Antique Books & Manuscripts

Antique Books & Manuscripts

I dreamed as a young girl that one day I would have a shop for antique books and manuscripts and one day it did come true. I had lived with my grandparents as a child and they had a wonderful collection of antique books and manuscripts that I used to read once I was old enough to appreciate how much they were worth and how careful I needed to be.

I would spend hours looking at the antique books and manuscripts and even now the smell that is unique to antique books and manuscripts brings back very fond memories of my grandparents and what a wonderful, loving childhood that they made sure I had.

So now that I have my antique books and manuscripts shop I am surrounded by these fabulous works all day and actually have trouble selling anything because they are all wonderful and have something unique to offer. Here are some of my favorite antique books and manuscripts.

Favorite antique books and manuscripts

1.       Complete Works of Robert Burns 1886: The works of Robert Burns were amongst my grandparent’s favorites in their antique books and manuscripts collection. My grandfather was a hopeless romantic and he used to read some of the poems to my grandfather and she would leave little notes under his plate at meal times. A couple of their favorites were:

  • “But to see her was to love her, Love but her, and love forever.”
  • “Gin a body meet a body, Coming thro' the rye, Gin a body kiss a body — Need a body cry?”
  • “Had we never lov'd sae kindly, Had we never lov'd sae blindly, Never met- or never parted- we had ne'er been broken-hearted”

2.       1883 Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain 1st Edition Illustrated: This is one of the rare and beautiful antique books and manuscripts that I have in my shop and I have been a fan of Mark Twain since I can remember – probably since I could read as this was one of the first of the antique books and manuscripts that I ever read and it documents his experiences on the Mississippi River. My favorite quotes from the book are:

  • "I felt like a skinful of dry bones and all of them trying to ache at once”
  • "Sired by a hurricane, dam'd by an earthquake”
  • "Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates’.

3.       Elementary Photography from 1936: I am a history buff and books like these from the shelves of my antique books and manuscripts shop are priceless to read. I say that because they give so much insight into how the world has changed – even more interesting are the ones on society and women’s etiquette imagine what the authors of these antique books and manuscripts would say if they could see how the world has changed;

4.       Virginia Woolf First Edition Antiquarian Book 1921 Hogarth Press: She was considered one of the foremost literary figures of her time and I am proud to have this extremely rare edition on display at my antique books and manuscripts shop. When I say on display I mean that it is not for sale but sits in pride of place in my collection display cabinet along with some other treasured antique books and manuscripts. My favorite Virginia Woolf quotes are:

  • “Arrange whatever pieces come your way”
  • “As a woman I have no country. As a woman my country is the whole world”
  • “Every secret of a writer's soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind is written large in his works”

5.       1792 "The History of America" - William Robertson -3 Volumes - 4 Folding Maps: These antique books and manuscripts are difficult to find. They include the beautiful folding maps which show how the world was seen in 1792;

6.       The Rime of the Ancient Mariner 1876 Elephant folio by Samuel Taylor Coleridge: This is such a famous text and also sits with my display of antique books and manuscripts at my shop. It is so often quoted and the illustrations by Gustave Doré are truly amazing. Here are some of my favorite quotes from this book from my antique books and manuscripts collection:

  • “And every tongue, through utter drought, Was withered at the root; We could not speak, no more than if We had been choked with soot”
  • “Ah! wel-a-day! what evil looks Had I from old and young! Instead of the cross, the albatross about my neck was hung.”

7.       Memoirs Of The Rev. Matthew Henry 1st edition 1830: Is an interesting one of the antique books and manuscripts that I came across recently and it is very good condition. He was a Welshman and a non-conformist minister and commentator. His last words were reported to have been: “You have been used to take notice of the sayings of dying men–this is mine: That a life spent in the service of God, and communion with Him, is the most comfortable and pleasant life that one can live in the present world.”

I have a wonderful life spending my time searching and authenticating antique books and manuscripts for sale at my shop. I am one of those truly lucky people that spend their time doing something that they love.