Antiquarian books?
In the past, I’ve done a couple of posts on old books that are in my home library. I went waaaay back the other day and opened the bottom of the cedar bookcase to look at my children’s books and found my first ever cardboard book
, a brightly illustrated Golly and Teddy story with obligatory spiral binding (circa 1951). It’s actually coped with the rigours of usage quite well, perhaps due to the thickness of the cardboard (NB: and of course Gollies are now politically incorrect.)
My most favourite young children’s book of all time: Margaret Fieldmouse is tired 
beyond belief. This book charmed me as a child and still charms me as a world weary author! I think the illustrator had Cornwall in mind as one page shows Margaret proceeding down the winding cobbled ways of a tiny harbourside village and when I finally discovered Clovelly, I’d swear I’d meet Margaret somewhere. But the binding of this book just collapsed very early in its life. Unaware of the dangers of using cellotape on a book, that’s how it was mended and the dear little story is paying the price. I’m keen to find a restoration bookbinder to repair it for me and if necessary keep it in mylar sleeves as a precaution. That’s how much I love it!
Then there is JM Barrie’s Peter Pan illustrated by my most favourite illustrator Mabel Lucie Attwell.
Love this book but must be careful not to love it to death! Attwell’s illustrations are so endearing, always emotive and the colour hasn’t faded at all. Ownership of this book encouraged me to collect books and cards of Attwell’s work and she is someone whose work I often chase up on Facebook Fairytales.
The piece de resistance surfaced three years ago. I was going through my father’s library and we were sorting what to keep and what to sell, when a little sketchbook fell out of a much larger book. Its only name is HMS Dart which immediately sent me to the internet and then to naval experts. Whilst there have been many HMS Darts through the centuries, we haven’t been able to give the little book any provenance. Some of the illustrations are period pieces and exotic: maybe Capetown and the Far East. The watercolours err toward faded monotone. What I’d love is for someone to scrape the paint and do a forensic test and date it for me but I fear the cost would outweigh the value of the book. Suffice to say it’s rather special to own and being a fantasy/hist.fict writer, maybe I can write my own provenance…
Prue,
What lovely books. I am all goose-bumpy. And your presentation made me feel as if I’m sitting next to you as you talk about these delightful works.I wonder if someone with police connections would be kind enough to do the forensic dating on HMS Dart?
BTW: Love the Wendy book. 🙂
Ah, Barbara… of course you’d love the Wendy book. And we can purchase your ‘Wendy and the Lost Boys’ at http://amzn.to/vhnkxy
Thanks for looking at my favourite old books!
Mabel Lucie Attwell… Prue. now I’m almost beginning to miss the old world.
Much as I love it here in West Africa and loathe most of what Europe and the West offers, when it comes to art and children’s literature there’s nothing comparable here on the edge of the Sahara.
One day all these old books will hopefully find their way into digital and be available to everyone. I know the children here would love the stories and the art, and no crazy political correctness here. They’d see gollies for what they are. Delightful toy dolls.
Mark, I love that I have found an Attwell aficionado!
You know, political correctness means nothing to a child. They just love the story and the images as you say. To my way of thinking political correctness has more to do with polarisation than democratisation.
One thing I will say, however, is that whilst I long for these stories and images to be preserved in digital format, cripes I’m glad I own the print versions!
PS Gerry McCullough will be reviewing Barbara’s wonderful Wendy book on MWi next Wednesday!
There are so many illustrators, it’s impossible to choose a favourite! I love the Tenniel art of my childhood Alice; the Philip Gough of my Pride and Prejudice; E.H. Shepherd for Toad and Mole and Badger. Cartoon versions just don’t do it.
And have boxes full of my son’s old books of a later era, when illustrators were, and continue to be artists.
Hi fitzg: I can’t choose, although Attwell and Shepherd are at the top of a massive list. I often spend time looking at the illustrated children’s books in the bookshops but to be honest, one of my favourite time-wasters is Facebook Fairytales. I can spend hours clicking through illustrators I have never seen or heard of from far-flung parts of the world and be just awe-inspired.
PS: Been loving your posts on Judiang.
There’s just something about old books, isn’t there. Pride of place on my research shelf is a copy of Stettiner’s Rome In Her Monuments, priced in my 1912 edition at 10 shillings! Sigh.