my childhood and that of all my siblings. My dad's favorite response to a question was "Let's look it up." The beautifully bound blue set sat on the top shelf of the bookcase just behind the couch - easily reachable, and with plenty of old-fashioned illustrations. I went from one article to the next, both cross-referencing and just browsing. It helped me to develop a lust for knowledge. a deep enjoyment for learning.

Despite the heavy use, they are in nearly perfect condition.

One of their uses was unique in our household. Every Easter morning, each child (11 of us) was presented with a written clue to finding our Easter basket. Each basket had a trail of perhaps six clues we had to track first, often having one that said "Look up Waterloo in the encyclopedia." or some such. Another favorite was "Look under the front hall rug" and the clue under the rug would say "Silly! Did you think a basket would be hiding under here?" and send us on to the next location. My parents did this every year, and never seemed to repeat the same trail.

So I'm putting them on my shelves in the living room, replacing the nice set of 1993 Groliers that my children used. This was a set that cost us $1 a volume at the Kroger store. Loved that promotion! I will offer them to my children, but my bet is they will decline. Even in high school, my youngest and I would do a search battle every month for social studies bonus points. Teacher handed out 30 questions. Rose would insist on an internet search and I would pull out the encyclopedias. At that time, I would generally win, though not anymore I think.

I loved reading encyclopedias. Now I feed my Elephant Child on the web.

Still, there's something about holding a BOOK in your hand/hands, a feeling that surpasses just the actual knowledge, but also includes the tactile aspects of knowledge. In a similar vein, when I hold my Bible, I think about all that went into it: the old vellum manuscripts, the bits of papyrus fragments being deciphered, the hours of hard work translating, the scratch of quill pens, etc.

I guess I'm a Bibliophile. :)

When I was a child I adored atlases. I could spend hours browsing through one, following the rivers, reading the town names, and even reading the index. I had no particular desire to go to any of the places—I just found maps very satisfying. Now I can't even remember the last time I opened one of my atlases. I just use Google or a map app.

>137 2wonderY: My father used to plan treasure hunts for my birthday parties like that. He was so creative with his clues, sometimes using limericks and other devices. I miss my dad.

Another ploy that men of that age seemed to enjoy was planting coins in fun places for children to find. I remember office picnics where coins were placed throughout the picnic shelters and grounds.

And was it just the trouser pocket design that made change fall out of their pockets and into the crevices of the couch and chairs? The child called to vacuum the furniture after an evening adult party came away with a small fortune.

>141 2wonderY: I went chair-diving often...

Library book sale today!!!!!!!!!!!

Someone had a huge Robert Heinlein collection, paperbacks, many from the 1950s. I got a load of them, all in very good or better condition.

I also picked up three books that qualify for TBSL, well, at least one, and two are sort of:

Mr. Revere and I by Robert Lawson (never read this one, loved Homer Price).

To Be a Logger by Lois Lenski (technically from 1967, but it fits TBSL in its content and illustrations)

Message From Malaga by Helen MacInnes, another borderline TBSL.

I also found a paperback copy of Falls the Shadow by Sharon Kay Penman, to replace my beautiful but too heavy to read/hold with arthritic hands hardcover copy. If anyone wants the hardcover, just let me know.

Dang shang-alang! I thought I was by-passing the Trinity Book Sale last week by being in Kentucky, and I was happy with that thought. I don’t NEED any more books. My understanding was that it’s always the first week of November. Oops, no, it always starts on the first Monday of November; as I learned yesterday evening after sighting the dreaded Book Sale sign. I couldn’t NOT stop and have a look-see, right?

In previous years, each book has been priced separately. This year there was a price list up on the wall, which basically boiled down to hardcovers = $3 and paperbacks = $1, unless the book is stickered. You’d expect those with stickers to be higher priced, but guess again.

The first books I tested that $3 claim were two enormous art books, Rembrandt and Botticelli. Yup, $3 each.

Then there was a box set of My Book House – 9 volumes. The note on the box indicated $5 for the set. Yup, that’s correct. Wow! How could I NOT take them home?

There is always a section of pre-1940 novels that I make a beeline for. You’d think some of these might be collectibles and thus priced higher. Nope.

