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Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: amigov6 on 17 July 2008, 21:29:11

Title: Old Books.
Post by: amigov6 on 17 July 2008, 21:29:11
Picking a load up @ Thetford today, i threw some rubbish in a skip when i saw a cardboard box (in said skip) full of old hardback books. Sadly they'd been rained on & most were waterlogged. I salvaged 4 which i wiped dry & brought home. The rest were sadly beyond rescue. :( One is a Readers Digest tomb consisting of 4 condensed novels. There's a British Encyclopedia (illustrated) & in the same series & binding a British Dictionary (illustrated) copyrighted 1933. Lastly a very old but intact Mill on the Floss by George Eliot, published by William Blackwood & sons, Edinburgh & London. The pages are yellow & thin, no date in print or copyright & the book 1st thru to 7th are listed in roman numerals. How could anyone throw these in a skip?
    If it was dry i'd have fetched them all home, but at least four will be on a bookshelf where they belong. Sorry for a slightly long winded & different post but i could'nt leave them there! ::)
Title: Re: Old Books.
Post by: Ken T on 17 July 2008, 22:15:25
Aye, its a shame, today's thro-away society has no thought at all for books like these. I am lucky, I came across an old Engineering book some time ago, and it shows you all the old skills, like early hand turning, basic machining skills, from which todays engineering society is derived. Trouble is this info is getting lost, so if all the computers die everything will grind to a halt, as no one can repair the broken machinery 'cause there is no computer to tell them how  :'( :'( :'(.

Ken
Title: Re: Old Books.
Post by: amigov6 on 17 July 2008, 22:21:01
Let's hope there's a few old books left then. Not sure why i bought them home but 1933 & before how many times have they been read?
      Nostalgia or sentiment, call it what you like but i feel i've rescued them. Sad i know! :-[
Title: Re: Old Books.
Post by: Martin_1962 on 17 July 2008, 22:41:52
Well done - we must have around 1000 books here
Title: Re: Old Books.
Post by: HolyCount on 17 July 2008, 22:50:50
It's amazing where books turn up. I just bought a book on fleabay, printed in 1916, as one of a limited private run. The author was a great great ( however many times uncle, and the book has a message inside, handwritten, when the book was given, with affection, by a great great great aunt to a cousin in 1922. That cousin was imprisoned in Colditz during WW2 and died in Britain after being repatriated for about a week.  So, all in all, a rare find.
Title: Re: Old Books.
Post by: The Red Baron on 17 July 2008, 22:51:27
nah, not sad at all. as was said, how can folks throw out such stuff. if it wasnt for the past we wouldnt be where we are now, but then again is that a good thing...there`s a question.
Title: Re: Old Books.
Post by: albitz on 17 July 2008, 23:53:47
got a VERY old copy of the odyssey by homer here.....its printed in greek. :)
Title: Re: Old Books.
Post by: amigov6 on 18 July 2008, 18:21:09
Nice to know it's not just me. A book can outlast any of us but can always be read, why throw a boxful in a skip? :-?
Title: Re: Old Books.
Post by: Dusty on 18 July 2008, 19:31:15
I used to read a lot of books and I have plenty on my shelves.

Unfortunately, reading glasses have dampened my enthusiasm for them.

I particulary love the old classics such as Charles Dickens and love leather bound books. They look like they contain a wealth of information, unlike paper back books with get dog eared quite quickly.
Title: Re: Old Books.
Post by: HolyCount on 18 July 2008, 19:33:27
Quote
Nice to know it's not just me. A book can outlast any of us but can always be read, why throw a boxful in a skip? :-?

You can get all manner of books on the internet --- in pdf format -- but I refuse to read them -- I always prefer the printed word in the real thing !
Title: Re: Old Books.
Post by: Martin_1962 on 18 July 2008, 20:22:18
I read as much as I can - I also read a few magazines.

Two papers a week

Got loads of reference type books
Title: Re: Old Books.
Post by: amigov6 on 18 July 2008, 20:26:29
Recently got into reading celeb biographies, Ronnie Barker at the mo.
Title: Re: Old Books.
Post by: omegabsw on 18 July 2008, 21:48:27
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend.
Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.

-Groucho Marx
Title: Re: Old Books.
Post by: FRE07962128 on 18 July 2008, 22:32:45
One of my hobbies is hunting around second hand shops, boot fairs, charity outlets along with libraries, for "withdrawn" examples, for reference or general History and Politicical books. ;)

Found some great examples for pennies and agree wholeheartedly that they shouldn't get chucked away. :y :y
Title: Re: Old Books.
Post by: Vamps on 18 July 2008, 22:51:04
A few people seem to have a good collection of books, I would like to beg, steal or borrow a book called ‘Love is not enough’ by a rather eccentric Headmaster, Howard Case. It had a fairly short run, and not printed in massive quantities. Anyone :y