When I want to know about something (be it tree frogs, dread diseases or historical figures), I turn to the interwebs. You know – like you do. But I don’t always feel satisfied after those searches. Often, I miss going through the motions of having to “look it up.” I do realize this makes me a relic, which, according to my old 1948 dictionary, means I am “that which is left after the loss or decay of the rest.” And I’m okay with that. Because just pulling that dictionary off the shelf, opening its crackling pages and smelling its age fills me with joy.
I have quite a few old books. Not one of them is worth anything, mind you, but they mean a lot to me. I like having them around. And I even like turning to them for information. That’s where some of my favorite old books come into play.
The photo above shows a complete set of Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedias from 1931. They hold entries for things that no longer exist and they hold no entries for modern things that do exist. Someone must have loved them dearly, as they’re very well-preserved. I’ve been hauling them around for years and I don’t intend to stop. When I want to know about something and how it was perceived then, I check these books.
And so it was when Mister and I (finally) wrapped up our viewing of the series “Mr. Selfridge.” I’d read all there was to read about Harry Gordon Selfridge online, but wondered if perhaps there was something more. To the books I went!
Darn. Not much of an entry. But I did glean an appreciation for “the great department store of Selfridge & Co., Ltd.,” from those few lines. And that made me think about how the man changed the way department stores function in our modern world. Once I’d read that entry, I was able to close the book on my curiosity about the real Mr. Selfridge.
I love old books. I don’t ever want to become someone who doesn’t. Even as I type this, I can smell the old dictionary, lying open by my side and I’m smiling. I am a relic, indeed.
