I Love To Collect Old Books

I have always loved books.  They tell stories. They impart knowledge. They reveal mysteries. They are little works of art filled with words and images. I love old books for the type design and illustration and for the covers and binding. I started collecting books when I was is college. I was given a set of Charles Dickens books by a friend and history teacher of mine. Later,  I bought a 5-volume set of Les Miserables ©1886 from a used bookstore in Santa Cruz. It may even be the first English translation.  It's yellowed pages are full of beautiful engravings and the pages are uneven with deckle edges. Throughout the years, I have continued to collect old volumes. Nothing of great monetary value but beautiful and full of soul. Below are some of my favorite pieces  enhanced through a Hipstomatic lens.

My collection of old Dickens books

5-volume set of Les Misérables, English translation 1886

Les Éttonements du Docteur Hix and La Fille du Proscrit—two old books I got in France.

Inside front cover of La Fille du Proscrit

Frontispiece of La Fille du Proscrit

Title page

Title page from Les Étonnements du Docteur Hix

This books dates back to 1685!

A spread from Conferences Ecclesiastiques du Diocese de Luçon

Little Folk Ballads

Frontispiece and title page of Little Folk Ballads.

A very old embossed leather copy of The Courtship of Miles Standish by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This decrepit volume is completely falling apart and had to be tied together. I got it for $1.00 at a swap meet in Grants Pass. I just love it!

Another sweet little book I found at the swap meet for a couple of dollars.

The inscription inside Some One Like You. It reads "My Sweetheart, In all this great world there is no one like you. Through these past thirty years who could have been so steadfast, so true. Making each day so happy and bright. No clouds when you are near me, Just the sun shining through. Heart of me, Life of me, no one like you. December 29th, 1926"

I just love the beautiful little illustrations. The pages are French folded.

Lollia Packaging

I couldn't resist snapping some pix of this beautiful packaging from Lollia lollialife.com. Margot Elena is the product designer and the packaging designer. Tokyo Milk is another one of her product lines. I'd love to create packaging like this!

Newest Beeswax Collage

The more I do these, the more I love it. The whole experience–working with melted wax, the slight smell of honey, all the different pieces and papers, the colors, the layering and transparency, the textures. I'm in heaven!

Spring Is Here!

One of our beautiful camellia bushes.