The first treasure had a 25 cent sticker on it. A Platt & Munk large format Little Folks of Other Lands by Watty Piper and fully illustrated (line drawings and 10 full page color illustrations with beaming natives, jaunty cottages and giggling, dancing livestock) by Lucille Holling and H. W. Holling. The only detraction is a torn title page.

Second treasure, this one 50 cents, is a pristine (Yes! It sat on someone’s shelf and was never cracked open, sad for them!) The Burgess Animal Book for Children. Look at that cover!

The Book of Birds for Young People wasn’t stickered, but I stacked it just under the Burgess, and the gentleman took the hint and charged me 50 cents. Inside are several flyers for other contemporary bird books.

The fourth treasure is the orignal Margaret Armstrong binding of A Weaver of Dreams - $2. I already had a Grossett & Dunlap edition, but it doesn’t match my beautiful Master of the Vineyard volume.

Other good finds:
Sir Percy Hits Back – 50 cents
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Stormfield edition) - $1 (with a bookseller’s business card used as a bookmark.)
Something of Myself - $1.50.
Members of the Family - $1. This contains 8 short story westerns. The first is titled ‘Happy-Teeth’ and the first sentence is “Scipio Le Moyne lay in bed, held together with bandages.” Delightful!

And a non-fiction oddity I was fine with paying the full $3 for: Young Sailor’s Assistant in Practical Seamanship, 3rd edition, 1899. Owned by S. McCarthy, Chief Boatswain, US Navy, 1916. It’s bookmark is a cutout boat silhouette describing positions relative to ship’s direction, such as “broad off quarter.” I can see McCarthy hunched over in his bunk absorbing all the detail knowledge necessary for a master sailor.

The Fabulous Forties – that’s 1840s! The author assures us that he gossips “of old tunes and valentines, forgotten plays and unremembered books, bright silks and satins, twinkling candelabras and vanished splendors of another day.”

My Story that I Like Best, with glossy portraits of six writers, their essay and the story itself. Contributors are Edna Ferber, Irvin S. Cobb, Peter B. Kyne, James Oliver Curwood, Meredith Nicholson and H. C. Witwer.
Interestingly, two of the stories feature shady bankers. Ah, perennial truths.

A newer book I should appreciate is a biography, A Pilgrim Who Made Progress, as I’m currently reading A Pilgrim’s Progress.

Along with a few other random non-fiction reference books, I rounded out my purchases with a huge picture book of The English Roses by David Austin. Total damage = $41.00 Not bad.

>144 2wonderY: An excellent haul!

Just to give you an example of the Holling illustrations from Little Folks of Other Lands:



I'm pretty sure I have a full set of these stories in smaller pamphlet size somewhere in my house.

A set of My Book House for $5.00?? Unreal! Which edition?

The blue to green set. I haven't even had a chance to pull them from the box, I was gloating over the rest.

That should be 10 volumes, right? So one is missing.

edit - 12 volumes. 3 missing.

Ah! You've already got it matched to the correct edition, good for you!

I found a couple nice volumes, though not as nice as yours, at the library last week, for 25 cents each:


The Jungle Book and The Wizard of Oz

and


The Call of the Wild and Black Beauty

Technically the editions aren't TBSL, but they're close: 1963, and the books themselves are TBSL. I like how you can flip the volume over to read the second book.

>148 2wonderY: no problems, bet you can find the missing books online. :)

>114 MDGentleReader: It's like one of those dreams where every corner you turn reveals a new treasure! Congratulations, and good luck with the househunting to find a larger home for your library. ;) So comforting to have lovely books around you.

>149 fuzzi: The My Book House volumes present are 4 through 12, all in good condition. I might have stray copies of some of the missing ones on a cart down in the basement.

Those are lovely, I particularly like the color's in Helen's Babies and the sweet picture.

>152 Cmatha: Hey! Welcome to LT and to our little corner. Do introduce yourself in this thread once you get settled.

as a French Canadian granddaughter this is trop sucré

Oooh, just saw, and oohed and ahhed over your haul, >146 2wonderY:. That illustration is so gorgeous.

