Be still, my heart

A friend and I stopped by a thrift store the other day as I was looking for some old books to add to my paper stash. Did I say OLD books?

I did indeed. This particular chain of thrift stores has previously recycled lots of old books using the covers, so there haven’t been too many of them available. I chose this book for the gothic letters,

and when I took a closer look back at home, I saw this inscription from 1874

and that the book was published in Copenhagen in 1789. My heart did a little jump; will I really cut this book apart???

Can you even imagine a contemporary book that will still be sold a 100 years from now?

And then I remembered – I do NOT need a new collection of anything, even if it’s only one book, so yes, this Danish book with the pretty gothic letters will have a new life in someone's mixed media art.

I also picked up a copy of Who What Where from 1965 (they didn't have my year).

It’s rather interesting to see what was considered memorable in the annual review part: disastrous weather (nothing new there, huh)

dead American presidents

and, of course, Miss World

And then we have a reprinted comedy from 1724,

also with those beautiful gothic letters

and a dictionary.

This is our second native language “New Norwegian”. Dictionary pages have such great texture with all those words in tiny writing, some bold, some italic, some phonetic.

I can still feel the want to spare that first fabulous book though; be still, my heart.