I have always loved books from when I was a very young girl reading my treasured fairy tale books; I even used to pore over a set of Childcraft Encyclopedias! But what I remember most vividly was in the second grade when my mother brought home to me one day "The Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore" by Laura Lee Hope (pseudonym started by Edward Stratemayer). I was hooked for life. The Bobbsey Twins were Nan and Bert, age twelve and Freddie and Flossie aged six who had all sorts of wonderful adventures. From there I moved on to the "Five Little Peppers" by Margaret Sidney and then Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene (also a pseudonym by the Stratemayer Syndicate). From there my obsession just grew and grew throughout my life. I have probably read (and owned) thousands of books in my lifetime. Today I own both a Nook and a Kindle as well as read books on my iPad and iPhone! I still love the real thing as well buying my favorite authors in hardcover and picking up old books in antique and consignment stores.
A couple of years ago I made this scrapbook page for a scrapbooking site (now closed) challenge that shows how books have taken over my life.
And this all leads very neatly into this week's topic of "Books" at Sepia Saturday. Books were often used as props by photographers in vintage photos and since I also have a love for these old orphan photographs I thought I would share a few of these as well.
This photograph I posted previously, but thought it deserved a repeat. This is an unknown Chicago woman circa 1882- 1888 posing with three books. She is wearing a beautiful ruffled coat, gloves and hat with feathers. The photographer of this cabinet card photo was Copelin of 75 Madison Street, Chicago.
This lovely little lady with her long curls and lacy dress with ribbons is posing with some type of large tome on a velvet draped table. This is a cabinet card taken by McCormick and Heald of 22 Winter St. Boston. According to the New York Public Library System who has a large listing of American photographers, McCormick and Heald were active between the 1870's and 1880's. The beveled edges with gold gilt on this card would date this around 1880.
This last photo I believe dates around 1915 - 1920. There is no identification of the subject or photographer. The young girl, probably around age twelve or so, is wearing a lovely, simple white dress with white tights and white shoes. She is holding an open book in her hand. She also has on several pieces of jewelery, a ring, bracelet, and what appears to be a pearl necklace, which I would think would be uncommon for a girl her age so most likely came from a family of some status.
I hope you have enjoyed my trip down memory lane and will flip the page over to Sepia Saturday for more interesting takes on "Books."
I always LOVED Nancy Drew and had many of those books. As for your cabinet cards, my fav is the lady in the ruffled coat.
ReplyDeleteI believe I every single Nancy Drew!
DeleteI can understand anyone's passion for books. I'm even more impressed that you came up with some sepia photos as well especially as they featured books.
ReplyDeleteMy sisters and I loved the Happy Hollisters and the Bobbsey Twins. What great finds in cabinet cards, young women and books. I love the ruffled coat, a woman of style and substance!
ReplyDeleteWhenever I see books in pictures I wonder what they are, love the different ways of portraying them here. The ruffled coat is fascinating.
ReplyDeleteI loved Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew and The Camp Fire Girls. In fact I still have some of the old books. I just can't part with them.
ReplyDeleteI'd forgotten all about the Camp Fire Girls!
DeleteLOVE the lady with the frills. That dress is spectacular!
ReplyDeleteBooks make good props for photos. I especially like the last photo with the open book.
ReplyDeleteOh I loved the Nancy Drew books and Louisa May Alcott, oh my. I have given away a lot of books. Ones I cannot part with are the complete set of Ian Fleming's James Bond and Jean Auel's Earth Children Series.
ReplyDeleteGreat post.
QMM
Loved Louisa May Alcott too! I've also read all the Earth Children books.
DeleteMy reading experiences have mirrored yours almost exactly with the fairy tales, Nancy Drew, and the thousands that have come after them.
ReplyDeleteI love that first postcard of the lady in the ruffled coat. It's perfect for this week's theme.
Nancy Drew and the Bobbsey Twins were some of my first books to collect as a child, I wish I had held on to them. Of course being the tomboy that I was I also had the all the Hardy Boys!
ReplyDeleteMy cousins had the Bobbsey Twins, The Five Little Peppers and Nancy Drew but for some reason we didn't and I never read any but one or two Nancy Drews.
ReplyDeleteThe girl in that last photo has such a wonderful air about her. Great portraits, all of them.
ReplyDeleteDo you remember how one of us would open a page in one book, read a line and then the other would open another book and read a line? We laughed until we cried...or until Tracey came in. Which ever came first!
ReplyDeleteYes, little sisters were such a pain weren't they?
DeleteI used to pull the covers over my head and read by flashlight after I was supposed to be asleep. I definitely understand your passion for books. :-) These are some lovely photographs.
ReplyDeleteI did the exact same thing with the flashlight! I had an attic bedroom and my father would stand at the foot of the stairs and and yell up, "You better not be up there reading!"
DeleteThe last photo really grabs me... I love her direct, quizzical look at the camera. Her shoes are really quite something and you are right- that's a lot of jewelry for a girl her age. It's funny you mention "The Five Little Peppes". I just purchased a book from the '70's - an exact replica of the one I adored when I was a kid. Great finds with the book theme.
ReplyDeleteNow that I'm thinking about it, I want that book again - I may go look for one.
DeleteI have to agree with your opening statement. My room is full of books which line the walls like familiar friends. I still can't bring myself to dispose of books I bought and read 40 years ago and haven't opened since. I see them as part of my life - much to the annoyance of my wife when she tries to fight her way into my over-cluttered room.
ReplyDeleteLove the Bobbsey Twins book cover.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I had a hard time finding the exact one I remembered having - there must have been hundreds of them out there.
DeleteAs an only child and rather shy, my books were my means to evade loneliness, whether they were novels, or history or art books. They've always been present in my home, but I've managed to keep them under control, often disposing of those that are of a lighter nature, and keeping those classics and art books mainly. Interesting that you possess only pictures of women with books, not men. Discreetly feminist, or a romantic?
ReplyDelete:)~
HUGZ
Not intentional that I have only women posing with books and I'm an eternal romantic. :-)
ReplyDeleteMind you,
ReplyDeletenothing wrong with being a feminist,
but I came across a few in my lifetime, and it tends to taint their view of the world.
As for being an eternal romantic, anything planned for V-Day this week?
Or is it too commercial for your taste?
Well, have never actually celebrated V-Day much as our anniversary is Feb 16th. Figure that is a more important milestone!
ReplyDeleteLOL! I think we are too old for all that although we do have some kick left to us yet!
DeleteWell,
ReplyDeleteyou could start on the 14th, make a big hoopla on the 16th, extend it over the weekend, and call in sick at work on Monday, out of sheer exhaustion...
Just a suggestion!!
;)~
HUGZ
Whoops, replied above to this!
DeleteI'll leave you to think about it, as it is soon bedtime for me. See you around and...
ReplyDeleteHappy anniversary!!
:)~
HUGZ
Another great set of themed photos. Ruffles Girl has a real librarian look about her. Many early photos are so staged with props I'm sure there is a symbolism attached to the items with many subjects. I've recently found a few with umbrellas which seems a very odd thing to include in a photo.
ReplyDeleteI too have owned many books in my life but the problem of storage meant I had to cull the collection recently to only my favourites. The agony of decisions! The lady with the armful of books looks as though she might have to make an agonising decision too; I wonder what it was.
ReplyDelete