I recently came home with The Story Book of Transportation by the Petershams. And it was a dollar. And likely a first edition. I simply love it when that happens! I have quite a few of their books...their style is rather like the Hollings, I think.

>155 SaintSunniva: It's partly those rich colors, but yes, they both really reward the eye, eh?

>155 SaintSunniva: lovely find! The illustrator's name was familiar, so I checked my library, and found a book from my childhood, Nursery Friends From France: My Travelship, was also illustrated by Miska Petersham.

>156 2wonderY: I was just thinking about the Petershams and other husband-wife author-illustrator teams...like Holling C. Holling and Lucille W. Holling, and the D'Aulaires...

Are there others?

Allan Ahlberg and Janet Ahlberg come to mind immediately.

Michael Hague collaborates with his wife, but I think her contribution is the writing.

On a thrift shop visit today I found two TBSL books:


Mother Carey's Chickens, by Kate Douglas Wiggin


Oh, Money! Money!, by Eleanor H. Porter

Oh, Money! Money! was one of the top bestsellers in the U.S. in 1918.

Two good'uns Harry!

I found and ordered two TBSL's by an author I really enjoy, Anne Bosworth Greene: Dipper Hill and Sunshine and dust;: A journey through Italy and the Alps. The former is listed as "Like New", which is incredible considering it was published almost a century ago!

I suppose James Thurber qualifies as tbsl..
Found both volumes in very good condition in a great store in Amsterdam owned by a fellow Thurber fan.

>163 JerryMmm: nice!

From GGBP:
Judith teaches
Margaret Finds a Future
Here We Go Round
Joey Goes to the Oberland

Still reading the 4th one, enjoyed the others. I didn't care for her (Mabel Esther Allan's) Wyndhams Went to Wales (didn't hate it, just not crazy about it), but I've enjoyed the others she's written. Even if Drina's adventures start to become less believable after, oh, the 4th location she dances in.

Too many parens, too tired to make it better...

Dipper Hill arrived today, and while it is in good condition, I would hesitate to classify it as "like new". There's a lot of yellow/browning on the pages and the cover, but the binding is quite good.

>165 MDGentleReader: I too enjoyed Judith teaches and Margaret finds a future. I also liked her Chiltern School. I agree about the Drina books, though I think Drina goes on tour is about the most realistic depiction of the hardships of touring that I've ever read.

>167 Sakerfalcon: I think I'll be ordering Chiltern School shortly. I have not read Drina Goes on Tour, it is a bit pricy for what it is. Hopefully someday.

>168 MDGentleReader: I used to have a complete set of the Drina series in gorgeous editions, but passed them on to a friend's goddaughter when I was downsizing. I still regret that decision.

>169 Sakerfalcon: Think the goddaughter would give them back? Or was this your most recent downsizing?

>170 MDGentleReader: This was a few years ago so I'm not sure if the girl would still have them. And because they were given to her through my friend I wouldn't feel right making my friend enquire after the books. I need to keep reminding myself that I don't really have space on my shelves to take them back anyway.

I am SO disappointed. Sunshine and Dust arrived today, and it's horribly MUSTY. Why would any reputable dealer list something as being in "good condition" when it stinks?

I'm returning it, sniff (sad sniff).

I'm really trying to avoid acquiring books lately, but there are still a few I'd rather own than borrow. Today I decided I need to own a copy of This Changes Everything for reference. But rather than let it go at that, I searched the same half.com shop for other titles I've been looking for and scored three others - four books for less than $16, including shipping charges.

The tattered title is a 1936 nonfiction Man's Worldly Goods, a book on capitalism written during the Great Depression.

Another tatter-related title which I'm devastated that the library system hasn't acquired is the reading life of Oscar Wilde - Built of Books.

My latest TBSL purchase with a nice old dust jacket.

>174 BonnieJune54: I've never read anything by that author.

>175 fuzzi: I thought her O Pioneers! was great. The writing is lyrical and her strong heroine unexpected.

>174 BonnieJune54: Nice find! I love Willa Cather's writing.

