Saturday, August 30, 2003
New vintage reading
Reprints of old books, great clip art collections, books about old stuff... that's right, it's
Dover Publications.
Dover Publications.
Sunday, August 17, 2003
Back to School Tips
From Hi There, High School! by Gay Head, Scholastic Book Services, Revised edition, copyright 1955.
So that's what they're there for! I never knew. For what it's worth, I suspect that they didn't either.
Oh, wait--Red Skelton is supposed to be funny? Nice to know, though, that people with speech defects are. So laugh at them all you want, as long as it's not during their presentations.
"For advice on personal problems go to your homeroom teacher, the dean of boys or girls, or the principal. These people are your friends, always interested in your welfare and ready to help you when they can."
So that's what they're there for! I never knew. For what it's worth, I suspect that they didn't either.
"Never laugh during the presentation of a student who has a speech defect, such as lisping or stuttering. He may be funnier than Red Skelton, but you aren't listening to a comedy program."
Oh, wait--Red Skelton is supposed to be funny? Nice to know, though, that people with speech defects are. So laugh at them all you want, as long as it's not during their presentations.
Every ounce counts
Once again, back in 1942, the people of the U.S., led by the government, saved and recycled for the war effort: Spring House Cleaning 1942 Forward March with the Scrap Brigade
Next trash day, take a look around your neighborhood and think about how many plastic weapons (what, you don't watch Law & Order? Of course they make plastic weapons) could be made by recycling all the cheap plastic crap that people throw away.
Next trash day, take a look around your neighborhood and think about how many plastic weapons (what, you don't watch Law & Order? Of course they make plastic weapons) could be made by recycling all the cheap plastic crap that people throw away.
Saturday, August 16, 2003
She was wearing a what?
I remember reading Imitation of Life and wondering what on earth a "shimmy" was. Later I realized it was probably a verson of chemise, and that she was probably wearing it under something. I remember Meg wearing her tired old muslin to a dance in Little Women, and it still seems like an inappropriate fabric for evening wear to me, but what do I know?
If in your reading you encounter muslins and shimmys and snoods and crinolines, or are wondering how that medieval character is tying her girdle around her waist, satisfy your curiosity at
Costume History at The Costumer's Manifesto.
If in your reading you encounter muslins and shimmys and snoods and crinolines, or are wondering how that medieval character is tying her girdle around her waist, satisfy your curiosity at
Costume History at The Costumer's Manifesto.
Labels: clothing, costume, history
Thursday, August 14, 2003
Preserving your books
Some great preservation tips, from an Andre Norton collector: Five: Caring about your books and paper 1/2
I like the bit about food. This is the reason that I oppose food in libraries, no matter how desperate they are to lure patrons back from the bookstore down the street.
Some great preservation tips, from an Andre Norton collector: Five: Caring about your books and paper 1/2
I like the bit about food. This is the reason that I oppose food in libraries, no matter how desperate they are to lure patrons back from the bookstore down the street.
Tuesday, August 12, 2003
Marty update
Won both Marty sequels, and the totals were nowhere near as bad as I feared. As a matter of fact, taking into account the exorbitant shipping at alibris and its ilk (and I say that with love), I'm probably at least as well off as if I had bought there.
Won both Marty sequels, and the totals were nowhere near as bad as I feared. As a matter of fact, taking into account the exorbitant shipping at alibris and its ilk (and I say that with love), I'm probably at least as well off as if I had bought there.
Monday, August 11, 2003
Sunday, August 10, 2003
Stumped?
If you really want to find your favorite childhood book, but the only thing you remember about it is that the cover was red and it was about a bear who grows up in a castle but after getting into a number of scrapes (from which he is rescued by assorted elves, fairies, and meat pie-sellers) finds his way back to his family in the forest, try Loganberry Books: Stump the Bookseller. For a modest refundable fee they'll try to figure it out.
If you really want to find your favorite childhood book, but the only thing you remember about it is that the cover was red and it was about a bear who grows up in a castle but after getting into a number of scrapes (from which he is rescued by assorted elves, fairies, and meat pie-sellers) finds his way back to his family in the forest, try Loganberry Books: Stump the Bookseller. For a modest refundable fee they'll try to figure it out.
A sadder but wiser vintage reader
I just did something really stupid, so I'm going to tell you about it. I went to eBay, looking for Janet Lambert books. Instead I found Marty on Campus, Elisa Bialk's sequel to Marty, one of my favorite books ever in the malt-shop genre (malt-shop: the description of books from the 1940s through the early 1960s that featured teenagers experiencing normal teenage things like going to school, dating, going to dances, etc. They often had a hangout, usually something resembling a malt shop). It's about a young girl who, upon discovering that her father's business is failing and he won't be able to send her to college with her friends (who are spending their summer contemplating what furs to buy for college rather than, say, what to major in), uses pure moxie to get a job at a newspaper. She manages to land a few good stories, learns about the importance of finishing the job when she has to continue covering a golf tournament after having her illusions shattered by a wolf in golfer's togs, gets into trouble on the police beat when she dashes off in pursuit of a hot lead without checking in with the cops first, and starts up a romance with hometown-loser-turned-prizefighter Jim "Flash" Jordan.
