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#11
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Just Found
Francis,
I fear my days of travelling are past. University, gardening, and more tend to limit my range to the two western provinces. The days of jaunting from coast to coast in the US and through Europe and Asia are pleasant (mostly) memories. i have finally settled down, it seems, content with my little slice of the world. One of my greatest pleasures now is finding a book on some little known aspect of history, written by someone who has pursued the topic for ages. One such book is on the history of European porcelain, another on the Morro Castle fire. The charge of the Light Brigade, Wellington's vendetta against a model builder who made the mistake of modelling the wrong moment of Waterloo, the building of the Spanish galleons, and so many more. Disasters are high on the list as well, natural and man-made. Last week, "Craze", the tale of the gin craze in 18th Century England by a U of T professor was on the remainder table. Fascinating! Somewhere in the boxes stored is a book on the US vice-presidents which reminds me that Dan Quail was not the worst of that generally bad and forgotten lot. Like a magpie, I gather these unrelated treasures knowing I will forget much to the tale and return to read it again when the spirit moves - those moments when you browse the shelves saying to yourself with growing frustration that "I have nothing to read!".. I also try to locate books on things that cross my path that cry out for more understanding. A friend in Vancouver "dumpster dove" to retrieve a persian carpet that the her landlord had tossed away after an eviction. Certainly hand knotted, very short nap, and when folded weighs next to nothing. Four by eight it is primarily brilliant red and filled with symbols which were a mystery. That led me to books on Persian carpets, not a subject that had attracted my interest before. A "geometric medallion-plain design" - I think - based upon an encylopedic tome by Ford, which led me to a wonderful little book "The Root of the Wild Madder" by a slightly mad chap who follows the trail of such carpets through Central Asia. I still have to confirm the area where this carpet was made - do you happen to know a personal carper expert in your neck of the woods? Ah well. These treasures keep multiplying.. A "gentle madness" indeed... Willow |
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#12
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Just Found
"J" wrote in message
... The French seem to have a history of paperback-only books. The "lost" Jules Verne novel, PARIS IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, sold very well indeed, but was not deemed worthy of a hardcover edition. (I brought the trade paperback home with me from Paris...) This was a distinct national tradition throughout the 19th century until after well after 1950. The usual explanation was that most publications were in paperback so that the purchaser could have his preferred books locally bound to his taste (although it seems few non-rich readers actually did this.) Technology changed this, largely because paperback production adopted glue instead of stitching, and glued "perfect bindings" do not permit standard bookbinding. But hard-cover production also became cheaper, and better French publishers still present their paperbacks in stitched signatures. -- Don Phillipson Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada) |
#13
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Just Found
A friend in Vancouver "dumpster dove" to retrieve a persian carpet
that the her landlord had tossed away after an eviction. Certainly hand knotted, very short nap, and when folded weighs next to nothing. Four by eight it is primarily brilliant red and filled with symbols which were a mystery. That led me to books on Persian carpets, not a subject that had attracted my interest before. A "geometric medallion-plain design" - I think - based upon an encylopedic tome by Ford, which led me to a wonderful little book "The Root of the Wild Madder" by a slightly mad chap who follows the trail of such carpets through Central Asia. I still have to confirm the area where this carpet was made - do you happen to know a personal carpet expert in your neck of the woods? Yes. Put some photos up on the web (zooming from the whole carpet in to as close as you can go, with some closeups of the back) and I'll see if I can get one to look. The carpet belongs to whoever that landlord evicted. And they might need the money if it turns out to valuable. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- e m a i l : j a c k @ c a m p i n . m e . u k Jack Campin, 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland mobile 07800 739 557 http://www.campin.me.uk Twitter: JackCampin |
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