FOR THE LOVE OF......BOOKS!!
I just can't help it, even from a young age I've always been attracted to old books, magazines, postcards, advertisements, etc.... If it's old (1940's-ish and backwards) and it's made of paper? I'm interested! My grandmother told me about how when I was a little girl I would sometimes go "missing" while I was visiting them. She would find me sitting quietly in another room reverently sifting through her stash of historical books about the county and town several generations of my family have lived in. Included in these books were stories and pictures of my own ancestors who had helped settle the area. I can remember staring at the pictures of my forebearers and wondering what kind of people they had been and what life was like for them. Of course I was also trying to see if I bore any resemblance to them too! You know - Great Grandma's beautiful hair? G-G-G-G Grandpa's two different colored eyes? (Truly my 4th Great Grandfather did have one blue and one brown eye! But no, I did not inherit this trait.)
I have never lost that curiosity for learning about those that have gone before us. As I've gotten older I found my self "accumulating" old books and magazines. I also love old postcards too! Have you ever found an old postcard from 100 years ago and read the note on the back? Each message is a peak back into time and a glimpse of the daily lives people led at the time.
As I collected (hoarded!) my treasure trove of literary pieces I hated to see the sad condition some of them were in. It sparked in me a desire to preserve these pieces so we may always be able to have access to them and the information that can be gleaned from them.
My latest "craze" in old books is schoolbooks. Many have a name carefully written on the inside cover - understandable because books were expensive back then. Most families had just one set of books that all the children would take turns sharing. Below are some pictures of a McGuffey's Reader I found with a copyright of 1879! McGuffey's readers were very common in any schoolroom from the mid-1800's through the mid-1900's. They were Christian based and believed in teaching moral lessons to the reader.
The covers are very interesting and colorful. There's one thing that makes an old book even more appealing - a great cover!! Okay, let's carry on....
Great, detailed illustrations!
These are some lessons from the books (including cursive writing!) - notice at the bottom where it says "slate work". Yup- slates, ancestor of the dry erase board.....😲
And at the very back of the book - the all-important "Phonic Chart" divided up into several categories: long vocals, short vocals, diphthongs, aspirates, subvocals and substitutes.
More info on the McGuffey's readers can be found here: http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/McGuffey's_Reader?rec=1469
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGuffey_Readers
Lastly, I leave you with a sweet poem from page 83:
My latest "craze" in old books is schoolbooks. Many have a name carefully written on the inside cover - understandable because books were expensive back then. Most families had just one set of books that all the children would take turns sharing. Below are some pictures of a McGuffey's Reader I found with a copyright of 1879! McGuffey's readers were very common in any schoolroom from the mid-1800's through the mid-1900's. They were Christian based and believed in teaching moral lessons to the reader.
The covers are very interesting and colorful. There's one thing that makes an old book even more appealing - a great cover!! Okay, let's carry on....
Great, detailed illustrations!
More info on the McGuffey's readers can be found here: http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/McGuffey's_Reader?rec=1469
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGuffey_Readers
Lastly, I leave you with a sweet poem from page 83:
When the stars at set of sun
Watch you from on high,
When the morning has begun,
Think the Lord is nigh.
All you do and all you say,
He can see and hear;
When you work and when you play,
Think the Lord is near.
All your joys and griefs he knows,
Counts each falling tear,
When to Him you tell your woes,
Know the Lord will hear.
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