So I bid a ridiculous amount of money on a Scholastic edition and THEN checked alibris, Powell's, and abebooks. Well, of course alibris had five or six copies listed for $2.95, and I could have paid and had the book on its way this week. Note to self and to other vintage readers: do not impulse-bid on old books on eBay. Check around first to make sure you can't get it cheaper without having to go through the whole auction process. Now I'm just hoping that someone will be more desperate than I am to find out if Marty and Jim made it as a couple, and how Marty finally got to college, and will outbid me.
I just did something really stupid, so I'm going to tell you about it. I went to eBay, looking for Janet Lambert books. Instead I found Marty on Campus, Elisa Bialk's sequel to Marty, one of my favorite books ever in the malt-shop genre (malt-shop: the description of books from the 1940s through the early 1960s that featured teenagers experiencing normal teenage things like going to school, dating, going to dances, etc. They often had a hangout, usually something resembling a malt shop). It's about a young girl who, upon discovering that her father's business is failing and he won't be able to send her to college with her friends (who are spending their summer contemplating what furs to buy for college rather than, say, what to major in), uses pure moxie to get a job at a newspaper. She manages to land a few good stories, learns about the importance of finishing the job when she has to continue covering a golf tournament after having her illusions shattered by a wolf in golfer's togs, gets into trouble on the police beat when she dashes off in pursuit of a hot lead without checking in with the cops first, and starts up a romance with hometown-loser-turned-prizefighter Jim "Flash" Jordan.
So I bid a ridiculous amount of money on a Scholastic edition and THEN checked alibris, Powell's, and abebooks. Well, of course alibris had five or six copies listed for $2.95, and I could have paid and had the book on its way this week. Note to self and to other vintage readers: do not impulse-bid on old books on eBay. Check around first to make sure you can't get it cheaper without having to go through the whole auction process. Now I'm just hoping that someone will be more desperate than I am to find out if Marty and Jim made it as a couple, and how Marty finally got to college, and will outbid me.
But wait! There's more!
While looking for more information after discovering Image Cascade, I found
Schoolgirl Shamus, Inc. Where Trixie Belden meets Sports Night (hmm... Trixie, Pixley; Pixley, Trixie).
While looking for more information after discovering Image Cascade, I found
Schoolgirl Shamus, Inc. Where Trixie Belden meets Sports Night (hmm... Trixie, Pixley; Pixley, Trixie).
Book Lust
Oh wow! I can't believe it: I can get reprints of the Marcy Rhodes Series. Wait for Marcy, written when my mother was in high school, was one of the first teen romances I ever read. I think I was in 5th grade, and bought it at a garage sale, in a paperback reprint from the 60s. It tackled such sensitive 1940s issues as the mother of the family going back to work (Dad's against it, and Marcy and her brother Ken have to make painful adjustments to their mother's new part-time job); Ken's having to adjust to his best friend Steve dating his sister; Ken's pursuit of a Marcy's best friend's sophisticated cousin and his subsequent neglect of his wholesome girlfriend... hey, wait a minute, shouldn't this be called Wait for Ken?
Anyway, I've always loved the world the way that Rosamond DuJardin wrote it. Maybe you will too.
This company is also reprinting such favorite series as Beany Malone, Penny Parrish (I love the Parrishes), Tobey and Midge, and Katie Rose. Wow. My paycheck will suffer for my having found Image Cascade Publishing. But my bookshelf wll prosper. :-) The books seem a little pricey to me, but then, yesterday I bought two grocery bags of gothic romance and romantic suspense from the 60s for $2.00, so my perspective might be a little off.
I'm afraid I'm feeling faint with book lust. I want everything in the catalog. Just look at that wonderful cover art, and the amazing lifelong story arc of Tippy Parrish. When I was in junior high and reading every Janet Lambert book I could get my hands on (most of them had been weeded from my school's library by 1978-79, so I had to get them at the public library, garage sales, and book sales) I followed the well-ordered military life of the Parrishes with a fanatic obsession.
I'd better get offline before I swoon, or do something crazy like order every book they'll send me.
Oh wow! I can't believe it: I can get reprints of the Marcy Rhodes Series. Wait for Marcy, written when my mother was in high school, was one of the first teen romances I ever read. I think I was in 5th grade, and bought it at a garage sale, in a paperback reprint from the 60s. It tackled such sensitive 1940s issues as the mother of the family going back to work (Dad's against it, and Marcy and her brother Ken have to make painful adjustments to their mother's new part-time job); Ken's having to adjust to his best friend Steve dating his sister; Ken's pursuit of a Marcy's best friend's sophisticated cousin and his subsequent neglect of his wholesome girlfriend... hey, wait a minute, shouldn't this be called Wait for Ken?
Anyway, I've always loved the world the way that Rosamond DuJardin wrote it. Maybe you will too.
