Kerry Hammond is here today to tell us about her collection of old books. She describes one of the strangest books she owns, full of interesting facts.
All books are awesome, but old books are especially cool. I have a small collection of them and they range from a two volume leather bound Les Miserable by Victor Hugo (published in 1915) to and illustrated copy of When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne. This book, written by the same author who brought us Winnie the Pooh, was first published in 1924, but my copy is from 1928 and states that it is the 121st Printing. I don’t claim to understand the publishing world (stay tuned for my upcoming 4 part series outlining my experiences at the College of Biblio Knowledge). I just know that the book is very fragile, very old, and very cherished.
Today I want to describe one of the most unusual books in my collection. It was published in 1903 by the New Amsterdam Book Company. It’s a book of Curious Facts of general interest relating to almost everything under the sun. You have no idea how much of an understatement this is. It’s full of interesting, and let’s face it, strange facts. I’ve pulled out a few fun facts to show you.
In Strange Burial Customs, I learned that the Peruvians preserved Inca bodies similar to the Egyptians who used mummification.
And if you’ve always been wondering how to embalm a body, this may help.
In Deathbed Utterances, we learn that when Charles I died, the last word he uttered was “Remember.” And here I thought it was “Rosebud.”
I also wanted to show you Some Authors’ Handwriting.
Do you own and strange or exotic old books? If so, comment here and tell us about them.
Very entertaining! Thanks Kerry
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