Michael Popek's Blog, page 225

Stay Golden

Just found this charming inscription and wanted to share it:

Dear Mae,

We hope this book brings you as much joy as it has us - I always glow with a feeling of security and golden days when I read it.

Loads of love,
B and E

The book is "The Golden Age" by Kenneth Grahame. Illustrations by Ernest H. Shepard, published by Dodd, Mead, 1935.


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Mince Meat

Recipe for mince meat, either for or by "Aunt Ila" -

8 cup meat, cooked
6 cup apples (grind)
4 boxes raisins (seedless)
1 tsp cin.
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp allspice
2 cup vinegar
2 cup sugar

Simmer until thick

Found in "The Flowering of New England" by Van Wyck Brooks" Published by Dutton, 1940.

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Mrs. Upstairs

Small gift card.

Inside:

Before this gift
Was wrapped
and tied,
The best of
wishes
Were ticked
inside.

A Very Happy Birthday
Lovingly,
"Mrs. Upstairs"

Found in "The Unannointed" by Laurene Chinn." Published by Crown, 1958.

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Scrap

While I was sorting last night, I came across an older edition of George Eliot's "A Mill on the Floss." My guess is that it was from the 1870s. Inside I found all sorts of illustrations, but not from the original book. A previous owner had meticulously trimmed and pasted in dozens of illustrations, likely clipped from magazines and newspapers of the era. There were too many to photograph, so I put together a short video:

Gone Fishin'

One of the best parts of my job are the occasional house calls to check out books. Today I'm off to Gilbertsville, NY to go through 20-30,000 books that belonged to a former schoolteacher. It's one of my favorite local villages, and the sun is out (for now) so it should be a good day.

Sadly, that means I won't be in the shop to post a new bookmark for you. Instead, I'll repost one of my favorites:



Letter on thick-stock personalized card:

 Julia *****

 Dearest David, I am returning the beautiful necklace you gave me - not as a gesture if finality of our friendship, but because it is a special token in your family and I could not in good conscience keep it. I hope you understand that I do and will care deeply for you and that I have every bit of confidence in the beauty of your unique David-ness. I am just selfishly at a point in my life at which I can not make the sacrifices and take the risks that are necessary to make any relationship that we would have work. We are both at such profound transition points in our lives, and our situations are too unstable to offer the foundation necessary upon which to build the tremendous life changes that we idealistically believed possible. I want to know and believe, as I think you do, that I will always be a loving and caring friend & confidante to you - I know you would reciprocate that. Thank you for remaining the David I will always adore! Your strength and beauty will perpetually preserve that.

Much love
Julia
4/5/00

Found in "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro. Published by Vintage, 1990.



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Giveaway winner

This week's winner was Amie Dye, who entered over on Facebook. See you all next week.

Friday Giveaway: 17 Children's Classics - contest closed

Had this collection up on bookperdiem the other day, no takers. My loss is your gain!

Contest closed, winner announced shortly.

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Friday Giveaway: 17 Children's Classics

Had this collection up on bookperdiem the other day, no takers. My loss is your gain!

To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment below. You can also enter over on twitter , Facebook , or via email .

I'll take all the entries and select a random winner tomorrow morning at 11:00 AM EST.

Good luck!

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Starburst Fudge

Recipe for fudge (the easy kind):

1 cup Fluff (1/2 + 1/2)
1 pk chocolate chips (12 oz)
I can sweetened condensed milk (Borden's Eagle Brand)

Melt together in double boiler. Take off hear and add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and cup walnut. Chill for one hour. Take out and form into ring.

The reverse of the recipe is a memorandum from the D&H Railroad:

Delaware and Hudson Railway Company
(Third Subdivision)

Effective 0202 hours Sunday, October 31, 1971, between the hours of 0800 and 1630 daily, except Saturday and Sunday, the use of two-way radio is prohibited between Fourth Avenue and Madison Avenue, Albany, account contractors blasting operations.

P.W. Young - Superintendent
General ORder 2-18, Albany NY, Oct 26 1971

Found in "Starburst" by Frederick Pohl. Published by DelRey, 1982.

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Family Portrait

Over the years, I've discovered that the best bets for finding forgotten bookmarks are old Bibles and dictionaries. I purchased this leatherbound beauty yesterday; a man from Connecticut was passing through and had a small pile of books rescued from a damp church basement. There were bits and pieces in each of the books he brought in, but this 1889 Swedish-language Bible had some real beauties:



















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