This company is also reprinting such favorite series as Beany Malone, Penny Parrish (I love the Parrishes), Tobey and Midge, and Katie Rose. Wow. My paycheck will suffer for my having found Image Cascade Publishing. But my bookshelf wll prosper. :-) The books seem a little pricey to me, but then, yesterday I bought two grocery bags of gothic romance and romantic suspense from the 60s for $2.00, so my perspective might be a little off.
I'm afraid I'm feeling faint with book lust. I want everything in the catalog. Just look at that wonderful cover art, and the amazing lifelong story arc of Tippy Parrish. When I was in junior high and reading every Janet Lambert book I could get my hands on (most of them had been weeded from my school's library by 1978-79, so I had to get them at the public library, garage sales, and book sales) I followed the well-ordered military life of the Parrishes with a fanatic obsession.
I'd better get offline before I swoon, or do something crazy like order every book they'll send me.
Avuncular art
A nice site with illustrations from children's book illustrator Edwin Schmidt, by his nephew.
A nice site with illustrations from children's book illustrator Edwin Schmidt, by his nephew.
Friday, August 08, 2003
Thursday, August 07, 2003
Bibliopatriotism
After being reminded of Margery Sharp by my post last week, I naturally couldn't resist snapping up a lovely copy of Cluny Brown at a garage sale. The dustjacket would be perfect... except for the price tag that the garage salers stuck on it, which took off some of the jacket when I peeled it off. Grr. Anyway, the book is copyright 1944, and this might be the first U.S. edition; in any event, here's what it says on the back jacket flap:
At the bottom of the flap it says "BUY WAR BONDS AND WAR STAMPS . . . GIVE BOOKS TO THE VICTORY BOOK CAMPAIGNS"
In 1944, Americans saved and rationed to pay for a war that many citizens were in favor of; in 2003, we go into greater debt than this nation has ever seen to pay for a war that many of us are NOT in favor of. In 1944, companies cut back on the details to aid in the war effort; in 2003, companies couldn't care less. In 1944 (and for that matter, in 1991), individuals could send letters and care packages to "Any Service Member" so that those who didn't have friends and family to write to them would still get some news from home; in 2003, because of "heightened security" this is no longer allowed.
When I read old books I sometimes feel a deep dismay at what we have become.
After being reminded of Margery Sharp by my post last week, I naturally couldn't resist snapping up a lovely copy of Cluny Brown at a garage sale. The dustjacket would be perfect... except for the price tag that the garage salers stuck on it, which took off some of the jacket when I peeled it off. Grr. Anyway, the book is copyright 1944, and this might be the first U.S. edition; in any event, here's what it says on the back jacket flap:
"The Format of this book is designed to save paper, which is now rationed, as well as other materials. In 1941 this volume would have been larger, or thicker, or heavier, and perhaps all three of these, and might have been set in a larger type face with wider margins to the page. The size and the weight of books have increased steadily since the end of World War I; now, in World War II, the process must be reversed. But the value of a book is not to be measured by its dimensions or its weight, though it is important that it be printed in clear, readable type. What does count is its content, whether it provides good entertainment or sound information to the reader, whether it stimulates the mind, whether it is first class of its kind.
"This Company's [Little, Brown, and Company] policy of publishing 'fewer and better books' has never been more strictly followed than during this period of world crisis. We hope you will find this book helpful or entertaining. If you do not wish to add it to your permanent library, why not give it to a member of our armed forces?"
At the bottom of the flap it says "BUY WAR BONDS AND WAR STAMPS . . . GIVE BOOKS TO THE VICTORY BOOK CAMPAIGNS"
In 1944, Americans saved and rationed to pay for a war that many citizens were in favor of; in 2003, we go into greater debt than this nation has ever seen to pay for a war that many of us are NOT in favor of. In 1944, companies cut back on the details to aid in the war effort; in 2003, companies couldn't care less. In 1944 (and for that matter, in 1991), individuals could send letters and care packages to "Any Service Member" so that those who didn't have friends and family to write to them would still get some news from home; in 2003, because of "heightened security" this is no longer allowed.
When I read old books I sometimes feel a deep dismay at what we have become.
Tuesday, August 05, 2003
For your listening pleasure...
While you're reading, do some vintage listening. My favorite accompaniment is my 1939 GE console radio that rather eerily ONLY picks up a station that plays oldies and baseball.
While you're reading, do some vintage listening. My favorite accompaniment is my 1939 GE console radio that rather eerily ONLY picks up a station that plays oldies and baseball.
Good advice
Oh, dear. My books are upstairs, and I'm downstairs, so I'm going to refer you to
Miss Abigail's Time Warp Advice for some timeless tips.
Miss Abigail's Time Warp Advice for some timeless tips.
Labels: tips
Rapidly becoming a thing of the past
Friday, August 01, 2003
What I'm Reading
Finishing up: Used & Rare, a book about book collecting by a couple who get caught up in old books. It's a very good book, although honestly I don't know how anyone as fond of reading as these two managed to get through life without having EVER gone to a used-book store. I suspect a bit of literary license here; it adds a good narrative flow.
Nuthin' about Oprah here. Move along now.
Nuthin' about Oprah here. Move along now.
Labels: now reading
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