"The man who does not
read good books
has no advantage
over the man
who can not read them."
~Mark Twain
Have you read
any good books lately?
Books, I am afraid,
may be an endangered species!
I must say, that of all the things
I enjoy collecting,
OLD BOOKS
are my all time favorites!
I use them all over my house
to decorate, to add interest,
to make me smile!
This is a February,
1961 Edition of Winnie the Pooh!
In Latin!!!
Didn't that make you smile?
Any time I find a book from
the early 1900's or older,
I am thrilled!
But there are those
special books
that hold treasure
between their pages!
Not only the thoughts
of the author,
but gifts of time
that have been
left behind
by previous owners!
My old books
range from
dictionaries, hymnals,
cook books, fictional stories,
poetry (my favorites),
and really
ANYTHING
that catches my eye.
I am always thrilled
when I gently turn
the time worn pages
to discover
newspaper clippings,
bits of fabric,
or little dried flowers.
I sit there in awe
and wonder
how this
little piece of history,
meant something
to this person.
So endearing,
it found its way
between the pages
of this book,
to be saved
for another to find!
Cook books with old
hand written recipes,
and clippings
of cooking the perfect roast.
Garden guides
with magazine articles
shoved between the pages,
mapping out flowers and seasons.
Old school books
with hand written notes
about assignments!
It is like a
time warp
right out of that
person's life!
I want to share with you
a few of my
special finds!
I consider myself
to be their guardian
for now -
until they find
their way
into hopefully
another pair
of appreciative hands!
The title caught my eye! 
The first thing I saw
when I opened the book,
was a piece of the original
dust jacket ~
carefully, cut and glued
for the sake of posterity!
Written by the doctor himself!
I always check the copyright...1939! 
Then I saw this inscription and
my hair stood up on my arms
and I got goose bumps!
When I saw this, I knew I had a keeper!
This book had been passed down,
and now in the hands
of another relative,
held a 1969 newspaper clipping
with information
about their family name and coat of arms.
As I turned the pages,
I came to find a bittersweet
memento of Dr. Holley's family.
Dr. Holley's Funeral Program from 1947.
And the subsequent Obituary notice.
How could anyone leave this
on the shelves of a thrift store?
My most prized treasure
to date ~
isn't due to its age,
but what lays within it!
A very bland looking book,
would you have picked this out while shopping?
There are no copyright dates,
but I assume from the pages,
printing style and design,
that it must be early 1900's.
In the beginning of the book,
the owner underlines a few sentences
in the preface regarding
Omar Khayyam's character.
Did you read what it said?
"(Omar) having failed of finding
any Providence but Destiny,
and any World but This,
he set about making the most of it;
...he very likely takes a humorous
or perverse pleasure in exalting the
gratification of Sense above that of the Intellect."
If you have read this far in the post,
then I ask you to stop
and read the clipping below.
Can you imagine yourself in her shoes?
After reading the clipping,
I was immediately drawn into this woman's life!
What did she look like, where did she live?
Was she melancholy?
A day dreamer?
Then I found a multitude of
endearing treasures
that will forever leave me wondering...
Was she in love?
In an unhappy marriage?
Hoping for Good Luck?
Did she have a secret lover?
Who gave her these gifts
so precious she saved them?
I wondered ~
do the quatrains of poetry
have any significance
with where she placed the roses?
page 81
LXXVII
And this I know: whether the one True Light
Kindle to Love, or Wrath-consume me quite,
One Flash of It within the Tavern caught
Better than in the Temple lost outright.
LXXVIII
What! out of senseless Nothing to provoke
A conscious Something to resent the yoke
Of un-permitted Pleasure, under pain
Of Everlasting Penalties, if broke!
I feel such empathy for her.
So sentimental in her dreams for happiness.
A beautiful poem about 'Transience'
and with it, a humorous quote!
I would have liked to have known this woman.
A Red Ribbon from a special evening,
perhaps from a corsage!
A hand written note! I love it!
It reads:
"A leaf from the "Bo-Tree"
(Sacred Tree of India) under which "Buddah" meditated),
which I picked up in Lafayette Park L.A. early in July.
I have a mate to it. It's a glorious thing when fresh.
Please return this with ??? and snap shot."
And then, one of the final gifts:
The Red Feather ~
If she were a superstitious type,
it symbolized courage, physical vitality,
good fortune and life!
I hope that life was good to her,
and that she experienced
extreme joy in her daily living!
The next time you see an old book
in a pile of things at the thrift store,
will you consider what it may have to offer?
It could be a treasure
OR
it could give you a gift
of knowledge,
OR
a life lesson!
"To sit alone in the lamplight
with a book spread out before you,
and hold intimate converse
with men of unseen generations -
such is a pleasure beyond compare."
~Kenko Yoshida
Live Authentically!
Blessings,
Martha
