MORE OLD BOOKS
I have recently acquired a couple more vintage books to use in my mixed media and album projects.
Cassell’s Concise Cyclopaedia
I got this book on Ebay. As you can see, there is some damage to the spine. It dates from 1898 and contains a wealth of information and plenty of illustrations.
Wonderful foxing on the endpapers.
The title page and frontispiece.
A couple of page examples.
Plenty of text to use, and the smaller illustrations will make great focal points in clusters and ephemera.
A Manual of Beekeeping
I recently attended the Breast Unit at our local hospital for my regular mammogram. In the waiting room they have a small bookshelf of second-hand books, and for a donation of your choice, you can buy them. Most of the books were paperback novels, but this particular book attracted my attention.
I couldn’t imagine most of the attendees at the Breast Unit being interested in this kind of book, but it was so deliciously vintage and grungey that I just had to have it!!
It comes complete with original dust-cover and price: 18 shillings – 90p in modern money! – my hubby said that was probably quite an expensive book in 1948, the date of the inscription inside.
Again, like the Concise Cyclopaedia, there is genuine foxing on the endpapers.
Examples of some of the pages.
There are black and white photograph plates and diagrams throughout the book.
Tucked inside the book, I found this folded sheet of paper.
Such wonderful genuine ageing and distressing!
I am planning to make a nature/entomology album soon, and this book will provide some useful resources.
Good news
I attended the Breast Unit for my final annual follow-up mammogram since my breast cancer five years ago. It coincided with the final prescription for the oestrogen blocking medication I had been on since the end of my cancer treatment. This medication brought on a return of menopausal symptoms (a real bore – thought that was well behind me!!) and my oncologist said he wasn’t happy for me to go back on the supplements I was on during the menopause, despite my going armed with links to peer-reviewed articles in favour of them, but he said he was OK with me supplementing my diet with extra soya if I wished. Since then I have been eating tofu and soya alternatives to dairy and they have certainly done the trick. I like them so much that I shall continue with them, despite having stopped the medication. Apparently the Japanese do not have a word for “hot flush” because they don’t have them – their diet is so rich in soya!
I had a letter last week informing me that all was well with the mammogram result and that I did not need to attend again unless I experienced any problems in the future. I had been informed at the beginning that should I develop any concerns with my breasts, I could contact them directly and not have to go through the GP, as I was on their books for life.
I shall continue to buy my bras from them – they have a fitting service and the bras are lovely. One of the nurses told me on one occasion that she buys all her bras from there as they are better than anything she’s ever found in the shops! They also have a box in reception for recycling old bras which are sent to the Third World, which I think is a great idea. I have three new ones on order which we will be collecting this week.
The staff are all so lovely, and have been consistently helpful, friendly and efficient.