Two acquisitions today:

Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Gray Vining, a new author to me and

Feather in the Wind by Beverly Butler, whose books about a young girl's experience with being blinded continue to be favorites of mine.

Are any of you familiar with either of these authors?

I'm pretty sure I read Adam of the Road when I was a kid, but I really don't remember anything about it. I have Light a Single Candle and Gift of Gold, but didn't even realize that Beverly Butler had written anything else.

>179 SylviaC: I found an autobiography by Beverly Butler, Maggie By My Side, but was also unaware of this author's other works.

Yesterday I bought a bag of books for $5 at a great local thrift store, Global Thrift. Anyway, one of my treasures is a 1939 The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes by DuBose Heyward. I can't believe I had never seen this book before, or heard of it, or the author...but I do know and love the illustrator Marjorie Flack. The mother bunny has 21 baby bunnies. Think of it.

>179 SylviaC:, >180 fuzzi: I have Feather in the Wind by Beverly Butler, but haven't read it yet. Do you know it?

>178 fuzzi: I have two by Elizabeth Gray aka Elizabeth Janet Gray...did not know she was the same as Elizabeth Gray Vining. Hmmm. Anyway, I love Adam of the Road and the illustrator...Robert Lawson.

>181 SaintSunniva: I read that a lot 50+ years ago. Um 1939. I'm starting to wonder if I had TBSL tastes as a child or if my school library just didn't have much money for new books.

>181 SaintSunniva: Marjorie Flack wrote The Story About Ping, one of my childhood favorites.

>182 SaintSunniva: the book by Beverly Butler is just a teensy bit musty, so I can't read it yet: it's airing out in the living room/den.

FOTL book sale this weekend...the BIG one...

A lecturer at work donated a very random selection of books to us in the library this week. Unfortunately they don't fit with our collection, so the copy of Tatsinda, with the original illustrations, will be joining my own library.

>186 Sakerfalcon: nice. :)

FOTL sale was not as good as in the past, but I still came home with 12 books. The TBSLs were

The Way of a Dog by Albert Payson Terhune (1932)

Rusty a Cocker Spaniel by Colonel S.P. Meek (1938)

Follow My Leader by James B. Garfield (1957)

Farmer in the Sky by Robert Heinlein (1950)

Ooh! Another TBSL from the library's discard shelf, and it's not even a library copy:


They Were Expendable by W. L. White

What's nifty is there is an advertisement on the back of the dust jacket for US War bonds!

>190 fuzzi: Cool! I'm not sure just where in the house my copy is. I've never read it, but I've seen the movie more than once.

>191 harrygbutler: another one for a shared read, later?

>191 harrygbutler: Absolutely! I expect I'll come across it when I get our back room ready for paint and new bookshelves next month.

Oh my friends! I thought of you last night while I was at the library! Our library is moving in a couple of months, and they are paring down their shelf collections to make it easier, and make room for new acquisitions. I had a long and wonderful talk with the librarian about the process he is going through to make the decisions for culling, the options open to them for dispersal, etc. He is a thoughtful young man who is doing all he can to make our library an important part of our community.

Anyway, they have always had several carts out for Friends of the Library to sell books as a fundraiser, the usual .50 a hardback, etc. Now they have a cart out with some special books, which someone has done a little research on and put tags on them with suggested prices. It's called the "Make an offer" cart.

I only brought home 3 books, but I was tempted by several others.

The Dance of Death by "William Herman" a pseudonym of Ambrose Bierce, which says, "Author's Copy" inside.
Comic Epitaphs From the Very Best old Graveyards by Henry R. Martin, not a library book, pretty clean with a nice cover.
From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, hardcover, which was a favorite of mine when I was a child.

>194 MrsLee: wow, what a treasure trove that must be!

>194 MrsLee: Will you be able to resist going back for more?!

>196 Sakerfalcon: Well, yes. That is until we go to the library next month. It's hard for me not to go every week, because I don't want to miss anything important, but I remind myself that if it is important for me to have the book, it will be there when I am. Otherwise, hopefully it will go to another good home.

I'm excited! I finally found a copy of Summerhills by D.E. Stevenson through bookfinder.com. It's large print, but I don't care. It's listed as in "very good" condition, and the price was reasonable (none of this $30 USD stuff).

