It’s Bookshelf Travelling in Insane Times again, it comes around so quickly. This meme is hosted by Judith at Reader in the Wilderness.
Jack took this photo and as this shelf is home to a lot of my books too I thought I would just use it this week. The shelves contain mainly Folio books, yonks ago we were in the Folio Book Club, the books are so beautifully produced – a real pleasure to handle. I’m just going to mention a few of them. Quite a lot of these books have been bought secondhand over the years though – such as the two by Dorothy L. Sayers – Murder Must Advertise and Have His Carcase. I see from the price pencilled inside that they cost me all of £3 each – bargain!
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett is one of those books that I have collected a few copies of. This Folio edition is illustrated by Dodie Masterman, there aren’t a lot of drawings and they’re not coloured but I really like them. I’m presuming that she also designed the cover.
The collection of short stories by Katherine Mansfield is illustrated by Susan Wilson but I can’t find any images of her work on the internet. The design of the book cover is very jazzy I think.
Lastly Perrault’s Fairy Tales illustrated by Edmund Dulac is a beauty inside and outside, you can see some of the illustrations here.
Those are lovely bookshelves and I would be happy to have any of the books you show here. I have never been much for fairy tales but I would love the illustrations. And the cover of the Katherine Mansfield book is very nice.
tracybham,
Fairy Tales have been changed a lot over the years, the originals are quiet scary, but were warnings to children, not to have anything to do with dirty old men and such – as in Rumplestiltskin. Just think what a rumpled stilt in a skin could be!! But it’s the illustrations that I love.
I can’t believe you found Folio books for 3 pounds! Amazing!
Joan,
Neither could I, I remember I felt almost like a thief when buying them!
Hi Katrina,
I’m amazed by the high-quality of the books on these shelves, no doubt a testament to your careful purchasing at lots of really fine used and rare bookstores. I would love to have such a fine collection of classics.
I’m having a very difficult time acquiring fine copies of books I’m seeking. Stupid, blithering Amazon overtook the used book market and bought out Abebooks.com, though this occurred some time ago. And now, even when a book is listed as “New,” what comes in the mail is total bilge. Horrible! This has been occurring just this past year 2020. I have tried two times to get a fine copy of An Old-Fashioned Girl and though I pay a great deal, the book arrives poorly packaged, ripped apart, etc. And this is what happens when Amazon takes over the country. Heart-breaking. Unfortunately all rare and used-book sellers are sucked into Amazon’s Abebooks. A debacle. Sorry to wax on, but it made me appreciate your fine shelves!!
Judith,
That’s why I much prefer going to secondhand bookshops and handling the actual books, but there are so few such shops left now and after Covid there will be fewer I’m sure. Have you tried buying books on Ebay? Then you can get books from private sellers. I’ve been quite lucky that way – when I don’t have the patience to wait for a serendipitous find in a shop.