So Big, So Small, So Strange, So Old!

Well, this is embarrassing. Only a day has passed since I thought I lost my cache of miniature books and now this morning I thought I’d done it again! I was thinking about all the memorable books that have crossed our path in 13 years and decided it might be fun to categorize some of them in a list of superlatives. So I went back to the children’s section to get the box of miniatures and, again, they weren’t there! Two seconds of panic later and several words we will not discuss, I remembered that I’d put them with the boxes of ephemera so that all boxed things would be together. Jeesh!

Okay then, we can FINALLY move on to the list which was great fun to compile. I probably have forgotten something which later will strike me as being infinitely superior to whatever I chose, but such is life. This is my list and I’m sticking to it.

LARGEST BOOK – This one’s a slam dunk! Webster’s New International Dictionary,Second Edition Unabridged, G. & C. Merriam & Co. 1939. It weighs as much as my youngest grandson – 16 pounds, 10 ounces!

SMALLEST BOOK – In this case it’s a set of wee books, replicas of an old series. We have The Teddy Bears in a Smashup; The Teddy Bears in Hot Water; The Teddy Bears Come to Life and The Teddy Bears on a Lark; Published by Merrimack, no date. They measure 1-1/2”x2”

PRETTIEST SMALL BOOK – Without question this would be a Victorian Book of Common Prayer dated 1868. I measured about 4-1/2” tall and was bound in black velvet with brass edges and a working brass clasp at the side. It was published in London by Oxford Press

STRANGEST BOOK: Hands down this award goes to Numismatic Aspects of Leprosy; Money, Medals and Miscellanea by Roger McFadden and Dennis Marr; D.C. McDonald Associates (1993). My copy was signed by both authors and sold faster than you can spell numismatic. People collect this stuff? Who knew?

BEST ASSOCIATION COPY: Songs and Ballads of the American Revolution by Frank Moore; Published by Appleton, 1858. The book itself is okay, but nothing special. What brought it to the fore was the fact that it was owned by and SIGNED by the historian, Francis Parkman. When it sold my husband nearly broke down and cried.

BEST SIGNED BOOK – No contest here! Unfortunately, I had never entered it in my datebase because I sold it immediately on ebay, so I can’t give you specifics, but it was not only SIGNED by Ulysses S. Grant, but Grant had written a lengthy rant on the fly leaf about one of his opponents! Sure wish I could recall the details, but it’s been a few years. I do remember that it was a plain blue book which by itself would have been very easy to pass by and I WOULD have passed it by! The only reason I got it is that it was brought to us by a picker, so no gold star for me on this one.

COOLEST EPHEMERA ITEM: Okay, this one’s tough, as we’ve had some great things over the years, but I’m going to go with this one because it’s the first ephemera item I sold for $50, a benchmark I had been eager to reach in those days when I was learning the art of selling ephemera at the feet of the incomparable Lee Kirk who owns The Prints and the Paper -- Earl Carroll's Tenth Year Souvenir Program (plus Huge Menu & Large Unused Postcard), 1948. At the time I listed this you didn’t see much ephemera online, at least not in the listings of book sites such as Advanced Book Exchange or Alibris, so you really had to do your homework. When this sold I felt like I had finally joined the ranks of the paper peddlers!

OLDEST BOOK: This one's an add-on. I had already posted, but when my husband heard the topic he practically begged me to include this one because he and our six year-old grandson, Tyler, think this is the best book ever. The boards are original, but the spiffy spine is a nice redo. It's abbreviated title is: The History of That Victorious Monarch Edward III King of England and France and Lord of Ireland and First Founder of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. (If I'd included it all it would be so late by the time I got done we'd have to send out for Chinese.) It was written by Joshua Barnes and printed by John Hayes for the author, 1688. The bookplate on the front pastedown indicates ownership by Edward Montagu Stuart Granville, Earl of Wharneliffe.

So, there you have it. I thought about adding the most beautiful book, but there were too many to choose from. Ditto the ugliest, though who can even remember them? So I think I'll stop right here and open up the conversation. It would be fun to hear about YOUR finds, so add to one of my categories, or make one of your own, but keep those "cards and letters coming". (I know -- that dates me)

Anyway, let's play Show and Tell!