A shout out of thanks to SylviaC for starting me on this series with Amberwell.

>198 fuzzi: Oh wow, great find! I hope you enjoy it.

>199 SylviaC: thanks! If it's anything close to Amberwell, I'm sure I will enjoy it.

I had to escape the AC at the office today, so I rambled on over to the tiny local library. They have a well stocked corner of donated books which I had to browse, of course.

Two treasures

The Civil War Through the Camera
Lippincott's Home Manuals: House and Home, 1923

>201 2wonderY: that Civil War book looks interesting, nice find!

Why were you escaping the AC, was it too cold for you?

Yes! Cold storage strength. Others complain about it too, but I'm the only one brave enough to shut it off occasionally.

We refer to it as "meat locker". ;)

I had just been talking about Margaret Armstrong covers...
I was in Indianapolis this week. Not at all interested in the bars, as co-workers are. There was a Half-Price Books within a mile of the hotel. Picked up two Myrtle Reed titles, even though they were a tidge pricy.
A Spinner in the Sun and The Master's Violin. The latter has a wonderfully evocative passage about a hearth fire, which I'll share later.

Also bought Edna Ferber's Come and Get It. I'm pretty sure I've read it, but my LT catalog is missing it.

Couldn't pass up The Old Peabody Pew by Kate Douglas Wiggin. It's got reflections on the purpose of life.

Lastly, I thought Our Foreign-Born Citizens, by Annie E. S. Beard, is a good timely title, published in 1922.

>205 2wonderY: ooh, nice. I didn't realize that Half-Price books sold used books, thought they were like a Books-a-Million. On our next drive to Chicago (October?) I might check it out when we pass by Indianapolis along the way.

Woo! I am excited! I snagged a first edition of Indian Fur by Glenn Balch for a decent price. It's a reading copy, fair condition due to some spots and library marks, and a little fraying on the edges.



I've been working at collecting works by this author, and have found some are either very rare or expensive.

I just want to read them!

>211 fuzzi: Congratulations on your find!

>212 BonnieJune54: thanks!

I love Ebay...

I had absolutely no intention to buy more books - I swear! I was stopping by the library every day last week only to check in here. It's not my fault that they had their book sale on Saturday!

Several are books to pass on to children and grands, so I won't mention them.

The ones that jumped up into my arms and refused to be put down are:

Henry Frith's translation of King Arthur, illustrated by Frank E. Schoonover in 1932
A Girl of the Limberlost, a 1909 edition with a dustjacket
The 1959 copy of The Secret of the Old Clock, in nice condition
A Franklin Library, gilt edged Masterpieces of Drama

and A Medieval Home Companion, translated from the 14th century French.

I missed the book sale at our library this weekend, oh dear...

I didn’t miss the book sale. I got Johnny Tremain and a lovely illustrated version of A Shropshire Lad.

I found a copy of Farewell Victoria by T.H. White at a Goodwill store in Indiana, on my way home from Chicago.



It's a good hardcover edition from 1960, but the original book was published in the 1930s.

I so loved The Sword in the Stone, and The Once and Future King, that I expect I'll love this as well, even though it's not about King Arthur.

Found a new Alistair MacLean from 1958, South by Java Head, and it's in paperback!

I love library sales. :)

>218 2wonderY: Excellent!

It's still (barely) possible to find a reasonably priced original hardcover, wading through all the awful reprints flooding the online market.

>220 For specific books, I sometimes use the search at Abebooks, as I there can specify that the book must be used or not print on demand. I used to have some luck searching at Better World Books using the publisher as my search string (e.g., A. L. Burt), but they changed their search and now it can't be done, so I've pretty much stopped shopping there. I've had some good luck using publisher or a book series (e.g., Early English Text Society) as part of a search on Ebay, but it is more challenging.

>221 That was precisely my tactic. There were 2 original print and several dozen re-prints.

>220 looks good.

>221 I use bookfinder.com a lot, but lately I've found some good volumes through Ebay. While browsing I came across The Tale of the Good Cat Jupie in very good condition, bought it, and am planning to read it soon.